Western Conference Wednesday: Who Will Win the West?
There is plenty of competition in the Western Conference, but two teams rise to the top when it comes to predicting who could be in the Stanley Cup Finals.
The NHL season is nearing the halfway point and while it is too early to be certain of anything, the Locked On Predators podcast decided to make their predictions for which team could be at the top of the Western Conference at the end of the regular season.
After Tuesday night's games, the Vancouver Canucks and Colorado Avalanche are tied for points at the top of the Western Conference although the Canucks have a game in hand. The Winnipeg Jets are just one point behind the Canucks and Avs, while reigning Stanley Cup champions Vegas Golden Knights sit in fourth place with 49 points. The Dallas Stars and L.A. Kings round out the current top six in the Western Conference.
There is still plenty of hockey left to play, but barring injury our top pick to win the west is the Vancouver Canucks. With elite talent like Elias Pettersson and Quinn Hughes, a goaltending tandem of Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith playing at the top of their game, and plenty of depth scorers, it is hard to see a weakness on the Canucks' roster. Their hot play to the season has become the norm, and the team hasn't lost back to back games since mid November.
There is one team that we agree could take over the top spot down the stretch in the Western Conference, and that is the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs have that elite level talent in Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and Cale Makar, and Alexandar Georgiev could do enough to keep the Avalanche at the top of the Conference down the line.