At the suggestion of a reader, this article will look at the games around the league today and how they will affect the Ducks. Betting lines provided are per the Score app.

The Ducks are currently 25-17-10, which is good for 60 points, in 52 games. This point total put the Ducks barely into the third spot of the Pacific Division. A lot is in play every night at this point with the Stars at 62 Points, the Sharks, Ducks, and Avalanche at 60 points, the Kings and Wild at 59 points, the Flames at 58 points, and the Hawks at 51 points. The following is a list of games that include the teams the Ducks are in the race with:

San Jose Sharks @ Columbus Blue Jackets (4 PM Pacific)

Point Totals: The Sharks have 60 points in 50 games and the Blue Jackets have 58 points in 50 games.

Betting Line: The Blue Jackets are favored in the betting odds at -120.

Corsica avg prediction: The Blue Jackets are the slight favorite at 53.8%.

Impact on the Ducks:

-With a Sharks win, they would pull 2 points ahead of the Ducks.

-With a shootout/OT loss the Sharks would pull a point ahead of the Ducks.

-With a regulation loss the teams would remain tied.

The Sharks will still have a game in hand after tonight. A Sharks loss is beneficial for the Ducks, but a win does no knock the Ducks out of a playoff spot.

Vegas Golden Knights @ Minnesota Wild (5 PM Pacific)

Point Totals: The Golden Knights have 72 points in 50 games and the Wild have 59 points in 50 games.

Betting Line: The Wild are favored in the betting odds at -145.

Corsica avg prediction: The Wild are the slight favorite at 51.4%

Impact on the Ducks: This is one of those games that you just hope ends in regulation. The Ducks are chasing the Golden Knights in the division, but are also battling with the Wild if the the Ducks fall to a WC spot.

-With a Golden Knights regulation win, the Ducks will be 14 points back of the Golden Knights, but remain a point up on the Wild.

-With a Golden Knights shootout/OT win, the Ducks will be 14 points back of the Golden Knights, but be tied with the Wild.

-With a Wild shootout/OT win, the Ducks will be 1 point back of the Wild and 13 points back of the Golden Knights.

-With a Wild regulation win, the Ducks will be 1 point back of the Wild and 12 points back of the Golden Knights.

The Ducks being back of the Wild only matters if the Ducks fall to a WC spot. Both teams will still have a game in hand on the Ducks tonight. This is one of those games where the best case scenario is somehow both teams losing, but seeing as that is not possible the best case is a Golden Knights regulation win. The Ducks need to get some separation from the pack, so any team in that pack losing is a good thing. The worst case scenario is the Wild winning in OT.

Overall Impact

The Ducks cannot be knocked out of the third spot in the pacific from tonight’s game, but they can end up falling back in both the division and the wild card race.

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