We're into the second half of the hockey season, and the push for the playoffs begin!

Tons of Power on the Western Front

Written by: admin on 25th January 2010

Tons of Power on the Western Front | read this item

If someone were to ask you what the most competitive division in the National Hockey League (NHL) was, how would you respond?

There is the ever famous Northeast division with the Toronto, Montreal, and Boston rivalry; the Northwest division with the ongoing rivalries between the teams in Western Canada and the Pacific division with all the teams anyone hardly notices.

To answer the question, it is the conference that people tend to ignore, the Pacific division, that is the toughest in the Western Conference.

For starters you have the San Jose Sharks leading the league in points. Not only are they in first place but they also have three of the top ten leading point scorers and one of the better goalies in Evgeni Nabokov (3^rd in save percentage, 4^th in GAA and 2^nd in wins). The Sharks have been a serious contender for the past couple of seasons and seem to be one of the favorites again this year to win the Stanley Cup.

The Anaheim Ducks are another great team that are out of the Pacific Division. After only making the playoffs twice in their first nine seasons, the Ducks have since made the playoffs five times in the last six seasons. Of those last five playoff visits, the Ducks have won the Stanley Cup (2007), made it to the Conference finals (2004), and the Cup finals (2003), only to come up just a bit short.

If the season were to end today three teams from the Pacific Division would make the playoffs (Sharks, Coyotes and Kings) followed closely by the Stars and Ducks. From first to last place within the division, all five teams are only separated by 23 points, as of Jan 24, 2010. This is the closest differential in the Western Conference, which is surprising when you consider it’s home to the first place team in the NHL with 78 points.

Supporting their clear dominance not only in the Western Conference, but within the entire league, the Pacific division generates the second greatest number of NHL Olympians with 27. The Central division has the most with 28 followed by the Pacific with 27, Northeast (24), Atlantic (21), Northwest (21) and the Southeast (19).

The Sharks look to be good for years to come; the Coyotes and Kings have their young talent blooming; and the Stars and Ducks seem to always a threat come playoff time, making this the more competitive division in the NHL today.

For OpenIceHockey, I’m your voice of reason, Greg Weeks

Topics: Anaheim Ducks, Central division, Dallas Stars, LA Kings, Northwest division, Pacific Division, Phoenix Coyotes, San Jose Sharks, Western Conference