Playoff teams are unlikely to change in Western Conference, but home ice advantage is up for grabs

As we reach the conclusion of the 2023-24 regular season, the playoff races in the Western Conference are getting tighter and tighter.

In the Pacific Division, while the Vancouver Canucks are all but certain to clinch, the Edmonton Oilers, L.A. Kings and Vegas Golden Knights are only separated by three points.

Meanwhile, in the Central Division, the top three teams in the Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets have four points between them, all fighting for home-ice in round one of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

On Tuesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss the final push to the postseason and which teams could climb — or drop — before mid-April.

Frank Seravalli: I think what fascinates me about where these seeds are going is looking upwards and saying, “Okay, how many points are the Vegas Golden Knights are behind the L.A. Kings? And how many points are the Kings behind the Edmonton Oilers?” All of a sudden, you can squint at the standings and see that it can get incredibly tight in a hurry.

Tyler Yaremchuk: You mentioned that ripple effect from Edmonton to L.A. to Vegas. Obviously you want that No. 2 spot in the Pacific Division because you want home-ice advantage. For a team like Edmonton, I think it’s important because they have a long road trip to end the season, and if you don’t get home ice, you potentially stay on the road for nearly two weeks before you get to play Game 3 at home.

In the Central Division, those top three teams are so tight. You don’t want to be the No. 3 seed and a) have the tougher first-round matchup, and b) be on the road for back-to-back playoff series incase you do advance.

Frank Seravalli: There’s something to play for for every single team in the playoff picture.

You can watch the full episode and the rest of the segment here…