Who’s in and who’s out if NHL playoffs started today
By Tyler Brown
Western Conference Wild Card
1. Dallas Stars
The addition of Alexander Radulov has been a boon for the Stars. Dallas’ (37-24-6) gain has been Montreal’s loss as the big Russian has been lights out for the Stars, providing a little extra scoring punch that allowed Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin to exploit defensive mismatches and put up great numbers in 2018.
John Klingberg’s emergence as an offensive force from the blue line led to a potent power play for the Stars that will be a danger to contain for their playoff matchup. If Ben Bishop can stay healthy and the Stars can continue to shine, Dallas might be a dark horse that comes thundering out of the west.
2. Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles is a team that was written off as tired, old and slow. The Kings had albatross contracts that would sink the team for years to come. Funny the things that can happen with a coaching change. Freed from the stifling defensive system of Darryl Sutter and given looser reins with new coach John Stevens, Anze Kopitar and Dustin Brown flourished and rejuvenated their careers.
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Drew Doughty was again quietly one of the best players in the world and the Kings again became the team that will sneak into the playoffs and that no one wants to play in the first round.