Who will come out of the NHL's tight Pacific Division?

On the morning of Jan. 20, the Anaheim Ducks sat 16 points behind the Pacific Division-leading Los Angeles Kings. Since that day, the Ducks have gone on an 18-1-1 run — including a franchise best 11-game winning streak — and overtook the lead in the division following a fist-laden feud with the Kings last Saturday — in addition to making contests between the Southern California teams matchups that hockey media and fans alike can’t wait to see in this year’s playoffs.

But the Ducks aren’t the only team that the Kings have battled in their quest for another playoff appearance. Due north, the San Jose Sharks are continuing what has been a bounce-back season and have an easier schedule as the regular season draws to a close, giving them ample opportunity to claw even closer to the SoCal squads.

It really is the wild, wild west. The competition is tight atop the Pacific, and all three teams need to keep an eye on each other.

Sharks forward Patrick Marleau acknowledged it after San Jose’s Saturday night loss to the Vancouver Canucks. “We need to keep pace with those guys,” he said of Los Angeles and Anaheim. “And take care of our games, and hopefully some other teams.”

That is all very possible, as Curtis Pashelka of the San Jose Mercury News explained on Monday:

After Monday (in Calgary), the Sharks face the Oilers in Edmonton on Tuesday, then return home to play the New Jersey Devils on Thursday. In all, including tonight, the Sharks have 10 games left against teams that are at least five points out of a playoff spot. The Anaheim Ducks’ immediate schedule is a lot tougher. 

If the Sharks have any aspirations of catching Anaheim for first place in the Pacific Division, clearly it would behoove them to pile up points against teams that are realistically no longer in the race. 

The Sharks enter Monday six points back of the Ducks and four points back of Los Angeles. All three teams have 18 games remaining. 

“Every game’s important, and even if teams aren’t in the playoffs, they still have pride and they’re still playing for something,” Sharks forward Patrick Marleau said. “So they’re all important.”

The Sharks and Ducks have already concluded their season series, with San Jose losing the series 1-3-0, including a 4-2 loss down in Anaheim right after the All-Star Break on Feb. 2. San Jose has one more matchup with the Kings, whom they lead 2-1-1 in their season series.

And while L.A. has a history of getting the upper hand against Team Teal, the Kings haven’t fared as well against divisional opponents this campaign. Coach Darryl Sutter commented on the matter ahead of the Kings’ Monday night tilt against the Canucks, Jon Rosen of LAKingsInsider.com reported:

"Division games are big. We’ve played really well, but we’ve also lost two division games lately, so it puts importance on the division. At the end of the year and at the beginning of the year, I’m sure all teams talk about the importance of the division games."

That comment of course comes on the heels of losing to Anaheim, who beat the Kings three times in their season series.

Granted, the Kings have, in recent history, gotten hot at the right times in order to make a run at the Stanley Cup. But the hot Ducks have current odds and stats in their favor. As Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register reported, Anaheim has outscored its opponents 41-21 during the team's 11-game winning streak and is tied for first in the league for the lowest goals-against average at (2.28). That's not to mention that the Ducks have improved to 23-0-3 when leading after two periods of play. Coach Bruce Boudreau explained the Ducks’ ability to hold on to leads late:

“It makes you feel that when you’ve got a lead, you’re very comfortable playing with that lead,” Boudreau said. “Right now we are. We’re comfortable playing with the lead. We seem to be able to — so far up to this point — shut a lot of teams down.

“If you ever want to win in the playoffs, you got to be able to do that. If we feel we can do it and we do it, it’s much better for us.”

Sounds like the Ducks are ready to shut every team down on their way to the postseason. They just can’t forget that the Kings and Sharks are right on their tails.