Who Will Make the Playoffs in the West?

It's a tight race for the playoff spots in the Western Conference. With just over a month to go, we've taken a look at the teams contending for a spot. Although we can't predict the future, we can take a look at some factors that will surely play a part in determining the 8 teams.

We've assumed Nashville, Winnipeg and Minnesota will hold on to the top 3 spots in the Central Division, and that Vegas will wrap up the Pacific without question. The rest of the spots are still very much in play. Although, with San Jose and Anaheim currently in 2nd and 3rd respectively in that division, it's their spots to lose.

The remaining 2 wild card spots are up for grabs and there are 5 teams fighting for them. I've included the Sharks and Ducks in this analysis because they could very conceivably lose those spots as only 3 points separate Calgary and San Jose with Anaheim and LA sandwiched in between.

In the facts presented below, it is current info as of Monday, March 12th. Four of the teams below play tonight. St. Louis is at Anaheim, the Kings host Vancouver and the Sharks play host to Detroit.

Also, the goaltender stats are just based on their most recent performances. As we all know, if a goalie gets hot this time of the season it can make a big difference, thus the last 5 games or so are all that we analyzed.

Pacific Division

San Jose Sharks

• Currently 2nd in Pacific Division with 81 points. 
• They have 14 games remaining, 7 at home and 7 on the road. 
• They have 2 back-to-backs still on the schedule. 
• 10 of their 14 games are against opponents who are competing for a playoff spot. 
• They are 3-2 in their last 5 games with a +6 goal differential.
• Their goaltender, Martin Jones is 3-2 in his last 5 games with a 1.72 GAA and .930 Save %.
• Thier veteran leader, Joe Thornton is on the IR as is Joel Ward.
• Chances of making playoffs seem to be nearly a shoe-in.

Anaheim Ducks

• Currently 3rd in the Pacific Division with 80 points.
• They have 13 games remaining, 8 at home and 5 on the road.
• They have 1 set of back-to-back games remaining.
• 8 of their 13 games are against opponents who are in the playoff race.
• They are 3-2 in their last 5 games with a +6 goal differential.
• Their goaltender, John Gibson is 3-1 in his last 4 starts with a 2.25 GAA and .936 Save %.
• Their chances of making the playoffs are very good.  

Los Angeles Kings

• Currently in 4th place in the division and 3rd in the wild card spot with 79 points.
• They have 14 games remaining, 8 at home and 6 on the road.
• They have 3 back-to-back sets of games remaining.
• 9 of their last 14 games will be against opponents in the playoff race.
• They are 3-2 in their last 5 games with a +1 goal differential.
• Their goaltender, Jonathan Quick is 3-2 with a 2.79 GAA and .913 Save %
• They will need to play well and hope for San Jose, Anaheim, Dallas or Colorado to falter in order to earn a spot.

Calgary Flames

• They are currently in 5th place in the division and 4th in the wild-card race with 78 points.
• They have 12 games remaining, 7 at home and 5 on the road.
• They have 1 back-to-back set of games left.
• 8 of their remaining 12 games are against playoff contenders.
• They are 2-2-1 in their last 5 games with a -1 goal differential.
• Their goaltender, Mike Smith just returned from the IR with a lower-body injury. He lost in his first game back yesterday to the Islanders where he gave up 5 goals.
• His backup, Rittich had a 3.0 GAA and .898 Save % while Smith was out.
• Their chances of making the playoffs at this stage will depend on other teams fading, and unless Smith finds his game quickly and gets red hot, I don't see them in the post-season.

Central Division

Dallas Stars

• They currently are 4th in the division and hold the first playoff spot with 82 points.
• They have 13 games remaining, 4 at home and 9 on the road.
• They have 2 sets of back-to-back games on the schedule.
• 10 of their remaining games are versus playoff contenders.
• They are 2-1-2 in their last 5 games with a -2 goal differential.
• Their goaltender, Ben Bishop has not played in a while. He is close to returning from a knee injury. Backup, Lehtonen is 1-2 in his last 3 games but has a 1.67 GAA and .936 save % in those games.
• They have the toughest schedule remaining and will need good goaltending to hang on to this spot. 

Colorado Avalanche

• They hold down 5th in the central and the 2nd wild card spot with 80 points.
• They have 14 games remaining, 7 at home and 7 on the road.
• 11 of their remaining games will be against playoff contenders.
• They are 2-0-3 in their last 5 games with a +6 goal differential.
• Their goaltender, Bernier missed 10 games with a concussion. He returned yesterday but left the game after taking a shot off his mask. If relying on the backup, Varlanov, he is 2-0-3 in his last 5 games with a 2.4 GAA and .913 save %.
• They have the 2nd toughest schedule of the teams listed here and will need to continue outscoring their opponents to hang on to the last playoff spot.

St. Louis Blues

• They currently sit 6th in the central and in 5th place in the wild-card spot with 77 points.
• They have 14 games remaining, 7 at home and 7 on the road.
• 8 of their remaining games are against playoff contenders.
• They are 2-2-1 in their last 5 games with a -2 goal differential.
• Their goaltender would look to be Jake Allen at this point. He is 1-1 in his last 2 starts and has a 1.5 GAA and .960 save % in those games. It's a smaller body of work than some of the other teams' goalies listed here, but he's getting hot at the right time for a playoff run.
• The key for St. Louis is going to be their offense. If they can continue to put the puck in the net, the schedule is a little more favorable for them than a couple of other teams ahead of them and they might just surprise some people and get to the playoffs.

#AllTogetherNowStL #LGB