Who Will Win the Pacific?

[Mergatroidskittle]

Heaven forbid Vancouver has a good goalie who wins them games. Isn’t that the exact job description?

Some how we rely on our goalie but the goalie isn’t considered top 5 this year...hmmm

 

[DJJones]

I think Calgary has another streak left in them.

Gaudreau looks like he gives a shit lately so that's a game changer.

Either us or vegas is my bet

 

[McShogun99]

I think it will be Vegas. Calgary has been to inconsistent this year and scoring way less. Edmonton is missing key players and Vancouver is riding a hot goalie.

 

[Love]

Canucks fans have told me themselves that the team has played poorly since October.

I mean we’re 16-6-1 in our last 23 games... so it’s inaccurate to say we’ve fallen off a cliff since October. Our goaltending has been outstanding, but we’re also scoring a shitload of goals. This team has also put up horrendous corsi stats recently and I believe the reason is because our bottom 6 is absolutely atrocious. Any line with Beagle gets obliterated as he’s likely the worst forward in the NHL. But at the same time, Miller, Pettersson, and Boeser drive possession amazingly. It’s a weird situation for sure. If we could somehow convince Green to stop playing guys like Beagle, Schaller, and Eriksson, I think the team could go to another level.

 

[aufheben]

I mean we’re 16-6-1 in our last 23 games... so it’s inaccurate to say we’ve fallen off a cliff since October. Our goaltending has been outstanding, but we’re also scoring a ****load of goals. This team has also put up horrendous corsi stats recently and I believe the reason is because our bottom 6 is absolutely atrocious. Any line with Beagle gets obliterated as he’s likely the worst forward in the NHL. But at the same time, Miller, Pettersson, and Boeser drive possession amazingly. It’s a weird situation for sure. If we could somehow convince Green to stop playing guys like Beagle, Schaller, and Eriksson, I think the team could go to another level.

They have star power, but if one of those players goes on a cold streak they could be passed. Pettersson has an oiSH% of 15.0 right now which is ridiculous, and from this day on last season Pettersson only scored 2 goals and 13 points in the last 23 games of the season. That doesn't mean he will, he could go on a hot streak instead for all I know. Anyway tat's just me guess, I wouldn't be surprised if the Canucks finish 1st at all. Although what's funny is there's basically no benefit to finishing higher or lower in the Pacific other than home ice. Whether they finish 1st or in WC2 they'll play a team that's probably within 0-4 points of them, lol. It's not like the Central where if you finish 1st you get to play like the Coyotes and if you finish 1st you have to play the Avalanche or Stars.

 

[SecretOilersFan]

Probably Vegas honestly VAN is really good but they are riding a hot goalie. EDM has been playing good of late so that gives me hope despite the injury we face. If McD wasn't out I would say us but that is still a big blow we are struggling to overcome. AZ is collapsing and CGY is so inconsistent. It's going to be a battle between VGK and VAN.

 

[nucks88]

Heaven forbid Vancouver has a good goalie who wins them games. Isn’t that the exact job description?

Edit....don’t care...

 

[MinimaMoralia]

I’ll say Oilers. They’re looking pretty good sans McDavid, Holland will likely buy someone. If they keep on going well, in week or two they’ll have Kassian and McDavid and possibly an addition as calvary.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

Canucks fans have told me themselves that the team has played poorly since October.

Well to be fair, like all team's fans, Canucks fans can be idiots. I know. I'm one of them. And I can also be an idiot.

There's also a faction of Canucks fans that want the team to lose with their hope being that if the Canucks fail, Benning will be fired. Reading their comments when the Canucks win is like reading an opposing team's GDT after your team beat them. "They're a shit team, they just got lucky." Stuff like that. So auf, if you're listening to them, stop it.

 

[aufheben]

Well to be fair, like all team's fans, Canucks fans can be idiots. I know. I'm one of them.

There's also a faction of Canucks fans that want the team to lose with their hope being that if the Canucks fail, Benning will be fired. Reading their comments when the Canucks win is like reading an opposing team's GDT after your team beat them. "They're a **** team, they just got lucky." Stuff like that. So auf, if you're listening to them, stop it.

So...Markstrom sucks?

 

[Love]

Well to be fair, like all team's fans, Canucks fans can be idiots. I know. I'm one of them.

There's also a faction of Canucks fans that want the team to lose with their hope being that if the Canucks fail, Benning will be fired. Reading their comments when the Canucks win is like reading an opposing team's GDT after your team beat them. "They're a **** team, they just got lucky." Stuff like that. So auf, if you're listening to them, stop it.

I agree with you but I also think aufheben has a point. We’ve been getting outshot a concerning amount lately, and when you look at the season as a whole we almost always start the game slowly. The encouraging part is I think these flaws are very fixable unlike in years past where our biggest flaws were a severe lack of high end talent. That is no longer the case.

 

[JPeeper]

The division doesn't "suck", everyone is just inconsistent. The Sharks, Kings and Ducks suck, the other teams are inconsistent and even the sucky teams still beat the inconsistent teams (because they're shockingly, inconsistent).

Who ever has the best 10 game stretch to end the season wins it (shocking revelation I know), too hard to call right now.

After the debacle of last season and limping into the playoffs last year, I say the Flames take it and peak late this year.

 

[Satire]

I think it will be Vegas or Vancouver. Oilers missing their entire 1st line for the next 3 weeks and Calgary hasn't been able to put together a consistent stretch really since the start of the new year. Arizona missing their Vezina caliber goaltender.

Bigger question is once they get there in the playoffs, which team will actually make some noise? My money is on Vegas, but hot goaltender can take a team far so don't count out Vancouver.

 

[Chairman Maouth]

So...Markstrom sucks?

You're selectively picking your M&M's. Try all the colours.

 

[Jesus Take the Wheel]

Vancouver or Edmonton. They have points, games in hand, and the tie break over the teams below them

 

[Cloned]

If the Oilers win it with McDavid out 3 weeks, there will be a hundred "Trade McDavid" threads.

 

[Duffalufagus]

Canucks had a cake sched in Jan.

 

[Someone]

Nobody knows, and it should be a good race to the bitter end.

On a sidenote, my Oilers just beat the Florida Panthers in mid February and it's considered a big win. The top 5 teams in the pacific are pretty much at a point where they can't go on a big losing streak, and everybody has a close eye on the out of town scores. This is parity. Remind me why everybody says it's such a bad thing?

 

[aufheben]

I agree with you but I also think aufheben has a point. We’ve been getting outshot a concerning amount lately, and when you look at the season as a whole we almost always start the game slowly. The encouraging part is I think these flaws are very fixable unlike in years past where our biggest flaws were a severe lack of high end talent. That is no longer the case.

Yeah, when you have Pettersson, Horvat, Boeser, Hughes, and Demko to build around I wouldn't get too concerned about the long-term outlook, lol. Still gutted Pettersson didn't drop 2 more spots, he could be on the Rangers right now instead of Lias Andersson (who technically isn't on the Rangers either, but yeah).

 

[Teflon Jim]

I've looked at three different point projections, and they all have Vegas and Vancouver finishing 1st or 2nd. I'll say Vegas since they are trending heavily in the right direction, whereas Vancouver is going in the complete opposite. Vancouver's play has completely fallen off a cliff after the first month of the season.

View attachment 321227
View attachment 321237

So after the first month van was not leading the division and fell off but now after 3/4 through the season and leading the division they have been trending down for close to four months.

So by your reasoning and quack charts Vancouver should be close to the bottom of the division after sliding down for more then half the season.

Show us your quack charts for the rest of the pacific division teams and you'll find the rest of the teams have not been winning as much as they did in the first month.
Quack charts indeed.

 

[Teflon Jim]

They have star power, but if one of those players goes on a cold streak they could be passed. Pettersson has an oiSH% of 15.0 right now which is ridiculous, and from this day on last season Pettersson only scored 2 goals and 13 points in the last 23 games of the season. That doesn't mean he will, he could go on a hot streak instead for all I know. Anyway tat's just me guess, I wouldn't be surprised if the Canucks finish 1st at all. Although what's funny is there's basically no benefit to finishing higher or lower in the Pacific other than home ice. Whether they finish 1st or in WC2 they'll play a team that's probably within 0-4 points of them, lol. It's not like the Central where if you finish 1st you get to play like the Coyotes and if you finish 1st you have to play the Avalanche or Stars.

If the nucks finish first in the pacific then the 1st owed to the Aves becomes at best the 23rd over all pick so the nucks are motivated to stick it to the Aves lol

 

[NoName]

Vegas SHOULD, based on their veteran core and their overall talent through the lineup, but they are underperforming.

Honestly wouldn’t surprise me if in this tissue soft division, the individual talent of McJesus and Draisatl drag the Oilers to a division title or even that the feel-good youth movement Vancouver manages to pull it off in the regular season. Both teams are going to exposed when they end up facing a real contender in the playoffs.

Despite underperforming in the regular season, Vegas is the only team in the division that looks built for the postseason and is a true Cup threat, and this is coming from a neutral fan without a horse in the race here (Leaf and Jets are the teams I root for).

 

[KingsFan7824]

I picked Vancouver as my bold prediction before the year, so I'll stick with them.

 

[Shanahanigans]

I'm really impressed at how quickly Vancouver was able to put together a dangerous team post-Sedins. I did not think Jim Benning had that ability in him.

 

[Highmarker]

Kind of tired of people calling the Pacific weak. There is what 5 teams who are like 5 pts back of the blues and avs?