Who’s in and who’s out if NHL playoffs started today
By Tyler Brown
Pacific Division
1. Vegas Golden Knights
The best story in the NHL this year has been the Vegas Golden Knights (43-19-5), full stop. With a team of castoffs and spare parts, George McPhee and Gerard Gallant have coaxed diamonds out of coal and found a way to be the best team in the west, doubters be damned. After prevailing through a slew of goaltending injuries bordering on tragicomic, the Knights just kept winning. The NHL’s second-most efficient offense scores by committee though William Karlsson, Johnathan Marchessault and David Perron, who have to be commended for rejuvenating their careers and showing their former teams that they are not helmed by a GM with the eye for talent that their current team enjoys.
2. San Jose Sharks
The Sharks and Capitals share many similarities. Both are superb regular season teams who seem to have problems getting it together when it comes time to put up or shut up in the playoffs, and both will look to shed that label in 2018.
This year, San Jose (36-22-9) is looking as strong as ever with new pieces slotting in admirably for the loss of Patrick Marleau to free agency and Joe Thornton for long stretches due to injury. Joe Pavelski and Logan Couture stepped up into their anointed roles and delivered, and the addition of Evander Kane will mesh well with a healthy jumbo Joe. Brent Burns is still a beast and Marc-Edouard Vlasic is still a rock. However, the Sharks’ core is aging and the window is closing. This might be the last chance to realistically go for it.
3. Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim (34-22-12) is in a similar situation as San Jose. Core pieces Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf have shown that they have the talent to take a team all the way, but is there enough left in those legs to take the Ducks through four rounds of tough playoff hockey? Led in scoring this year by Rikard Rakell, the Ducks will lean heavily on his talents and on the swift skating of aptly named defenseman Cam Fowler.
The Ducks will need strong goaltending from John Gibson and a few lucky bounces to go on a deep run, but their slew of responsible forwards and smooth skating defense could surprise.