Big night in the West as both the San Jose Sharks and Minnesota Wild clinched spots in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and both teams kind of owe it – at least tonight anyway – to the Los Angeles Kings.

The Kings 3-1 win over the Colorado Avalanche combined with the St. Louis Blues disappointing 4-2 loss to the Washington Capitals and the Wild’s 3-0 win over the Edmonton Oilers helped seal the deal for the Wild who are now just one earned point or lost point by the Blues away from clinching third in the Central and a likely first round playoff date with the Winnipeg Jets.

The Avs loss in regulation also helped clinch things for the San Jose Sharks.

The Blues loss keeps them on the outside of the playoff picture for now but only by one point as it looks like the race for the final wild card spot will come down to a fight between Colorado and St. Louis.

The Jets win in Ottawa vaults them back ahead of Vegas for second place in the west.

Points needed to clinch second place in West: 6
This is any combination of points earned by Winnipeg or lost by Vegas.

Last Game: Win @ Ottawa 6-5 (04/02)
Next Game: @ Montreal –  April 3
Games Remaining: 3
2 Home: CGY, CHI
1 Road: MTL
Headline: Jets not a fan of sites like StubHub (Global)

Last Game: Win Vs Tampa Bay 4-1 (04/01)
Next Game: @ Florida – April 3
Games Remaining: 3
1 Home: CBJ
2 Road: FLA, WSH
Headline: Giving out March awards (Predlines)

Last Game: Win Vs San Jose 3-2 (03/31)
Next Game: @ Vancouver – April 3
Games Remaining: 3
0 Home
3 Road: VAN, EDM, CGY
Headline: Karlsson lasted used goal scoring wizardry when he was 18 (Review-Journal)

Last Game: Win Vs Edmonton 3-0 (04/02)
Next Game: @ Anaheim – April 4
Games Remaining: 4
0 Home
3 Road: ANA, LAK, SJS
Headline: Dubnyk hits 400th start milestone against old team (Edmonton Sun)

Last Game: Loss @ Los Angeles 3-1 (04/02)
Next Game: @ San Jose – April 5
Games Remaining: 2
1 Home: STL
1 Road: SJS
Headline: Hammond deserves another chance (Mile High Sticking)

Last Game: Loss Vs Washington 4-2 (04/02)
Next Game: Vs Chicago – April 4
Games Remaining: 3
1 Home: CHI
2 Road: CHI, COL
Headline: Upshall out with kidney laceration (Sportsnet)