Vancouver Canucks (Pacific Division 2) vs. Vegas Golden Knights (Pacific Division 3)
The Vancouver Canucks have been steamrolling the competition for the better part of the season. The current Pacific Division leaders built themselves a comfortable cushion atop the division, one-time standing head and shoulders above the rest of the NHL. Now, they could soon be relegated to the second seed in the conference, setting up a grudge match with the Vegas Golden Knights.
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Inevitably, the Canucks were going to come back down to earth, but a goaltending injury may have facilitated that correction. Vancouver was operating well above expected throughout the season, a fact that remains. Their 59.2% actual goals-for rating substantially deviates from their expected value of 51.8%.
Thatcher Demko went down with a lower-body injury at the start of the month. Since then, Casey DeSmith has taken over, and although he's filled in admirably, he hasn't replaced Demko's productivity.
Vegas has climbed up the standings lately, but its progress will be stalled at this rung. Their reward for their recent improvement is a date with the regression-bound Canucks.
