With the regular season coming to a close the Western Conference still has some playoff spots to clinch. Currently Calgary, Winnipeg, Nashville and San Jose have all clinched. So, who is next to clinch a playoff spot in the West.

The Western Conference usually plays a rough and tumble brand of hockey. This years class of hockey is no different.

The west looks good but who is next to clinch a playoff birth? Out of the teams remaining it looks like it could either be the Vegas Golden Knights or the St.Louis Blues.

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Lately the St.Louis Blues have been on a role. They have had stellar goaltending with Jordan Binnington who is definitely in the conversation for the rookie of the year nod. Despite what some would say if he can take the Blues to the promise land it will be hard not to have that conversation.

Binnington who has a sick 1.81 goals against average is backstopping the Blues from a disasterous first half of the season into a playoff contender. When it comes to save percentage only one goalie has a better average than him. His .930 save percentage is remarkable achievement for the 25 year old rookie.

Other than the St.Louis Blues we have the Vegas Golden Knights. Vegas is sitting in 3rd spot in the Pacific and are sitting with 90 points. Given that Nashville has just clinched with 92 points it looks like Vegas is also on its way to being one of the next teams in the west to clinch a playoff birth.

The Vegas Golden Knights have been on fire since acquiring Marc Stone at the trade deadline. Recently the Golden Knights have given Fleury a much deserved rest. He was reported to be injured but has also just had a child.

With Subban between the pipes the team also continued to win but the Knights and their fans are anxious to get their starter back. We look forward to seeing his return and how this years version responds to critics in the first round.

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Should the standings stay how they are in the Pacific Division we will see a highly anticipated first round of Vegas vs San Jose. The Sharks which are averaging 3.5 goals a game are going to have a tough match up against the high flying Golden Knights.

Vegas is a relatively high scoring team and if the Sharks are looking to make a run in the playoffs they will need some stellar goaltending.

Vegas Golden Knights have something to prove. Last year as an expansion team they won the Western Conference Championships. This year they haven’t duplicated the regular season brilliance but the playoffs are an entirely different beast.

Look for the Blues and Golden Knights to be the next to clinch in the West. These may be the two sleeper teams that will pay big money in the betting lines. Each of these teams has a very realistic chance of moving past the first round of the playoffs.

The St.Louis Blues are definitely one that we consider watching. They will most likely play Nashville and you never know if catfish land will be able to light them up. That series could definitely be a seven game series.



