Lawless & Order: The Blog | Mar. 18

March 18, 9 a.m.
Last night's 5-4 win over the Sharks was a strange game on many fronts and leaves a number of questions to be answered.
First, let's deal with the Sharks. Are they poised to make a push into the playoff picture in the West? Sitting eight points out of a playoff spot with four teams to climb and 29 games to get it done the task appears daunting. But the Sharks are an interesting group. Maybe it's just how hard they play against Vegas? They do have lots of high end talent and Bob Boughner and his staff have them pointing in the right direction. Might just be too late and the two losses in Vegas this week stung.

Vegas, Minnesota, Colorado and St. Louis are the four West division playoff teams as of this morning with LA three points under the line and Arizona five points back. LA has made a push and this weekend's two-game set with Vegas is big for them.
Forced to predict, the four teams currently in the playoff spots will stay there. But it will be interesting to see if a couple races develop. First for the slotting order among the playoff teams and secondly if one of the clubs on the outside can push its way into the top four. It's the halfway point or very close for the entire division and the race is on.
Did you like watching Mark Stone fight? His teammates sure did. Have to wonder if GM Kelly McCrimmon held his breath for the entire exchange. Having Stone break his hand on an opponent's helmet or any kind of fight related injury would be a waste. Stone plays hard, his hit on Timo Meier last night got under Tomas Hertl's skin and he jumped Stone.
Both games against the Sharks this week featured some lengthy stretches where Vegas wasn't at its best. It's going to happen with the schedule as busy as it is right now. Speaking of schedule, the Golden Knights will hit the midway point of their 56-game schedule on Friday. The club will have played the first 28 games in a 65-day span. The second 28 will take place in 50 days. Yikes.