Avry Lewis-McDougall looks at the Seattle Kraken, the Vegas Golden Knights and the Edmonton Oilers to see what makes the NHL's Pacific Division so exciting.
The NHL's Pacific Division has been worth paying attention to all season long.
The jockeying between the Oilers, Kraken, Kings and Golden Knights has been entertaining and suspenseful. With the division still up for grabs, there have been a few interesting storylines that have emerged this season. Let's take a look at three of them.
Jonathan's Quick Revival in Vegas
Suppose you had told someone at the start of this season that longtime Kings netminder Jonathan Quick would end his season not only with another team but with the potential to play against the Kings in a playoff series. They might have looked at you like you had two heads.
Before acquiring Quick, this season was one to forget for the veteran.
In 31 games with the Kings, Quick had an 11-13-4 mark, a concerning 3.50 GAA and a .876 save percentage.
After a sequence that saw him traded to Columbus and flipped to Vegas, he's turned back the clock to start his Golden Knights tenure. Quick won his first four starts with a .930 save percentage, 2.22 GAA and one shutout.
How long can he keep up this play? That has yet to be determined, but Quick allowed six goals in his last game, a 7-2 loss to Calgary. He may not be the long-term solution for Vegas, but for a playoff run, don't be surprised if he's the guy this team relies upon in the post-season.
The Seattle Kraken Are Hanging Around
The traditional trend of an expansion team taking a few years before making the playoffs might be a thing of the past in the NHL.
The Vegas Golden Knights shocked the sports world with their run to the Stanley Cup final as an expansion team in 2017-18, and the Seattle Kraken are right in the thick of a playoff battle in their second season. They currently sit in the first wild-card spot in the Western Conference, but they have a relatively easy schedule for the rest of the season.
Five players have 40-plus points on the Kraken, with Vince Dunn leading the way with a career-high 57 points.
Dunn hasn't been the only one setting new career marks in Seattle.
Jared McCann never put up a 20-goal season before joining the Kraken. After 27 goals last year, he is now on pace to become Seattle's first 40-goal scorer, sitting with 33 goals in 66 games.
The stability and production up front have allowed this team to remain in a playoff spot, even with a subpar goaltending tandem.
Martin Jones and Phillip Grubauer have goals-against averages above 3.00 and save percentages under .900, but the Kraken have been able to overcome them this year for the most part. Jones leads the way with a 24-12-3 mark, but Philipp Grubauer has been the No. 1 lately, with a 5-1-1 record in March.
If Seattle holds onto a spot in the West, they could be a dark horse pick to win a round or two.
Edmonton Oilers Players Set New Bests
One thing you can never say about the Edmonton Oilers is that they're boring.
As a franchise in win-now mode with two of the best players in the entire world, there's a lot to be impressed with. But where do we begin? Is it Connor McDavid being on pace for over 60 goals and 150 points? Or Leon Draisaitl being on the verge of yet another career-best campaign? What about a potential record-breaking power play?
Offensively, it has been a treat to watch the forward units step up this season. It hasn't just come from McDavid and Draisaitl, as this team has been able to get career-high contributions from the likes of Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Zach Hyman, as well as timely depth-scoring scoring from Derek Ryan, Warren Foegele and Ryan McLeod.
Defensively, the addition of Mattias Ekholm from Nashville at the trade deadline was a much-needed boost to the roster, particularly on a pairing with Evan Bouchard. In nine games, the Bouchard-Ekholm pairing has a Corsi-for of 56.63 percent in all situations and has been on the ice for only five goals against, according to naturalstattrick.com.
For Bouchard, the addition of Ekholm has helped him boost his play considerably at just the right time.
"Having him here has been a huge help for the team and myself individually," said Bouchard to reporters.
"He's such a special player. He moves well, he's big, he's dynamic, he kind of does a little bit of everything, and that's a huge asset for our team. To play with him gives me confidence and makes it easy for me out there."
With all the positives, it does make you wonder where would this team be if they committed to Stuart Skinner a little earlier in the season as the No. 1 goaltender.
Coming into this season, the plan was for Jack Campbell to be the top dog after signing him to a five-year contract, but Stuart Skinner has been able to take the crease amid Campbell's struggles with a 22-14-4 record, a 2.90 goals-against average and a .911 save percentage while also earning him his first trip to the NHL All-Star Game.
You can't turn back the clock now, of course. But even with the moves made and a clear eye on winning now, one can argue that Edmonton should be closer to the Pacific lead.
With a team that is looking stabilized, it will be hard to go against them as a squad that again might be among the final four, or even final two, teams standing this summer.