Most likely to least likely team to reach the finals in the Western Conference? Rank them

[bobholly39]

With all 8 teams set in the west for playoff participation, who do you think is the most likely to reach the finals? How about the least likely?

Rank them in order of most to least likely.

Here's my crack at it:

1. Edmonton. I feel as though this is their year. McDavid missing a few games late in the year can be a blessing in disguise, with him being 100% in shape and rested come playoffs.

2. Colorado. I could see them winning again, after an off-year last playoffs. Fantastic core. I know goaltending is a bit worrisome, but it's not like they had a top goalie 2 years ago either

3. Vancouver. I thought their team/core did really good in the covid playoffs, as underdogs. Very curious to see the likes of EP, Hughes and co get another stab at playoffs - I think entering as a top team they could do quite well. Demko is having a great year too

4. Vegas. This isn't about them being #8, nor about injuries (we all knew they'd be health come playoffs) - I just don't think they will go back to back. They'll likely do damage but be out by round 2 or 3, maybe even round 1 depending on matchups. It's possible they win again, but I don't think they will.

5. Dallas. A lot of people are very high on them, but for some reason I'm just not as sold.

6. Nashville - I think Nashville is dangerous, and so is Saros. They had a slow start but have been among absolute top teams for a while

7. Winnipg Jets. I have no faith in this core. Helle is pretty good, but doesn't matter. I expect they lose to Colorado in round 1

8. Los Angeles. They will also lose in round 1.


How about you? How do you rank them, most to least likely to reach the finals this year?

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[Connor McConnor]

Dallas
Vegas
Avs
Oil
LA
Van
Jets
Preds

 

[Hanswurst]

Avs won't survive round 1 vs jets.

Coming from an Avs fan.

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

Edmonton, Vancouver, Colorado, Dallas and Vegas are all capable of making it to the cup final, it will all depend on which goalie is going to get hot.

 

[AssaultPK]

Jets got no pressure, they gunna grip it and rip it boys

Jets
Dallas
Vegas
Oil
LA
Avs
Van
Preds

 

[End on a Hinote]

Dallas
Colorado
Edmonton
Vegas
Los Angeles - Got some real 2012 vibes going with them
Vancouver - Hate to say it, but they can't seem to beat equally skilled teams
Winnipeg - IMO this is their best chance since 2018
Nashville

 

[Mad Dog Tannen]

Dallas
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Vegas
Vancouver
Nashville
Colorado
Kings

I’m expecting a Dallas\Edm WCF

Dallas could be in tough vs Vegas.

I expect the kings to get steamrolled by Edm

Vancouver/Nash could go either way. Whoever makes it out of this doesn’t get past EDM imo.

Don’t think Colorado has a good chance of making it past the Jets.

 

[OVO16]

Everyone down on the Kings but would be hilarious if they went on one of those 2012 runs.

 

[Jetcetera]

Dallas
 Winnipeg
Vegas
Vancouver
Colorado
Edmonton
Nashville
LA

 

[HanSolo]

Winnipeg (they just give me the same vibe I got from my VGK last year)

Colorado (they haven't been great down the stretch but I can see them putting it together if they get out of the second round)

Dallas (I have yet to see that Pete DeBoer is adept enough at adjusting and adapting his game plan in the postseason for me to believe that his team can make it to the fourth round but I can't argue with the results they've put up this year)

Edmonton (still not sold on their defense and goaltending but the pressure to advance further and validate having McDavid with a championship could be enough to fuel the offensive machine to go far.)

Vegas (I think the only way this team gets back into the Finals is if the prospect of a cup defense does more than just shift gears but engage nitro boost for a full playoff run. Something has happened to Vegas' defensive structure that I can't easily explain. Hague and Whitecloud went from third pair guys good enough to be on most second pairs in the league to borderline replacement level. The forwards haven't been buying in on defensive structure and commonly lose battles for space and loose pucks in the defensive zone. Martinez is barely hanging on to effectiveness at his age. Hill has been mentally broken for months and Thompson can usually play well as a starter but had laid some rotten eggs in Hill's absence. And the scoring just hasn't been there. People have been complaining about cap circumvention for months but whether it was within the rules or not, I get the feeling it's not even going to matter. Second round exit at best IMO but anything can happen in the postseason.)

Vancouver (as strong a season as they've had, they've been less than impressive down the stretch and I don't think they have the playoff experience to go far. I could well be wrong but I'm just not seeing it).

Nashville (same with the Preds. They had an unbelievable stretch of wins but I don't think they've looked good as of late and I don't think they have the pieces for a deep run)

LA (this isn't even a rivalry thing and I acknowledge that I can be wrong about any team we're discussing here but I've seen a fair number of glaring issues with this Kings team going into the playoffs. I just don't think they have the firepower or quality of play behind their 1-3-1 to advance very far. Montreal defied all expectations playing with a shutdown D-score on capitalizing on opponent error kind of game but they got as far as they did because that approach relied on Price being excellent when opponents did manage to penetrate the defense. I don't think LA has the goaltending to get away with this approach in the postseason. But I also didn't think Montreal would get past Toronto in the COVID bubble so...)

 

[Voight]

Dallas
Vegas
Avs
Van
Jets
Oil
LA
Preds

 

[bucks_oil]

I'll be honest... I don't like ANY of the matchups - they are all tough. Every team making the playoffs could catch fire.

 

[Mad Dog Tannen]

I'll be honest... I don't like ANY of the matchups - they are all tough. Every team making the playoffs could catch fire.

Truth.

 

[CantHaveTkachev]

Dallas is the clear favorite
Avs- still a formidable team, despite a rough weekend
Vegas- not underestimating the Cup champs
Edmonton- 2 of the best in the world but now have to break through in a big way
Winnipeg- deep from top to bottom, but no elite forwards or D
Vancouver- real wildcard since they're so unproven...could go deep or fizzle in the 1st round
LA- good team, but goaltending is iffy and scoring could be a problem
Nashville- only cause they were a surprise in the 2nd half...maybe another cinderalla run

 

[Lt Dan]

Dallas
Colorado
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Vegas
Gnashville
Vancouver
LA

Dallas
Vegas
Avs
Oil
LA
Van
Jets
Preds

I am a Kings fan and I wish I was as bullish on them as you are

 

[Fripp]

Dallas
Colorado
Winnipeg
Edmonton
Vegas
Feels like you could put these five names in a hat and pull one out and have just as good of a chance at predicting who wins. All have a legit shot.

No chance:
Vancouver
LA
Nashville

 

[VivaLasVegas]

Dallas
Colorado
Winnipeg
Edmonton
Vegas
Feels like you could put these five names in a hat and pull one out and have just as good of a chance at predicting who wins. All have a legit shot.

No chance:
Vancouver
LA
Nashville

Not sure that I would count the Canucks out so easily, since they have in Demko a solid goalie and they are masters at crowding the front of the net for those close-in goals that make the difference in playoffs. I don't think the Preds will match up well to the Canucks at all, and if McDavid truly isn't 100% then I could see the Canucks getting past the Oilers as well. The fly in that ointment would be if the Canucks had to play the Kings, since the King's system seems built to keep the Canucks from scoring, but I'm skeptical that the Kings will make it past the Oilers.

 

[Kingfan1967]

All depends on health and what matchups happen (any team in the West has a decent chance) with that said

1) Dallas - have depth scoring - good D - good Goalie - no real weaknesses
2) Edmonton - high scoring - good D - only suspect is goaltending but Skinner has been decent this year
3) Winnipeg - depth scoring - good D - Great Goaltending
4) Las Vegas - which team will show up - the Cup winning team or the regular season one
5) Colorado - scoring - decent D - ok Goalie - some inconsistences - no real weaknesses
6) Vancouver - surprising regular season - is Demko ready? ( if yes they would be higher)
7) Nashville - late season surge into the PO's shows how good they can be
8) Los Angeles - frustrating to play against - goalie is a concern

 

[TMLegend]

1. Oilers
2. Stars
3. Vegas
4. Jets
5. Avs
6. Predators
7. Canucks
8. Kings

 

[AvroArrow]

Dallas
Vegas
Edmonton
Winnipeg
Colorado
Vancouver
Nashville
LA

 

[JaegerDice]

I'll just go in order of 5v5 xGF% since the TDL:

Nashville (2nd)
Dallas (3rd)
Edmonton (5th)
LA (6th)
Vegas (7th)
Colorado (8th)
Vancouver (9th)
Winnipeg (12th)

Personal bias as far as raw talent evaluation and playoff experience is that Colorado and Vegas should be higher up the list, Edmonton and Nashville should be lower.

 

[BaileyFan]

Stars
Avalanche
Jets
Golden Knights
Oilers
Canucks
Predators
Kings

 

[jetsforever]

Dallas
Edmonton
Vegas
Winnipeg
Colorado
Vancouver
LA
Nashville

 

[NYRfan85]

It really could be anyone this year in the West--the teams are way closer together than they are in the East, so it's a crapshoot.

1 - Dallas
2 - Edmonton
3 - Winnipeg
4 - Vancouver
5 - Nashville
6 - Vegas
7 - Los Angeles
8 - Colorado

 

[SeanMoneyHands]

I think this could be the year that Edmonton makes it to the cup final IF Dallas is out in the first round by Vegas.

There's only two teams in the west that I see can shut down McDavid and Draisaitl (at least the best they can), that's Dallas and Vegas. They have the tools up front and on the backend to get the job done.