2012 NHL Playoffs: How the Pacific Division Sent 2 Teams to the 3rd Round

With their unlikely matchup in the Western Conference final, the Los Angeles Kings and the Phoenix Coyotes are living proof that it helps to stay in a do-or-die rhythm with no, or at least little, interruption.

For the longest time, the most logical expectation was that the Central Division would produce this year’s Campbell Bowl winner. After all, each of the circuit’s four playoff entrants broke triple-digit points in the regular season.

Conversely, the Pacific Division champion Coyotes subsisted on 97 points to claim the automatic third seed in the Western Conference. But the most indicative stat as to the Pacific’s competitiveness is San Jose falling one point behind the Coyotes and the Kings two points behind.

In addition, the Dallas Stars, who finished 10th in the conference with 89 points, had command of the Pacific as late as March 30. At that point, they began a most untimely five-game pointless skid to coincide with Phoenix’s last-minute surge to the summit.

The Stars slipped out of the playoff picture for good on March 31, barely 24 hours after sitting in the West’s third seed. That same night, the Chicago Blackhawks became the fourth Central Division team to secure their postseason passport.

Meanwhile, the Nashville Predators clinched March 29 while idle. The Detroit Red Wings clinched March 26 with a 7-2 romp over the Columbus Blue Jackets. The St. Louis Blues clinched way back on March 17 with a 3-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Yet, after bulking up on regular-season points by way of beating up on each other and many other foes, all of the Central squads failed to win any more than five playoff games. The Predators abolished the Red Wings and then fizzled against Phoenix, who had previously knocked off Chicago, while the Blues were swept by Los Angeles.

How did that happen?

As always, there were umpteen different factors, but there is at least one critical common thread to explain why two Pacific Division teams will be among the last four standing in the NHL this weekend and into next week.

In hindsight, the teams who were already assured bonus action before the calendar Zamboni even razed March in favor of April could not sustain their urgency even if they wanted to.

Neither Los Angeles nor Phoenix clinched its playoff spot until April 5, the night before the Coyotes’ penultimate regular-season game. And the division title was not sealed until the final horn of game No. 82, when a 4-1 triumph over the Minnesota Wild gave the Coyotes a five-game winning streak in advance of the playoffs.

For only two days, both teams were playing without having to worry about the outcome of the game influencing the continuation of their season. In turn, when the time came on April 11 for 16 teams to start operating under the knowledge that every loss would nudge them closer to spring cleaning, the Kings and Coyotes were more mentally prepared than any Central Division tenants.

By finishing the first step early, the triple-digit point-getters, which would also include the Presidents' Trophy-winning Vancouver Canucks, were inevitably forced to manufacture new batches of desperation. That machine all but never decelerated for the likes of Phoenix or San Jose.

Granted, it was the same basic situation for the San Jose Sharks, who were snuffed out by St. Louis in five games. But again, the outcome of every game/series/race in the ultimate team sport is always a recipe of multiple ingredients.

Just to name one, the Sharks had Antti Niemi in their cage. The two conference finalists have been backstopped by Mike Smith and Jonathan Quick.

Translation: San Jose may have had the same uninterrupted urgency as their two fellow Pacific playoff ambassadors. But the Coyotes and Kings have more effective essentials on their roster, which are lethal when properly driven.

Just stop by a local golf course and ask a Vancouver, St. Louis, Nashville or Chicago player.