True North Strong (NHL Western Conference Playoff Picture)

As the Four Nations Champion is about to be crowned, the time for the regular season to resume is getting closer and closer. We are now entering my favorite part of the season: the part where we see early Sunday games on national TV. In fact, the first Sunday to feature such games will be this upcoming one, February 23. I love seeing early Sunday games on national TV; it's a huge sign that the season has reached the home stretch, and the playoff push has arrived.

As a Western Conference guy, I'm both excited and a tad nervous. The East was about teams finally being above ground late in the season for the first time in what seems like forever. In the West, the theme is teams being pushed down because there's no room for certain positions. Here's a look at the Western Conference playoff picture during this break:

Central Division

The Central Division. My division. The Winnipeg Jets lead the division (and the entire league) with 81 points and 39 wins in 56 games. The Dallas Stars are in a distant second place with 72 points, while the Minnesota Wild sit at third place with 70 points. The Jets are responding big time to their playoff embarrassment last year. They went on a huge winning tear to start the season, and they haven't really looked back. Connor Hellebuyck is in Vezina mode, and players such as Kyle Connor, Mark Schiefele, and Josh Morrissey are tearing it up.

The Stars and Wild are still somehow winning games, and it frustrates this Avalanche fan to no end. This is especially true when it comes to Minnesota, as they are still above ground despite the fact that they've been playing quite a few games without Kirill Kaprizov. Now while another Stars/Wild playoff series would be delicious, that Top 3 needs to change during the final eight weeks of the season.

Pacific Division

In the Pacific Division, we have quite a battle for first place. The Edmonton Oilers and the Vegas Golden Knights are tied with 72 points, but Edmonton's game in hand put them ahead of Vegas. In third place, the team that's finished in third in the Pacific for three straight years, the Los Angeles Kings, with 65 points. Ever since the NHL went back to the normal scheduling after the COVID-affected seasons, the Oilers and Kings have represented two-thirds of the Pacific's Top 3, though despite Vegas' status as a top team in the league, this is the second time of the four years (including this one) that they join the Oilers and Kings in the Top 3.

I kinda expected the Oilers to go backwards after the year they had, but they look like more of a threat to finish first in the Pacific than Vegas does. The two teams have one more meeting left this season, and that will take place on April 1. That's going to be a big game. As for the Kings, they really need to try to finish second at least. Maybe home ice advantage will help LA win a playoff series for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2014.

Wild Cards

The Wild Card picture in the West isn't as nail-biting as it is in the East, but it has its moments. Regarding the two spots, the Colorado Avalanche and the Vancouver Canucks are holding them; the Avs have the first spot with 68 points, while the Canucks have the second spot with 63 points. Vancouver leads the Calgary Flames by three points for that last spot, and regarding the overall picture, not many teams in the West have a realistic shot. Utah is doing well in their first year, but they're not really a threat. The St. Louis Blues are too far behind, the Anaheim Ducks are doing much better than they have in years past, but they're too far behind, and the Seattle Kraken are in tear it down mode.

As an Avs fan, considering the bad start we had, I'll take us being above ground in any form. However, we really need to move up to the Top 3, and we trail by two points and are behind teams with games in hand over us. The Canucks are also two points out of the Top 3, so we could see things change in Pacific as well as the Central. Oh, and regarding my title of this story, it's because the West's Canadian franchises are looking good ths year. The Jets and Oilers are in first place, and the Canucks and Flames are battling it out for the last spot in the West.

The home stretch of the NHL season is upon us! Again, the West races aren't as deep as the ones out East, but they are intriguing and they are quite exciting. Here's to what should be a thrilling final 55 days of the 2024-25 season!