Overall, it was a pretty fun season, with four Pacific Division teams making the post-season. Of course, the Vegas Golden Knights and Edmonton Oilers made it, but so did the Anaheim Ducks, the first time since 2018. The Los Angeles Kings also made the post-season, but won’t play the Oilers in the fourth round for the fifth consecutive season.

Even two other Pacific Division teams, the San Jose Sharks and Seattle Kraken, were in it until the bitter end. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on your outlook), the Calgary Flames weren’t able to repeat the success of 2024-25, finishing with the fourth fewest points. And the Vancouver Canucks? Well, they were the 2025-26 Vancouver Canucks. Not much more needs to be said.

In the final edition of What’s Going On In the Pacific Division, we’ll look at how this last week went, leading scorers for all teams, how my pre-season predictions went, and set up the eight playoff series. Let’s dig in!

Anaheim Ducks

In their remaining four games, the Ducks went 2-1-1. They defeated the Sharks by a score of 6-1, but lost 4-3 in overtime to the Canucks, then 3-2 to the Wild. With a victory over the Nashville Predators on Thursday, they solidified third in the Pacific Division.

Their leading scorer in both goals and points was Cutter Gauthier, who scored 41 goals and 69 points. Gauthier was one of 11 players with double-digit goals, and he was closely trailed by Leo Carlsson in the point department, as the second overall pick in 2023 finished with 29 goals and 67 points. Netminder Lukáš Dostál regressed a bit this season, finishing with an .888 save percentage in 56 games.

Next up for the Ducks is a series against the Oilers, the first time the two teams have matched up since 2017. Game 1 is on Monday at 8:00 p.m. MT in Alberta, as is Game 2 which is on Wednesday at the same time.

Calgary Flames

Unfortunately for the Flames, their season has come to an end, albeit we have known that for quite a while. It wasn’t like last season, when they finished with 96 points and still missed out on the playoffs.

They played five games since the last edition of What’s Going On In the Pacific Division, falling 3-1 to the Colorado Avalanche (twice) and 4-1 to the Kraken. However, they defeated the Utah Mammoth and Kings, meaning they finished with the fourth-fewest points.

Leading the way in points was Matt Coronato, who potted 18 goals and 45 points. Mikael Backlund, Morgan Frost, and Nazem Kadri all finished with 40 or more points, while Frost led the team with 22 goals. Joel Farabee and Blake Coleman hit the 20-goal plateau as well. Like Dostál, Dustin Wolf took a step back this season, finishing with an .899 save percentage in 58 games.

Next up for the Flames is the draft lottery, with that taking place on May 5.

Edmonton Oilers

The Oilers finished with 93 points, their lowest total (in a non-pandemic impacted season) since 2018-19, when they finished with 79 points. But with how weak the Pacific Division was this season, they’ll get home-ice advantage in the first round. This week, they fell 1-0 to the Kings, 2-1 in a shootout to the Avalanche, before securing second in the division with a 6-1 victory over the Canucks.

Connor McDavid won his sixth Art Ross Trophy, finishing with 48 goals and 138 points. Again, it was a pretty top heavy year for the Oilers, as Leon Draisaitl scored 35 goals and 97 points in 65 games, while defenceman Evan Bouchard scored 21 goals and 95 points, leading defenceman in the latter category. They used four netminders this season, trading Stuart Skinner midway through the season. Connor Ingram has emerged as the start, and he had an .899 save percentage in 32 games played.

The Oilers host the Ducks on Monday for Game 1, while Game 2 will be played on Wednesday.

Los Angeles Kings

There was still an outside chance for the Kings to play the Oilers for a fifth consecutive season, but the Kings faltered down the stretch. They beat the Oilers 1-0 and the Kraken 5-3, but fell 4-3 in overtime to the Canucks and 3-1 to the Flames. Had they beaten the Flames, it wouldn’t have been enough to finish third in the division.

Adrian Kempe led the Kings in both goals (36) and points (73). He was by far their most productive player, as Quinton Byfield, second in goals and points, finished with 24 and 49 respectively. Anže Kopitar is set to retire whenever the Kings’ season ends, and he finished with 12 goals and 38 points. Artemi Panarin finished with nine goals and 27 points after he was traded from the Rangers. Darcy Kuemper started the majority of the games this season, finishing with an .891 save percentage in 51 games.

Instead, the Kings get a first round matchup with the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche. Game 1 is on Sunday, Game 2 is on Tuesday, and they’ll return home for Game 3 on Thursday.

San Jose Sharks

The San Jose Sharks faltered late in the season, but was that season ever fun to watch. Down the stretch, they fell 6-1 to the Ducks, 4-3 in a shootout to the Canucks, and 5-2 against the Chicago Blackhawks. However, they defeated the Nashville Predators 3-2, helping L.A. make the playoffs, and finished their season off with a 6-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.

What a season it was for 2024 first overall pick, Macklin Celebrini. He looks like the next Sidney Crosby or Connor McDavid, finishing with a team-leading 45 goals and 115 points in 82 games. The next closest player was Will Smith, who scored 24 goals and 59 points.

If the Sharks get a solid defence core and see some breakouts from a few younger players, this team is going to be good for a very long time.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken were around a playoff spot for most of the season before struggling midway through March until the end of the season. They didn’t even play spoiler well, beating the Golden Knights 4-3 in a shootout and the Flames 4-1, before dropping a 5-3 decision to the Kings, a 4-1 loss to the Knights, and a 2-0 loss to the Avalanche.

Captain Jordan Eberle led the team with 26 goals and 55 points. It’s good to see my favourite player growing up lead a team as a 35-year-old in 2025-26, but oh man are the Kraken ever directionless right now. One of only a few bright spots was Philipp Grubauer, who bounced back with a .909 save percentage in 32 games.

Maybe they’ll draft a defenceman in the first round for the first time in franchise history, as they finished with the sixth-fewest points in the NHL.

Vancouver Canucks

It was an awful season for the Canucks, who traded one of the best defencemen in the league in Quinn Hughes. Want a microcosm of their season? They lost 4-1 to the Kings on Thursday, before defeating the Sharks, Ducks, and Kings 4-3 in either overtime or a shootout. Then they got stomped 6-1 in their season finale against the Oilers.

Elias Pettersson scored 15 goals and led the team with 51 points. Not far behind was Filip Hronek, who has eight goals and 49 points. Brock Boeser scored 22 goals and 48 points, while Jake DeBrusk led the team with 23 goals and had 42 points.

It’s going to be a long time before the Canucks are a good hockey team again.

Vegas Golden Knights

For the second consecutive season, the Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division. A big reason for that was the firing of Bruce Cassidy in late March, as the Knights embarked on a 7-0-1 record in their remaining eight games with John Tortorella behind the bench. Didn’t have that on my bingo card.

They secured the Pacific Division title in the final week, falling 4-3 in a shootout to the Kraken, before defeating the Avalanche 3-2 in overtime, the Jets 6-2, and the Kraken 4-1 in their season finale on Wednesday.

Jack Eichel led the way with 90 points, potting 27 goals in the process. Newcomer Mitch Marner finished with 24 goals and 80 points, while Mark Stone scored 28 goals and 73 points. Leading the in the goal department for the second consecutive season was Pavel Dorofeyev, scoring a career-high 37 goals with 27 assists. Goaltending is a weak spot for the Knights heading into the playoffs

They also get the harder matchup than they would have had they finished second, as they have a first round date with the Mammoth. Game 1 is on Sunday at 8:00 p.m. MT, followed by Game 2 on Tuesday at 7;30 p.m. MT.

Setting up the playoffs

Finishing first in the Pacific Division was the Golden Knights, meaning they’ll play a wild team. That wild card team happens to be the Utah Mammoth, the first time the organization has been in the playoffs since moving to Salt Lake City. Not counting the pandemic playoffs, it’s the first time the franchise has made the post-season since 2011-12 when they were known as the Phoenix Coyotes.

The Pacific Division showdown will be between the Oilers and Ducks. It’s the first time the Ducks have been to the post-season since 2018 and they have a good young team. Nine years ago, the two teams matched up in the second round, with the experienced Ducks getting the better of the young Oilers. It’ll probably be the other way around this season.

As for the other Pacific Division team to make the post-season, the Kings are in tough. Fortunately for them, they won’t be playing the Oilers for an NHL record fifth consecutive year, but instead play the Avalanche. Finishing with just 22 regulation wins and an NHL record 33 overtime games. They’re the eighth-seeded team playing the Presidents’ Trophy-winning team, but hey, the last time the Kings were the eighth seed, they were the first team to ever win the Stanley Cup from that position.

Finally, the other Western Conference matchup is between the Dallas Stars and Minnesota Wild. The Stars have made the last three Western Conference Finals, but fell to the Golden Knights in 2023, and the Oilers in 2024 and 2025. As for the Wild, they’re looking for their first series win since 2014-15, and their first win in the second round since the 2014 post-season.

For the first time since the NHL Bracket Challenge was introduced, the Buffalo Sabres have made the post-season. The last time they made it was all the way back in 2010-11 and they haven’t won a series since 2007. They’ll play the Boston Bruins, who beat them in six games back in 2010.

Another Atlantic Division matchup is the Tampa Bay Lightning against the Montréal Canadiens. Out of any series, this is the one I’m most excited for, at least in the Eastern Conference. It’s the second consecutive season the Canadiens have made the playoffs, while the Lightning look to return to the Stanley Cup Finals after going to three from 2020 until 2022. They won’t have to face the Florida Panthers this year, at least.

Those four Atlantic Division teams aren’t the only teams to make it, as the Ottawa Senators squeaked into the wild card spot after a terrific second half of the season. Like the Canadiens, it’s the second consecutive season the Senators have made the playoffs, as they went seven consecutive seasons without playoff hockey. Even though both the Hurricanes and Senators were contenders in the naughties, this will be their first series. The Hurricanes have been to back-to-back Eastern Conference Finals.

Lastly, we’ll get the first Battle of Pennsylvania between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Philadelphia Flyers. The last time the two teams matched up was in 2018, when the Penguins took it in six games. One of the more memorable playoffs series from the 2010s was their 2012 quarterfinal matchup when they combined for 56 goals over six games. That’s tied for the eighth-most goals in any series in NHL history, and tied for the fourth-most in a six-game series.

Ryley’s pre-season predictions

Before the start of the season, a few of our writers got together for a roundtable. The questions asked were:

Where will the Flames finish this season?

What will the Flames record be?

Who will be the Flames’ leading point scorer?

Who will be the Flames leading goal scorer?

Which player will exceed expectations?

Which player will not meet expectations/disappoint?

Will a Flames player be in contention for a major award at the end of the season, and who will it be?

I projected that the Flames would be in the mushy middle, but thankfully I was incorrect. They finished with the fourth-fewest points, which means a pick no lower than sixth overall. Similarly, I had them finishing with a 38-36-8 record for 84 points. They finished with a 34-39-9 record with 77 points, so pretty close actually.

Like the rest of our writers, I pegged Nazem Kadri as the team’s point scorer. Obviously, Kadri was traded to the Colorado Avalanche before the trade deadline. Still, he was pretty close to leading the team in points, finishing with 41 points with 12 goals. Matt Coronato took it with 45 points, with Morgan Frost and Mikael Backlund not too far behind (43 points)

Coronato was my pick for the leading goal scorer. Not only did I predict he’d lead the team in goals, but that he’d score 35+. That did not happen, finishing with 18 goals, four behind Frost and two behind both Blake Coleman and Joel Farabee. Not my best prediction, but I still maintain he’ll be a 35+ goal scorer in the future.

Another not-so-great prediction of mine was that Connor Zary was going to have a breakout season and exceed expectations. This season, he finished with 12 goals and 25 points in 74 games, which is seemingly becoming a norm for him. Last season, he finished with 13 goals and 27 points, albeit in 54 games, while finishing with 14 goals and 34 points in 63 games during his rookie season.

One prediction I’m upset about getting correct is about Dustin Wolf. I had him as my pick for the player who wouldn’t meet expectations. Over 58 games, he finished with an .899 save percentage and 2.99 goals against average, much worse than his .910 save percentage and 2.64 goals against average last season. That’s still above average, the NHL’s average save percentage was .895 this season, but he’ll bounce back next season.

Finally, I had MacKenzie Weegar as a finalist for the Norris Trophy and Zayne Parekh winning the Calder Trophy. Neither prediction was right, as the Norris will be contested between Evan Bouchard, Zach Werenski, Cale Makar, and a few other players. It should probably go to Bouchard. As for Parekh, who has a lot of similarities to Bouchard, he played just 37 games this season.

There were also three NHL-related projections regarding the division winners, Stanley Cup Finalists, and who’ll be the Stanley Cup Champion. For the division, I had the Edmonton Oilers, Dallas Stars, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Carolina Hurricanes finishing first. So, I got a quarter right, one answer that was pretty close, and the Maple Leafs.

In the Stanley Cup Finals, I had round three of the Oilers and Florida Panthers with the Oilers taking it. While the Oilers could still win it, as unlikely as that is, the Panthers were eliminated and will be in the lottery.

Ryley Delaney is a Nation Network writer for FlamesNation, Oilersnation, and Blue Jays Nation. She can be followed on Twitter @Ryley__Delaney.

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