The Vancouver Canucks control their own destiny for winning the Pacific Division

The Vancouver Canucks are in full control over their destiny when it comes to winning the Pacific Division this season.

With 13 games remaining in the 2023-24 season, the Canucks currently boast a 43-18-8 record and 94 points, along with a +55 goal differential.

The second-place Edmonton Oilers are 41-21-4 on the year with 86 points and a +47 goal differential — but they’ve played in just 66 games, three fewer than the Canucks, meaning they have 16 games left in the season.

Last season, it took 111 points for the Vegas Golden Knights to win the Pacific Division. This year, if the Canucks merely go .500 in their final 13 games, they’ll finish with 107 points — and, as CanucksArmy senior writer Jeff Paterson noted on Tuesday night, the Oilers would have to go 10-5-1 in their last 16 games to finish with the same number of points.

A .500 record for the Canucks in the final 13 games could look a number of different ways: 6-6-1, 5-5-3, 4-4-5, and so on. For the Canucks to finish with the same 111 points Vegas did last year, they’d need to go 8-4-1, 7-3-3, 6-2-5, 5-1-7, or 4-0-9.

The Canucks are 6-2-2 in their last 10 games, equivalent to a .700 points percentage. They’re .681 on the year to date. Conversely, the Oilers are .800 (7-1-2) in their last 10 games but just .652 on the year so far.

Of the Canucks’ remaining five games in March, three (vs. Calgary, Montreal, and Anaheim) are against teams outside the playoff picture. The Oilers have six games left in March: three on the road (@ Toronto, Ottawa, and Winnipeg) and three at home (vs. Buffalo, Los Angeles, and Anaheim).

One of the most critical components of the playoff race each year is the tiebreakers. Fortunately for fans in Vancouver, the Canucks currently have a significant advantage over the Oilers in each major tiebreaking category.

At the end of the season, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. The Canucks currently have 37 of them, compared to just 32 for the Oilers. The second tiebreaker is regulation and overtime wins, which the Canucks currently control 43 to 39.

The Canucks have also dominated the season series against the Oilers, winning 8-1 and 6-2 in Vancouver and 4-3 in Edmonton so far. The final meeting of the year between the two teams will take place at Rogers Place in Edmonton on April 13.