April 11, 2023–The NHL Pacific Division’s standings are shown below:
Vegas Golden Knights: 107 points
Edmonton Oilers: 105 points
Los Angeles Kings: 102 points
Seattle Kraken: 100 points
Calgary Flames: 91 points
Vancouver Canucks: 79 points
San Jose Sharks: 60 points
Anaheim Ducks: 58 points
Vegas, Edmonton, Los Angeles, and Seattle have already clinched a playoff spot, while Calgary, Vancouver, San Jose, and Anaheim sit on the outside looking in. The Ducks will most likely have a chance in “The Connor Bedard Sweepstakes” in the 2023 NHL Entry Draft, which is the only benefit to finishing in last place this season.
Normally, there is a high-quality draft pick available to be selected in the NHL Entry Draft, but Connor Bedard is being touted as an instant franchise-changer. So, having a chance to land him would be huge for Anaheim.
While that is an interesting storyline to follow in the Pacific Division, the main focus of this article is previewing the LA Kings’ first-round matchup. If the season were to end today, Los Angeles would play the Edmonton Oilers in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, a rematch of last year’s first round.
But, for the sake of not playing the best player in the world in the first round, Connor McDavid, here is a look at how the Kings could play the Vegas Golden Knights in the first round and dawn a new rivalry with the recent expansion team as it is now home to former LA King goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Edmonton has two regular season games left. One tonight against the Colorado Avalanche. And the final one is on April 13th vs. the San Jose Sharks.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the matchup between these two Western Conference foes is a tight one. Neither team is favored to win by a lot, but the Edmonton Oilers do have the puck line in their favor, at -1.5. Moneyline for Edmonton is -115, and the moneyline for Colorado is -104.
If Edmonton defeats the defending champs tonight in Colorado, then the Oilers would be tied for first place with the Golden Knights in the division, at 107 points. As it stands right now, Edmonton is 9-0-1 in their last ten games, so hopefully, they can continue their hot streak and win tonight against the Avalanche.
Their last matchup with the Sharks seems like an easy win for the Oilers.
Vegas also has two regular season games left. One tonight against the Seattle Kraken. And the final one is on April 13th also against the Seattle Kraken.
According to FanDuel Sportsbook, Vegas is the slight favorite over Seattle as their moneyline sits at -142, and Seattle’s sits at +118. Per Daily Faceoff, the unconfirmed goalie matchup between these two teams is Seattle’s Joey Daccord vs. Vegas’ Laurent Brossoit.
The Kraken are not fighting for a playoff spot as they are first in the Western Conference Wild Card, but if both teams win one game or one team sweeps the other team, then both scenarios affect the Los Angeles Kings playoff picture.
Los Angeles only has one regular season game left after last night’s victory over Vancouver, 3-0. Their last game is on April 13th vs. the Anaheim Ducks.
Los Angeles currently sits only two points ahead of Seattle. With last night’s regulation win over the Canucks, the Kings now sit with 102 points before their final regular season game against the Ducks.
It seems like, at this point in the season, Los Angeles needs more points than Anaheim does, so it would be shocking to see the Ducks come out on top over the Kings on Thursday.
Dream Scenario: Edmonton wins the next two games in regulation or in overtime, Vegas and Seattle split their series, and Los Angeles wins their final game against Anaheim.
Then the top of the Pacific Division would look like this:
Edmonton Oilers: 109 points
Vegas Golden Knights: 109 points
Los Angeles Kings: 104 points
Seattle Kraken 102 points
The Edmonton Oilers currently hold the tiebreaker over the Vegas Golden Knights with 44 regulation wins to Vegas’ 36 regulation wins. So, if the Oilers win out the regular season, then their wins would move up to 46, while Vegas’ would move up to 37.
This is why Kings fans should be cheering for the Kraken to split the series with the Golden Knights and for the Oilers to beat the Avalanche tonight and the Sharks on Thursday.
Also, the Kings have to win their game against the Ducks to put them at 104 points because if both the Kings and the Kraken end the season at 102 points, then Seattle holds the tiebreaker over the Kings, currently, with 37 regulation wins to the Kings’ 36.
If all that were to happen, then the first-round matchup could be between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Los Angeles Kings, leaving the Seattle Kraken to play the Edmonton Oilers.
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