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West update: Wild card teams stay alive (for now)

Jason Garrison,  Jarret Stoll

Vancouver Canucks defenseman Jason Garrison, left, and Los Angeles Kings center Jarret Stoll (28) collide in the first period of an NHL hockey game in Los Angeles, Monday, Jan. 13, 2014. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)

AP

While the East playoff picture only grows more complicated, the West seems primed to be rather straightforward. Even so, lower conference contenders avoided mathematical elimination for at least one day. Here’s a quick look at how everything shakes out after Saturday’s action:


  • Much like current second-ranked wild card team Dallas, the Minnesota Wild strengthened their lead on one of the final two wild card spots by winning. In their case, they soundly beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-0.
  • The idle Phoenix Coyotes are almost certainly the only credible threat to usurp the Stars as they’re only one point behind.
  • Still, the Nashville Predators are now on a three-game winning streak, with victories against the Capitals, Ducks and Sharks. That included a 3-0 win against San Jose on Saturday. They’re also 6-1-1 in their last eight games. At minimum, they don’t seem interested in tanking, which is interesting because their next to games come against Dallas (Tuesday) and Phoenix (Thursday).
  • The Vancouver Canucks have been sagging by comparison, but they managed a tough 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings to stay alive for at least another day. The Predators own tiebreaker advantages for 10th place in the West, however.
  • Out in the Central Division, the Colorado Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues to give themselves a three-point advantage over the Chicago Blackhawks for second place in the division. Pacific Division teams in action struggled on Saturday, as the San Jose Sharks failed to hop over the idle Anaheim Ducks for first in the Pacific while the Kings lost that game against Vancouver.

Here is how it all looks in the West after Saturday:

ape5west

James OBrien

Follow James O’Brien @cyclelikesedins