Vegas reached the playoffs after firing head coach Bruce Cassidy with eight games remaining and posting a mediocre regular season. The team had fewer wins than several clubs that missed the playoffs, including the Washington Capitals, and finished with the same number of victories as the San Jose Sharks. Vegas relied heavily on overtime losses, going 39-26-17 for 95 standings points and ranking second in the league in overtime losses. Under the conference-based bracket, Vegas earned a playoff spot by winning the Pacific Division, described as a “pillow fight.” Other Pacific qualifiers included the Edmonton Oilers and Anaheim Ducks, while the Capitals missed the postseason by four points in the stronger Eastern Conference. The East-West competitiveness gap was large, with most of the bottom teams coming from the West.
"Vegas made the playoffs despite canning their head coach, Bruce Cassidy, with eight games remaining in the regular season, and having a pretty mediocre season overall before the postseason began. Somewhat incredibly, Vegas had fewer wins than six teams that missed the playoffs, including the Washington Capitals. They also finished the year with the same number of victories as the San Jose Sharks, who also did not make the dance."
"Vegas relied heavily on its points from overtime losses, finishing the season 39-26-17 - good for 95 standings points. They had the second-most OT losses in the league, finishing above only the LA Kings. With the current conference-based playoff bracket, Vegas earned a playoff spot by winning a weak Pacific Division, which Connor McDavid described as a "pillow fight.""
"The Edmonton Oilers (93 standings points) and the Anaheim Ducks (92) also got in after finishing second and third in the Pacific with fewer points than both Eastern Conference wild card teams ( Boston Bruins, 100; Ottawa Senators, 99). Although they ended the regular season with fewer points, the Oilers and Ducks both had more wins than Vegas, with 41 and 43, respectively. The Utah Mammoth, who claimed the first Western wild card spot, also picked up 43 wins on the season."
"The Capitals, who had the most wins of any team to miss the postseason, were simply unlucky to be battling it out in the stronger Eastern Conference, falling four points short of the second wild card. The competitiveness gap between the East and West was extreme this season, with 8 of the bottom 10 teams in the league coming from the West. The Kings made the playoffs with just 90 points (35-27-20) and lost more games than they won, with OT losses helping their points percent"
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