Ducks Eye View of the Western Conference Playoff Race
The weather is warming up which means the NHL season is winding down. Three weeks to go and there are playoff spots still up for grabs. Pucks of a Feather takes a Ducks-centric view of the race to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Out of It
So far, four teams are eliminated, Not all of mathematically eliminated, but its safe for them to make April tee times. Arizona, Vancouver, Chicago, and Edmonton will all be watching the playoffs from the comfort of their man caves. Three of Anaheim’s nine remaining games are against these teams.
Definitely In
Central Division-leading Nashville has already clinched a playoff spot with 104 points. Additionally, they have played the second-fewest amount of games so far. Vegas is the top team in the Pacific Division with 97 points. At this juncture, they would have to lose all of their 10 remaining contests and have other breaks to go against them to miss the party. The Winnipeg Jets are second in the Central with 96 points, seven more than third place and 10 ahead of fourth. They are as good as in. The Ducks have only one game against a team in this group, at Winnipeg on Friday.
The Central
Nashville and Winnipeg have the top two spots, leaving one remaining. Four teams are within six points of third place with approximately 10 games left on the schedule.
The race between Minnesota (89 points), Colorado (86), Dallas (84), and St. Louis (83) will come down to the wire.
At this point, the Wild might not get a division place, but at the very least look good for one of the Wild Card spots, which makes it that much harder for the Ducks to qualify. Anaheim will play three of these teams, Colorado, Minnesota, and Dallas; all at home the first week of April.
The Pacific
Four teams remain in contention for two guaranteed postseason slots. San Jose is in second place (89 points), followed by the Ducks (86), Los Angeles (84) and Calgary (80). They have been battling each other since the all-star break for position. Its possible three of the four could play on, it looks as if the Flames may drop out. Calgary is 3-6-1 in their last 10, losing a minimum of six points to the field in that span. The Ducks can help that cause when they travel to the Scotiabank Saddledome on Wednesday. Ideally, Anaheim wants to finish second in order to a) avoid a possible first-round series with Nashville and b) have home ice advantage in the first-round. The Ducks play LA on March 30th, which could wind up as the Darwin Bowl instead of the Freeway Faceoff Series.
This Week
Here are the standings and schedules for the eight teams fighting for five postseason bids:
| Team | GP | Points | This Week’s Schedule |
| Minnesota Wild | 72 | 89 | vsLAK, vsNSH, vsBOS |
| San Jose Sharks | 72 | 89 | vsNJD, vsVGK, vsCGY |
| Colorado Avalanche | 72 | 86 | @CHI, vs, LAK, vsVGK |
| Anaheim Ducks | 73 | 86 | @CGY, @WPG, @EDM |
| LA Kings | 72 | 84 | @MIN, @WPG, @COL, @EDM |
| Dallas Stars | 73 | 84 | @WSH, vsBOS, vsVAN |
| St. Louis Blues | 72 | 83 | vsBOS, vsVAN, @CBJ |
| Calgary Flames | 72 | 80 | @ARI, vs ANA, @SJS |
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