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The Western Conference is essentially the 100-point club. Six or seven of the eight playoff teams will top that mark this season.
The No. 8 team could end up with 95 to 97 points.
There has been no fun in the sun for teams traveling to California this season with the Anaheim Ducks, Los Angeles Kings and San Jose Sharks all playing well at home. Over the past 10 games, those three teams have combined for a record of 21-6-3
The St. Louis Blues, Anaheim, San Jose, Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche and Los Angeles seem to have the top six spots sewn up. Here is how the race for No. 7 and No. 8 looks going into the final month of the season:
Minnesota Wild
Story: The Wild were aggressive at the trade deadline (adding Ilya Bryzgalov and Matt Moulson) in the name of preserving their invitation to the postseason party.
Injuries: G Niklas Backstrom (abdomen), expected to miss the rest of the season, G Josh Harding (illness), indefinite.
Strength: The Wild rank fourth in the NHL in goals-against average
Weakness: The team still struggles to score goals, ranking 27th in the league. They rank second-to-last in hits.
Forecast: The Wild are not an elite team. But they have elite survival skills; they know how to keep every game close. They are extremely comfortable playing one-goal games. No one is catching the Wild for the No.7 seed.
Dallas Stars
Story: The deadline day trade for Tim Thomas looks big now as the Stars have to deal with Kari Lehtonen's injury.
Injuries: G Lehtonen (concussion) is getting closer to returning; C Rich Peverley (heart issue), out for the season; C Shawn Horcoff (upper body), day-to-day.
Strengths: Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn have been among the NHL's most consistent offensive forces this season. The forwards have combined for 455 shots and 56 goals.
Weakness: No Western playoff team has given up more goals than Dallas. The Stars' depth up front is a bit thin.
Forecast: Coach Lindy Ruff has done a masterful job of keeping this team in the hunt. He won't let them falter in the end.
Phoenix Coyotes
Story: Coyotes have won five of their past seven to climb into contention. Phoenix seems more dangerous offensively than it has been in recent years.
Injuries: LW Martin Erat (head), one week; C Martin Hanzal (lower body), day-to-day; D David Schlemko (foot), indefinite.
Strength: They are a top-10 power play team, and a quality faceoff team and their defensemen move the puck well. Keith Yandle leads the team in points.
Weakness: The Coyotes are below .500 on the road and are giving up way too many shots on net. (32 per game) for a Dave Tippett-coached team. Coyotes are also a sub-80% penalty-killing team.
Forecast: The Coyotes' hope would be that they will stay close enough to make their final game against Dallas matter.
Vancouver Canucks
Story: The favorite pastime for Canucks fans seems to be trying to figure out who's to blame for the team's struggles this season.
Injuries: C Ryan Kesler (knee), one week, LW Daniel Sedin (hamstring), indefinite, C Brad Richardson (undisclosed), day-to-day.
Strength: The Canucks — the Sedins, Kesler, Alex Edler, Dan Hamhuis, Kevin Bieksa, Chris Higgins, Jason Garrison, etc. — have a roster that should be a playoff team
Weakness: The Canucks rank second to last in the league in goals per game. Their power play ranks 28th.
Forecast: The Canucks will miss the playoffs and there will be major changes in Vancouver. GM Mike Gillis and coach John Tortorella both seem in jeopardy of losing their jobs and major trades are expected.
Winnipeg Jets
Story: Coach Paul Maurice's hiring put the Jets back in the playoff race.
Injuries: C Mark Scheifele (knee), 6-8 weeks; G Ondrej Pavelec (lower body), C Mark Slater (lower body), day-to-day.
Strength: Winnipeg ranks fifth in penalty killing. The Jets have proved to be resilient.
Weakness: The Jets have the second-worst power play in the Western Conference and rank in the bottom three in the NHL in faceoff percentage.
Forecast: Scheifele's injury seemed to rob the Jets of their momentum. The Jets are falling off the playoff radar.
Nashville Predators
Story: The Predators simply weren't deep enough to overcome the loss of goalie Pekka Rinne for most of the season.
Injuries: None
MORE: Predators might change style of play
Strength: The Predators are in the top 10 in shot blocking and power play.
Weakness: Second-worst home record in the Western Conference. The Predators rank 24th in scoring average and 27th in 5-on-5 scoring.
Forecast: Too big of a mountain to climb, too much traffic in front of them.
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