SEATTLE — One has to look far West to discover the tightest division in the NHL this season.
In the Atlantic, there's a 43 point difference between first place Boston and the Florida Panthers in fourth. It's much tighter in the Metropolitan, with 20 points separating the Carolina Hurricanes and New York Islanders.
Pending the results of Friday's action, there will be a 13 to 14 point difference between the Dallas Stars or Colorado Avalanche and the fourth-place Winnipeg Jets,
That leaves the Pacific, where a scant 11 points separate the Vegas Golden Knights in first and the Seattle Kraken in fourth.
Two points separate Vegas and the Edmonton Oilers, and there's a seven-point gap between the Golden Knights and the Los Angeles Kings, setting up quite a battle for Pacific prevalence.
However, because of the wild card format, the Golden Knights will play the Jets in round one, leaving the Kraken to play the Central winner.
The Vegas Golden Knights checked off two important boxes in Game 82 of the season by beating the Seattle Kraken: Pacific Division Champs and #1 seed in the West. Vegas also tied the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 4th best record overall.
The five points that separate the Kings and Oilers is the slimmest margin among first-round opponents, level with the New York Rangers vs. New Jersey Devils, although that could change based on the Central Division standings.
Add it all up, and Eastern NHL fans will want to stay up to watch some of these games.
Eddie Garcia of the Locked on Kings podcast, Brett Holden of Locked on Oilers, Chris Gawlik of Locked on Golden Knights and Erika Ayala of Locked on Kraken got together to discuss where their teams stand, including final division standings scenarios.