LGHL S29 Playoff Race Update: Western Conference - A look in to all the west teams in the playoff picture this season. Central Division Chicago Blackhawks 54-12-7 115PTS 224GF 118GA 8-1-1 Under new management, the new Chicago Blackhawks are on the same pace as the Stanley Cup championship team last season. Even with several large trades the team has been extremely consistent. Chicago has only had one 4 loss week all season, leaving them in a guaranteed divisional seed and a battle with Winnipeg for the President's Trophy. Currently leading the league in goals for and goals against and on a good stretch through their last 10 games, Chicago is definitely in a good position going into the playoffs. Winnipeg Jets 52-16-5 109PTS 224GF 132GA 5-5-0 Winnipeg has been leading the league up until the last few weeks, and even though they've been in a rough patch with a 5-5-0 last 10 they have improved their overall roster on paper. Winnipeg has the most 7+ win weeks this season compared to the rest of the league, and they will want to have another one to end the season and push for the home ice advantage throughout the playoffs. Colorado Avalanche 44-18-11 99PTS 183GF 121GA 4-4-2 The playoff picture for the Central division ends here with Colorado. They've been playing second fiddle to Chicago and Winnipeg most of the season but have made efforts to close the gap with trades and taking a large portion of their losses to overtime. Defensively Colorado has improved with the acquisition of Kernsy and a backup to EgoKiller who is having a Vezina caliber season. This final week may not matter a whole lot to them in terms of positioning, so expect them to try out some playoff lines where possible. Pacific Division San Jose Sharks 49-22-2 100PTS 186GF 136GA 5-5-0 San Jose arguably has one of the best game 7 lines any team could field, but with that they've really struggled in terms of forward depth. While they've kept the goals against totals down, winning them a lot of games, their goals for total has been surprisingly low. A majority of their wins lay with their best forwards who have been carrying the load all season. With only a four point lead in the division going into the final week they are going to depend on either elite defense or their depth scoring improve. They may get some weaker lines as many divisional foes put their top lines against opponents closer in the standings. Vancouver Canucks 46-23-4 96PTS 163GF 128GA 9-1-0 Vancouver had really been struggling the past few weeks coming into week 8 and were in dire need of their 8 win week bringing them withing striking distance of San Jose. While also being in a position to possibly take the division they are still no guarantee to be a divisional seed if they struggle in the final week. They face San Jose twice this week, and they will be the two big games to watch in the west in terms of who will come out as the division winner. Calgary Flames 44-26-3 91PTS 186GF 177GA 8-2-0 Calgary, like Colorado, has been in the third slot for most of the season. Quietly building up a decent team built around their great depth at forward and defense. They have been about average in terms of offensive production and defensive efficiency, with neither pulling the team down as a whole. The question will be if they can maintain their pace in a week that sees them facing their division and likely plenty of top lines from people looking to jump them in the standings. Anaheim Ducks 43-25-5 91PTS 231GF 195GA 8-1-1 Anaheim has probably been one of the most improved teams from the start of the season to now. With that they've been on a tear since the trade deadline with a 15-3 record since their big moves. They are now tied with Calgary for the final divisional spot and are also holding the current first wildcard spot. Having the highest goals for total in the west you should expect to see them having a successful final week against what is a somewhat weak division defensively past San Jose and Vancouver. Arizona Coyotes 37-25-11 85PTS 216GF 184GA 8-1-1 THESE YOTES have been doing a lot better since their purge of Strizzy and the takeover the Shockz as a manager. While they have been slowly creeping up into a wild card spot they are also being challenged by almost every Pacific team below them. Arizona has went 21-8 since the transition. That stretch of success can be attributed to the overall depth of the new look Coyotes. The question now becomes how many top lines they are going to face in this final week. Edmonton Oilers 37-29-7 81PTS 197GF 204GA 6-2-2 Poopie Snoopie....playoff bound???? This has been one of the big surprises of the season. Edmonton is actually looking at a possible wild card spot in a rather tough division. They will need a few things to go in their favor to as well as winning their own games to make it in, but if Aye Keeks and Luigi can carry for one more week we may be seeing something almost nobody predicted. Vegas Golden Knights 36-28-9 81PTS 169GF 152GA 7-3-0 Vegas has to be the streakiest team this season with two 7+ game win streaks and with two 8 game stretches with 7 losses. In a season of many ups and downs the fact that they are still in the fight can be attributed to the veteran presence of Duggan and "do-nothing" manager SJUSoccer. They are in the same boat of Edmonton, needing some luck and success to get in. To do so they're going to have to pull out a lot of tight wins. PLAYOFF PREDICTIONS: Index: P- President's Trophy Z- Clinched Conference, Y- Clinched Division, X- Clinched Playoffs, W- Clinched Wild Card, E- Eliminated Central Division: 1. Chicago Blackhawks (P) 2. Winnipeg Jets (X) 3. Colorado Avalanche (X) Pacific Division: 1. San Jose Sharks (Y) 2. Vancouver Canucks (X) 3. Anaheim Ducks (X) 4. Calgary Flames (W1) 5. Arizona Coyotes (W2) 6. Vegas Golden Knights (E) 7. Edmonton Oilers (E) Support the news team, like, comment & share your thoughts on their work