With 26 games remaining in their regular season, the Seattle Kraken sit in a Western Conference playoff spot. By virtue of their 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on February 4th heading into the NHL’s Winter Olympic break, the Kraken have a hold on third place in the Pacific Division.
Seattle is three points clear of the closest non-playoff team in the conference, that being those LA Kings. In other words, it was a huge victory last Wednesday. It was one of those “four point games”. Instead of falling a point behind LA with a regulation loss, Seattle moved three points ahead with the regulation win.
The fact that the Vancouver Canucks imploded this season and the Winnipeg Jets are a surprise disaster doesn’t hurt matters. Those two teams were expected to be at least wild card challengers for the Kraken and the other teams in the west. Instead, those two clubs have spiralled out of the playoff picture.
The landscape opened up for Seattle, with their main challengers for the final slots, whether a divisional playoff finish or a wild card berth, being the three California teams. That would be the Kings and the young Anaheim Ducks and San Jose Sharks. The latter lost their last three games heading into the break, slipping five points behind the Kraken.
The west is weak outside of the top heavy Central Division, where the Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild and Dallas Stars are running away with things. Below those three club’s, the NHL’s coveted parity might better be described as mediocrity.
That’s another benefit for the 27-20-and-9 Kraken. They’re in for now, controlling their own destiny. They have 26 chances to keep it that way.
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