NFL
By: Damon Horton
Amidst a stacked Western Conference, how does your team fare in the Stanley Cup Playoffs? With the Eastern Conference done, it is time to put a measuring stick to each contending team on the Left Coast. We will be diving into all of the top teams in the West to see who has the best chances to emerge with the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl and represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final.
To essentially ctrl+c ctrl+v the last article, we will be breaking teams down into three categories, because lists are lazy, clickbait, and lame. We like to do things the Central Division way (the hard way). We will be placing teams into one of three categories:
Contenders– These are the top teams in the league. We can reasonably expect them to make a deep playoff run this season. Maybe even win a Stanley Cup. These teams are the cream of the crop. They will be very difficult to play against in a 7-game series.
Hopefuls– These teams are solidly in playoff contention, barring a massive fall-off. While they could cause chaos in the earlier rounds, they aren’t exactly expected to go all the way this season. Don’t be fooled, these are still very good teams that have enjoyed success this season.
Pretenders– These are the “bubble teams,” so to speak. Teams whose owners would love to get just a little bit of extra revenue from playoff ticket sales. Yet, you shouldn’t expect very much. While solid squads, they are not quite the caliber of some of the higher-up teams in the league. Cinderella stories are possible, though, remember the 2012 LA Kings historic run despite being the 8th seed? Anything can happen.
Contenders
Colorado Avalanche
How else could I start this out? The Avalanche have dominated in every statistical category for the majority of the regular season. First in goals for, goals against, and they have the best record in the league. Their starting goalie, Scott Wedgewood, has the best Save % and Goals Against Average in the NHL, and Nathan MacKinnon leads the league in goals. All of this, and they added Nazem Kadri at the deadline. To say this team is a wagon is an understatement. The Avs started the season, losing only two games in regulation in 41 games. Let that sink in. It took this team 39 games to lose in regulation. They have more depth than they have had in years, and realistically, should be running away with the division. The only problem, they reside in the Central Division. The Central has been a blood bath for the last decade, and you will see why here. There is a small cause for concern here, as Colorado has now lost their last 3 games, but it looked much better in their shootout loss to the Stars. Can they return to their 1st-half form?
Dallas Stars
While Colorado has consistently been in first place in the NHL standings throughout the season, the Stars have consistently stayed right behind them, only momentarily falling behind Minnesota (another juggernaut) before going on an insane tear, matching their franchise-best 15-game point streak that ended in a regulation loss to Utah, which is also a strong contender in and of themselves. What amazes me about the Stars is their resilience. All teams deal with injuries, especially with the condensed schedule, but the Stars lost their alternate captain, Seguin, for the season early on, and have lost Olympian Thomas Harley, Mikko Rantanen, and Roope Hintz for extended periods of time, as well as Matt Duchene very early in the season to a concussion. Despite that, they remain 3 points outside of a Presidents’ Trophy, and in 2 games against Colorado, have looked every bit as good. The Stars have dominated the Oilers this year, sweeping the season series, and have owned the Avalanche in the playoffs in recent memory. This leaves the question, what stands in the Stars’ way this time around?
Minnesota Wild
This is what is currently standing in the way of the Stars and Avalanche this year. The Wild this season is not the Wild of seasons prior. GM Bill Guerin has assembled a monstrous blue line consisting of both Foligno brothers and this guy known as Quinn Hughes, whom you may have heard of (he just won a gold medal). Kiril Kaprizov and Matt Boldy lead an equally talented forward group to an imminent playoff berth, the only question being, will their lack of experience compared to the rest of their Central Division competition get in their way. Even looking outside of the Central, the Golden Knights and Oilers have multiple deep playoff runs under their belt. The Wild have recently not been as good, going 4-4-2 in their last 10, but sit very firmly in the 3rd seed, 14 whole points ahead of the next wildcard spot.
Just to put the Central Division into perspective, the top 3 teams in the Western Conference in terms of points are the Colorado Avalanche (97), the Dallas Stars (94), and the Minnesota Wild (90). They are also the top 3 in terms of goal differential, COL (+79), DAL (+51), and MIN (+31). It really is not even close. Obligatory “this playoff format is terrible.”
Hopefuls
Utah Mammoth
This is a team I have been excited to talk about all season. Years of tanking and playing in Arizona in front of a crowd of 5000 people are finally paying off, and in a big way. The Mammoth are a fast-break offense with dangerous goal scorers, and an amazing and underrated goaltending to back them up in Vejmelka and Vanicek. While they provide a close-to league-average Save Percentage at .895%, their GAA sits at 2.81, more than enough to give their talented and young forwards a chance to win. If Utah were not in the Central, I would put them at either 1 or 2 if they were in the Pacific. Expect names like Clayton Keller and Dylan Guenther to become more common names in the league, because this team is very good.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks are definitely one of my “eye test” teams. They look great, skate fast, and have high-skill players, but somehow have a -10 goal differential. That being said, they also sit atop the Pacific, and are currently the only team in their division with a “true” .500+ record. If they were in the East, and the playoffs started today, they would be 5 points out, in a similar spot as the Senators. So why am I high on them to make some noise? Their forward group boats very high skill; players like Gautier and Lacombe light the way towards a bright future for this team. Of note, as a potential top-seed in their division, they look to secure home ice for at least the first two rounds. The Ducks currently have a 22-10-1 record at home. They will need to rely on their record at home to get them through the first two rounds.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Knights have basically been perennial contenders since their inception. This season, the cracks have really begun to show. The additions of Mitch Marner and Rasmus Andersson really haven’t moved the needle much for me personally. The main reason I consider them hopeful is simply due to playoff experience. A lot of this roster has deep playoff runs under its belt, including a recent Stanley Cup. The top end of their roster is more than capable of making it through some of the less-experienced teams in the Pacific and into some of the later rounds. If they can get into the conference final against a beat-up Stars, Avalanche, or Wild team, anything could happen from that point. I understand that the Knights are beneficiaries of the “loser point” with 14 overtime losses this year, but if they get hot, they could make some noise.
Pretenders
Edmonton Oilers
The Oilers are a team that has made it to the Stanley Cup Final two years in a row, getting through a Dallas team that was favored both years by many NHL media and fans. The top-end talent is undeniable; McDavid, Draisaitl, and Bouchard are a force to be reckoned with and form one of the best power-play units in the league when they get going. The one glaring problem is goaltending. After trading Skinner away, Tristan Jary has left very much to be desired. Edmonton fans know it, and most other fans saw it coming. Oilers ownership reportedly tried to get some better goaltending around the deadline, but the market wasn’t there. Now they are saddled with Jary’s contract for the next few seasons, and there is no help in sight right now in net. With Draisaitl out for at least the rest of the regular season, the Oilers will need something magical to happen to make a deep run.
San Jose Sharks
If you were to look at this team last season and tell fans that they would become one of the forces of the Pacific division in only 1 season, most fans would not believe you. The Sharks’ progression to becoming one of the scarier teams in their division has been very entertaining to watch, and Macklin Celebrini’s rise to stardom has been an absolute treat for Sharks fans. The 19-year-old is approaching 100 points on the year and has become one of the premier players in the entire league at an alarming rate. They currently sit 2 points outside of a wildcard spot with a game in hand against Seattle, Nashville, and LA. Should they slip into the playoffs, I would not be surprised to see them take a game or two from the Avs or Stars in the 1st round. The future is definitely bright for the Sharks.
LA Kings
The Kings are currently holding the 8th spot in the playoffs, clinging to their playoff hopes for dear life. This is not because they are some scrappy team that plays with fire or grit, or because they have a top-5 player on their roster that can take control of a game; it is because they have a league-leading 16 overtime losses. They have been the largest beneficiaries of the loser point this season, and to top it off, Kevin Fiala will not be back until training camp next season. I simply don’t see another Cinderella run like the 2012 run happening for this team.
Nashville Predators
This is a team that suffers, unfortunately, from the fate of playing in the Central division. The Preds have not been a terrible team, but have been just bad enough to be sellers at the deadline. Now, the pieces they sold off were not pillars of the franchise. They held onto guys like Josi, Stamkos, and Rinne, and added a few important draft picks in the process. While nobody should expect them to make the playoffs, much less make a deep run, keep in mind that they are currently only 1 point out of that 8th spot. Who knows what could happen? I know that GM Barry Trotz would happily accept the income from a couple of home playoff games in the process.
Seattle Kraken
Another team that sits only 1 point out of a very attainable playoff spot despite not being a top-performer is the Kraken. The Kraken organization has put themselves in a tough spot, largely due to their run a couple of years ago that saw them defeat the Avalanche in round 1 and take the Stars to Game 7 in round 2. Perhaps they overachieved that year and set expectations for the fanbase that they would become the next Las Vegas Golden Knights and would make the playoffs every year. The Kraken, despite the playoffs being within arm’s reach, shouldn’t have very lofty expectations. A silver(ish) lining for the team, amongst teams with a negative goal differential in the Western Conference, they have the highest negative goal differential at -14. Is it the little things? The Kraken currently sit in the bottom-10 in Points, GPG, and PK%. Not quite recipes for a Cinderella run.
Western Conference Outlook
The West is unsurprisingly dominated by Central Division teams this year. Just looking at Pacific teams, almost all of them would be completely out of playoff contention in the East, and only a single team in the division sits at a “true” above .500 record. The Anaheim Ducks, at 37-27-4, are the only team in the Pacific that has won more games than they have lost, and their goal differential sits at -11. The Ducks, who lead their division, would be tied with the Philadelphia Flyers, who are 6 points out of the 2nd Wild Card spot in the East. Only two Pacific teams have a positive differential, the Knights (+5) and the Oilers (+4). For perspective, all 4 Central Division teams currently in the playoffs have significantly higher goal differentials: the Avalanche (+78), Stars (+52), Wild (+30), and Mammoth (+27). The outlook is simple: Not very many people are going to take Pacific teams seriously, and rightfully so, but it is the Stanley Cup playoffs, and literally anything can happen. The regular season literally matters zero percent once you are in, so the name of the game for Pacific teams is just to get in and see what kind of chaos you can cause.
