A Look at the Pacific Division Entering April: Where Do the Golden Knights Stand?

PHOENIX — The calendar has flipped, and for the Vegas Golden Knights, April brings more questions than answers for a team that is usually ready to hit the ground running for the postseason.

To bring you back up to speed, the Golden Knights fired arguably a top-five coach in the NHL, Bruce Cassidy and hired John Tortorella in his place all while being, at the time, eight games away from the conclusion of the regular season.

The move came at a pivotal time of the season with the Golden Knights sitting in third place in the Pacific Division, but having only the 19th-best record in the NHL at 33-26-16.

What once felt certain at this point in seasons past has now shifted to uncertainty for the Golden Knights — but according to their new bench boss, Tortorella, not much is expected to change.

“I do not want to change a lot,” Tortorella said. “My change is points of emphasis and mindset. I want to see just a hardness. When you talk about hardness, that’s not body checking, that’s not fighting. That’s a general term, but there are so many headings underneath that, and it comes through mindset. That’s what I want to coach.

In this business, whether you’re a player or a coach, I think you need to have the ability to accept a challenge. I got bombed out of Philly with nine games left last year. Now I come here with eight games left. It’s a couple of crazy situations that I had never been involved in before, but that’s the league. That’s pro sports.” (from ‘John Tortorella joins Golden Knights, focuses on mindset: ‘I do not want to change a lot,’The Athletic 3/30/26).

Ready or not, April has arrived, bringing a stretch of games that will show how the Golden Knights and Pacific Division take shape. With little separation in the standings, small swings can make things change in the blink of an eye.

April Arrives With Much Uncertainty in Pacific Division

It’s no surprise the Pacific Division remains one of the more unpredictable divisions in hockey. While the NHL standings tend to take shape late in the season, the gap between teams in this division remains narrow enough that movement is still possible.

The gap compared to other divisions is drastic, too. Teams hanging around the playoff picture in the Pacific wouldn’t be in the mix elsewhere, showing for better or worse, how bad the division has been this season.

Here is where things stand in the Pacific Division as of April 1:

The Canucks and the New York Rangers are the only two teams officially eliminated from playoff contention and appear well on their way into the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. The Flames have also fallen out of the playoff picture.

Outside of those two teams, things could get interesting. The Kraken and Sharks are in a similar position, each making one final push for the playoffs. Both have 75 points and are within reach of the second wild-card spot, currently held by the Nashville Predators with 77.

The Kings are an interesting case, too. They acquired Russian winger Artemi Panarin from the Rangers on Feb. 5 and signed him to a two-year extension worth $22 million ($11 million AAV) shortly after, but have gone 5-7-5 since his first game with the team following the Olympic break.

Now, the two teams ahead of the Golden Knights. The Oilers have been all over the place this season. The standings show they haven’t been bad, but they also haven’t quite looked like the Oilers team we’ve seen in years past.

Connor McDavid is still doing Connor McDavid things with 125 points in 75 games, but without Leon Draisaitl, who’s out with injury, there’s some skepticism.

And then there are the Ducks. Who would’ve had the Ducks entering April atop the Pacific Division? Not me. The Ducks hold sole possession of first place in the division — but in 17 days, who knows what it’ll look like.

Schedule Breakdown of Pacific Division Teams

With the current layout of the Pacific Division, here’s who each team faces in April — matchups that will ultimately determine the standings down the stretch.

Ducks: @ Sharks, Blues, Flames, Predators, Sharks, Canucks, @ Wild, @ Predators

Oilers: Blackhawks, Golden Knights, @ Mammoth, @ Sharks, @ Kings, Avalanche, Canucks

Golden Knights: Flames, @ Oilers, @ Canucks, @ Kraken, @ Avalanche, Jets, Kraken

Kings: Blues, Predators, Maple Leafs, Predators, Canucks, Oilers, @ Kraken, @ Canucks, @ Flames

Sharks: Ducks, Maple Leafs, Predators, Blackhawks, Oilers, @ Ducks, Canucks, @ Predators, @ Blackhawks, @ Jets

Kraken: Mammoth, Blackhawks, @ Jets, @ Wild, Golden Knights, Flames, Kings, @ Golden Knights, @ Avalanche

Flames: @ Golden Knights, @ Ducks, @ Stars, @ Avalanche, @ Kraken, Mammoth, Avalanche, Kings

Canucks: @ Avalanche, @ Wild, Mammoth, Golden Knights, @ Kings, @ Sharks, @ Ducks, Kings, @ Oilers

The gap between the top and the middle is slim and with several teams clustered within reach of one another, it’ll come down to the final stretch.

It’ll also come down to whether the Golden Knights can answer the bell. While not much will — or should — change with Tortorella behind the bench, we’ll see if the spark general manager Kelly McCrimmon talked about actually shows up in April.

“John has great passion, great energy,” McCrimmon said. “He’s a great communicator. He’s very respected in the industry, experienced, comfortable in his own skin. I think he’s going to give our team a spark. That’s what I feel.”

By Cooper Krigbaum

Cooper Krigbaum is a beat reporter covering the Vegas Golden Knights for Vegas Hockey Now on Sportsnaut. He also ... More about Cooper Krigbaum