{"id":269309,"date":"2026-04-15T16:45:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:45:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/269309\/"},"modified":"2026-04-15T16:45:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-15T16:45:20","slug":"final-two-days-of-nhl-season-will-determine-pacific-division-standings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/269309\/","title":{"rendered":"Final two days of NHL season will determine Pacific Division standings"},"content":{"rendered":"

Most of the Stanley Cup playoff picture is set, but the Pacific Division<\/a> is still up for grabs heading into the final days of the season.With the Ducks and Kings both losing in regulation on Tuesday, the top four teams in the division are separated by just three points with one game remaining<\/a>.Vegas leads with 93 points, followed by Edmonton<\/a> with 91, while Anaheim and Los Angeles sit at 90. The Oilers hold the tiebreaker over all three teams with more regulation wins.<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights can clinch their sixth Pacific Division title in nine seasons with a point against Seattle on Wednesday. Vegas has gone 6-0-1 since firing Bruce Cassidy and hiring John Tortorella as head coach. Another win would secure home-ice advantage through the first two rounds of the playoffs.<\/p>\n

A regulation loss by Vegas, meanwhile, would open the door for Edmonton to win its first division title since the 1980s. The Oilers won the Smythe Division six straight years from 1981-82 to 1986-87 during their dynasty era. They never won the Northwest Division and have yet to finish atop the Pacific.<\/p>\n

If Vegas drops its final game and Edmonton beats Vancouver in its finale, the Oilers<\/a> would claim the division. If the Golden Knights take care of business in Seattle, the focus shifts to how the rest of the division shakes out on Thursday.<\/p>\n

While Edmonton hosts Vancouver, Anaheim will be on the road in Nashville and Los Angeles will play in Calgary. A regulation loss to Vancouver would allow the Ducks and\/or Kings to jump the Oilers with wins in their respective games.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the worst-case scenario for Edmonton. A regulation loss to Vancouver, combined with wins by both the Ducks and Kings, would drop the Oilers into the second wild-card spot, setting up a first-round matchup with the Presidents\u2019 Trophy-winning Avalanche<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A lot can change over the final two days of the 2025-26 season. The Oilers can win the Pacific Division, but they can also fall into a wild-card spot. They could face a young Anaheim team in the first round, or meet Los Angeles for a fifth consecutive year to open the playoffs.<\/p>\n

Edmonton can\u2019t control what happens with Vegas, Anaheim, or Los Angeles over the next two days. All the team can control is what happens when Vancouver visits Rogers Place for the regular-season finale.<\/p>\n

Though the Canucks sit at the bottom of the standings, they\u2019re leaning into the spoiler role. Vancouver has won three straight games, the team\u2019s longest streak since December.<\/p>\n

Game 82 may come against a basement team, but for Edmonton, it\u2019ll feel like a playoff game. Taking care of business is the only way to guarantee avoiding the worst-case scenario.<\/p>\n

PRESENTED BY SOUTHVIEW ACURA\"\"<\/a>At Southview Acura, luxury isn\u2019t just what you drive, it\u2019s how you\u2019re treated. Family owned and operated, we\u2019re proud to offer an exceptional selection of new and certified pre-owned Acuras, backed by a service experience built on trust and precision. Whether it\u2019s your first visit or your next, our team is committed to excellence every step of the way. Visit Southview Acura today or online at www.SouthviewAcura.com<\/a>, where luxury meets reality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Most of the Stanley Cup playoff picture is set, but the Pacific Division is still up for grabs…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":269310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,165,164],"class_list":["post-269309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=269309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/269309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/269310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=269309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=269309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=269309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}