Most concerning stat for each Pacific Division NHL team 2025-26

Anaheim Ducks: 4-14-2 when leading after two periods since 2024-25

Anaheim’s young roster can create offense—Trevor Zegras and Cutter Gauthier have combined for 28 points through 18 games—but the third period has become a horror film. The Ducks have blown a league-high eight multi-goal leads this calendar year, translating to a .222 win rate when ahead after 40 minutes. Head coach Greg Cronin’s response after the latest collapse in Los Angeles was blunt: “We stop playing north-south and start trading chances like it’s a video game; that’s not structure, that’s arrogance.”

The underlying culprit is a penalty kill that slips to 68 % in the final frame, compounded by a bottom-pairing rotation that averages fewer than 200 games of NHL experience. If Anaheim wants to avoid a fourth straight lottery finish, the solution may be as simple as shortening the bench earlier and trusting veteran Dmitry Kulikov in heavy defensive situations. Until then, no lead is safe in Orange County.

Calgary Flames: 5-on-5 expected goals share of 44.1 % at home

The Saddledome used to be a fortress; now it’s a math problem the Flames can’t solve. Despite Jacob Markstrom’s resurgent .918 save percentage, Calgary is being out-shot and out-chanced dramatically during 5-on-5 play in Alberta, owning the third-worst home xGF % in the NHL. The top line of Huberdeau-Kadri-Mangiapane has been caved in territorially, posting a 38 % shot share when together at even strength.

Assistant coach Marc Savard admitted the group is “trying to freelance through the neutral zone instead of getting pucks deep,” a bad habit that opposing Pacific rivals have exploited with quick counter-attacks. With five divisional games looming before American Thanksgiving, the Flames must rediscover their heavy forecheck or risk falling eight points out of a wild-card spot by December 1.

Edmonton Oilers: 11 shorthanded goals allowed, most in the NHL

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl are again pacing the league in points, yet the Oilers sit 24th in the overall standings because the power play has become a two-way hazard. Edmonton has surrendered nearly twice as many shorthanded tallies as any other club, including a back-breaking three in a single game against Seattle that turned a potential statement win into a 6-5 overtime loss.

Video review shows the second unit—usually featuring Evander Kane at the bumper—pinching too aggressively, leaving only one defenseman back to defend 2-on-1 breaks. Kris Knoblauch tried inserting steady Calvin Pickard as a “third point” quarterback, but the experiment lasted two games before reverting. Until the Oilers clean up their blue-line rotations, every man-advantage feels like a coin flip, a stunning development for a roster that boasted the most efficient PP in league history only 18 months ago.

Los Angeles Kings: 2.03 goals per game from bottom-six forwards

Depth scoring was supposed to be a strength after the arrivals of prospects Alex Laferriere and Kasper Simontaival, but the Kings’ third and fourth lines have combined for just 14 even-strength goals through 20 contests. Anze Kopitar and Quinton Byfield can only drag the offense so far; when matchups tighten in the spring, coach Jim Hiller needs someone else to hit the scoresheet.

Los Angeles has explored internal options—recently recalling 2023 first-rounder Gavin Brindley from the AHL—but the larger issue may be system-based. The Kings dump-and-chase at the fifth-highest rate league-wide yet rank 28th in reclaiming pucks after dump-ins, meaning their grinders start 200-foot cycles that rarely culminate in shots. If the bottom six can’t manufacture “greasy” goals, the Kings’ playoff hopes could hinge on whether GM Rob Blake splurges on a rental middle-six winger before the March 7 trade deadline.

San Jose Sharks: Team save percentage of .872, worst in the NHL

Mackenzie Blackwood and newly signed Linus Ullmark were envisioned as a sturdy 1A/1B tandem, but the duo has combined for an ugly .872 SP—nearly 30 points below league average. The Sharks are allowing 4.2 goals per game, masking respectable progress in shot suppression; they actually rank 15th in shots against, but opponents are converting on more than 13 % of attempts.

Goaltending coach Thomas Speer told the San Jose Mercury News that “tracking through layers has been inconsistent; we’re late on cross-ice plays,” a flaw that has led to 34 goals off one-time passes alone. With the Sharks already trailing Vegas by 14 points in the division, the front office must decide whether to ride out the slump or pivot to prospect Magnus Chrona, who owns a .924 SP in the AHL. Either way, no team statistic is more damaging than the one between the pipes.

Seattle Kraken: 39 % face-off win rate on the power play

Special teams start with possession, and the Kraken can’t buy a draw when it matters most. Seattle’s man-advantage unit ranks 31st in offensive-zone face-off percentage, forcing them to spend the first 20 seconds of most power plays simply trying to gain the zone. The ripple effect is predictable: fewer shot attempts, exhausted personnel, and a conversion rate that sits at 13.8 %, down from 24 % last season.

Veteran center Yanni Gourde has taken accountability, saying, “I’m at 42 % personally; that’s not good enough when Matty (Beniers) and I are the primary draw guys.” Coach Dave Hakstol has experimented with 6-foot-4 rookie pivot Cole Schwindt, but results remain grim. If the Kraken can’t solve something as fundamental as a clean draw, their quest for a second playoff berth may stall before the All-Star break.

Vancouver Canucks: 3.6 goals allowed per third period, 32nd in the NHL

Last year’s Cinderella story has turned into a pumpkin in the final frame. Vancouver has been outscored 54-24 in third periods, turning six multi-goal advantages into regulation defeats. The aging defense corps—led by 36-year-old Tyler Myers—has logged heavy minutes early in games, leaving legs heavy when stakes rise.

Analytics point to a 62 % defensive-zone shift start rate in the third, the highest in the league, because opponents tilt the ice knowing the Canucks’ bottom pair can’t break the puck out cleanly. Coach Rick Tocchet bluntly called the trend “a mentality issue; we’re hoping the clock runs out instead of attacking.” Until Vancouver either shortens the bench or finds a reliable puck-moving option at the deadline, late leads will remain a 20-minute tightrope act.

Vegas Golden Knights: 12 regulation losses when outshooting opponents

Dominating the shot clock usually correlates with wins, yet the Golden Knights have found a way to sabotage themselves. They average 34.5 shots per game—second most in the league—but own a .894 team save percentage in those contests, including five posts hit in a recent 4-2 defeat to Buffalo. Adin Hill and Ilya Samsonov have alternated cold stretches, but the issue runs deeper than goaltending.

Vegas is finishing just 6.4 % of its shots at even strength, the third-lowest conversion rate, partly because opponents stack five defenders low and dare the Knights to beat them from the perimeter. Captain Mark Stone acknowledged the frustration: “We’re getting the looks, but we’re not getting the second and third chances.” With the Pacific’s top seed still within reach, the Golden Knights must turn volume into venom before the shooting luck normalizes—ideally in their favor.

What these numbers collectively reveal is a division where no contender can feel comfortable. Edmonton’s star power is negated by special-teams chaos, Vancouver’s narrative has flipped from comeback kids to collapse artists, and Anaheim is learning that promise without structure is just another path to the lottery. If your favorite club isn’t listed here, check the standings again in three weeks; in the Pacific, the most concerning stat today can become tomorrow’s solved equation—or the reason a season slips quietly into the Pacific Ocean.