What is Wrong With the Pacific Division?

Is anyone watching the NHL's Pacific Division right now? If you're not, stop what you're doing immediately and go do that.

Through the halfway point of the regular season, the Vegas Golden Knights are on top of the Pacific. That's not the wild part, as the Knights have won the division five times in the past eight seasons.

The wild part is how mediocre the entire division is playing. The Golden Knights hold the top spot with a whopping 17-11-12 record. The Edmonton Oilers are tied with 46 points but sit in second place because they played an additional two games. The Anaheim Ducks are a point behind, and the Seattle Kraken, Los Angeles Kings, and San Jose Sharks are three points back of the division lead.

No one wants to win this division, apparently. Despite the Western Conference being touted as the superior conference, the Pacific Division as a whole is woefully underperforming halfway through the regular season.

Negative Goal Differentials

The most astounding statistic in the Pacific Division is each team's goal differential. A simple measurement of goals allowed versus goals scored has been a relatively strong indicator for postseason success in the NHL. For reference, going back to the 1999-2000 campaign, every single Stanley Cup winner has a positive goal differential in the regular season.

Currently, there is not a single team in the division with a positive goal differential, with all eight teams sitting squarely in the negative.

The Golden Knights have the "best" goal differential in the Pacific right now, sporting a paltry -2 differential. The Vancouver Canucks have the worst so far, with a -28 differential at the bottom of the Pacific standings.

What this demonstrates is maybe the biggest issue in the division. They are all lousy defensive teams. Five of them, including Vegas, are giving up at least three goals per game. The four worst teams in that category are all from the Pacific as well, with the Ducks surrendering 3.56 goals per game. That's the opposite of playoff hockey, but all three teams with a guaranteed spot are conceeding goals at an alarming pace.

Anaheim Ducks goalie Lukas Dosta — Jan 2, 2026; Anaheim, California, USA; Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) spits water onto the ice during a stop in play against the Minnesota Wild in the third period at Honda Center. Mandatory Credit: Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images | Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images

Wouldn't Cut It In the East

Another alarming perspective to add into all of this is how poorly the Pacific Division compares to the rest of the NHL. Compared to the high-powered Central Division, the entire Pacific would come in fourth place or below. The three best teams in the conference currently play in the Central, and that won't change in the second half of the season.

The Pacific Division teams should also count their blessings that they are in the Western Conference. If they were in the East, it would be a completely different story.

Right now, the final playoff team in the Eastern Conference is the Washington Capitals. The Caps hold a record of 21-15-6 for 48 points. They lead the Florida Panthers by a single point for that last playoff spot.

That also means that if the division-leading Golden Knights, or any other Pacific team, were in the East, they wouldn't even own a playoff spot.

It's truly an awful time in the Pacific. None of the teams look like serious contenders compared to the Central and many Eastern Conference squads, but three of them will be guaranteed a spot in the postseason. There's plenty of time to turn things around, but there's something seriously wrong in the Pacific Division right now.

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