How the Anaheim Ducks remained at the top of the Pillow Fight Division

Connor McDavid may have called the Pacific Division a pillow fight, but some team has to win the battle in the perceived weakest division in the NHL. Despite losing to the aforementioned McDavid and the Oilers on Saturday afternoon, the Ducks still remain atop of the Pacific with 86 points. The Oilers are three points back and the Vegas Golden Knights are six back, but the Ducks do have a game in hand on both teams. With a knack for continuing a season long trend of starting slow and injury issues beginning to flare up again, the Ducks went 3-1 for week 22, which began with a thrilling overtime win against one of the hottest teams in the NHL.

The Ducks then hit the road for a western Canadian swing, with come from behind victories over the Vancouver Canucks and Calgary Flames, before falling to the Oilers. The Ducks now have a 99.9 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to MoneyPuck, which would not be possible without some stellar performances from this week's three stars.

Three stars of the week

Third star: Lukas Dostal

Even though the Ducks backup, Ville Husso, should get the nod here by winning both of his starts this week (Buffalo and Vancouver), Dostal had the better save percentage with .905 versus Husso's .870. Dostal single-handedly kept the Ducks in the game against the Oilers, with two and a half periods of great netminding before finally getting some run support.

Dostal is 15-4-1 in his last 20 starts, with a .900 save percentage and 2.80 goals against, which also puts him second in wins, during that span.

Second star: John Carlson

After a slow start acclimating to his new team, Carlson finally made an impact on the Ducks blue line. Primarily skating on the second pair and used in both penalty kill and powerplay situations, Carlson tallied seven points for the week.

Even though all of Carlson's points were assists, the fact that he is heating up as the playoffs approach, only bodes well for a defense corps that has struggled mightily all season, other than Jackson LaCombe.

First star: Mikael Granlund

While Mason McTavish has fallen off and has become a rather expensive fourth winger lately, Granlund has stepped up in his stead and usurped the youngster for the second line center role. Granlund led the Ducks in goal scoring for the week, with six goals in the four games. Granlund was the main driver for the overtime win against the Flames, by netting a hat trick.

Do not expect Granlund to lose the role either, as the Ducks coaching staff is averse to tinkering with a winning lineup and his versatility for the playoffs will be essential for the team's success.

Biggest concern

Team health

Troy Terry was out of the lineup against the Flames, due to a lower body injury, but returned for the game against the Oilers. Jansen Harkins has been out of the lineup with an upper body injury and is listed as day-to-day. Pavel Mintyukov was injured during the third period of the Flames game, in which the referees maddeningly allowed the Flames to score a goal, while Mintyukov lay on the ice injured. Mintyukov is still listed as day-to-day. But more importantly, especially to fans of certain Canadian teams, Radko Gudas was also injured in that same game.

The Ducks have performed admirably, despite their captain being out of the lineup again. And while Gudas will not provide a notable positive on-ice impact, the captain should be with the team for a playoff run. More crucially though, is the health status of Terry and Mintyukov, as both are key cogs in the Ducks lineup. Whenever the Ducks hit that magic number to clinch a playoff spot, the team should consider resting their injured players. Winning the division would be a nice cap to successful season, but health should be paramount. Even if the Ducks slide back and forgo standings points in favor of resting players and have to face either the Oilers or the Golden Knights in the first round, either scenario would be much more winnable with a healthy lineup.

What's next?

The Ducks will kick off the week with a home date against the Toronto Maple Leafs, which will undoubtedly have fireworks, despite the unknown status of Gudas' availability. The Ducks will then travel to San Jose for a game against a Sharks team that has flamed out of the playoff race. The Ducks will close the week with back-to-back home games against the St. Louis Blues and Calgary Flames. With all of these games against non-playoff teams, the Ducks would do well to bank some "easy" points.