The NHL Playoffs are less than a week away. It's important for teams to generate some sort of momentum going into the postseason. Some teams have got the memo and are ready to start the playoffs as soon as possible.
The St. Louis Blues are one of those teams, and they grabbed hold of the Western Conference wild-card race in the process. St. Louis went on a 12-game winning streak, separating themselves from the pack. They'd be a team that the Winnipeg Jets or Vegas Golden Knights would like to avoid if possible.
They haven't clinched a playoff spot yet, but they certainly have that momentum rolling into the postseason that could make them a scary team. Here are the three scariest teams going into the playoffs this season.
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche have been one of the best teams since the trade deadline where they made some compelling additions. They acquired two centers in Brock Nelson from the New York Islanders and Charlie Coyle from the Boston Bruins.
Since the March 7th deadline, they've been the third-best team in the NHL with an 11-3-2 record. That run helped them push away from the threat of the wild-card teams like the Minnesota Wild. They have not looked back since. They're challenging the Dallas Stars to earn home-ice advantage for the first round, but they likely won't get it.
In the last six seasons, the Avalanche have advanced to the second round of the playoffs or further. The only outstanding year was when the Seattle Kraken shocked them with a first-round upset in 2023. It's also worth noting that they were Stanley Cup champions the season before that.
Aside from their success in the playoffs, this team is scary because of the players on their team. Nathan MacKinnon could be on his way to winning his second-straight Hart Trophy. He has 32 goals and 116 points in 79 games this season.
Not to mention Cale Makar, who leads defensemen in scoring by a mile. He has 30 goals and 91 points in just as many games as MacKinnon. The closest blueliner to him is Zach Werenski of the Columbus Blue Jackets with 20 goals and 75 points in 76 contests.
With that, Valeri Nichushkin, Martin Necas, and Jonathan Drouin have been great support to the superstars. Also, Gabriel Landeskog could be returning to Colorado for the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Lightning
No one has scored more goals in the NHL this season than the Tampa Bay Lightning. With four games remaining on the schedule for the Bolts, they've scored 279 goals, averaging 3.58 per game.
Tampa Bay are also one of the best defensive teams in the league. They've allowed 206 goals as of Thursday and are fourth-best in the league in that category, best in their conference. They also have the best goal differential in the Eastern Conference at plus-73.
The Lightning have been a complete team all season long. They have four players who are averaging over a point per game. Nikita Kucherov, Brandon Hagel, Brayden Point, and Jake Guentzel are all having excellent campaigns.
In addition to their power up front, Andrei Vasilevskiy is back to playing the way everyone knows him. Last season was below par for Vasilevskiy's standards, but that was coming off a major back surgery. Now, the Russian goaltender is having one of the best seasons of his 11-year career, averaging 2.17 goals-against per game and .922 save percentage.
It's needless to say that the playoffs are a familiar place for the Lightning, as they've won two straight Cups in 2020 and 2021. They'll be a scary team for this upcoming playoffs and the potential matchup against the Florida Panthers in the first round should not disappoint.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Golden Knights have almost been Stanley Cup contenders in every season since they became a franchise in 2017-18. Their latest success was when they won the Cup in 2023 over the Panthers. This year is no different as they cement themselves as one of the top teams in the league this year.
They currently lead the Pacific Division with a healthy lead on the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. Vegas is one of the most dangerous teams in the league offensively. For instance, they have the second-best power play in the league at 29.1 percent. Winnipeg leads the league with 29.2 percent, a margin so small it could change in one game.
Players like Jack Eichel play a huge role in that success. He's having a career year with 93 points in 76 games. His last best season was with the Buffalo Sabres in 2018-19 with 82 points. Eichel is the primary facilitator for the Golden Knights and it won't be a shock if he gets votes for the Hart Trophy.
Vegas seemingly have no holes in their lineup. Adin Hill is their backbone between the pipes, who's posted a respectable 2.49 GAA and .906 save percentage. As far as defense goes, they have one of the best D-corps in the league and the numbers back it up.
They're a top-10 team when it comes to goals against and goals-against average per game. Shea Theodore, Noah Hanifin, and Alex Pietrangelo lead the way as Vegas' top-three D-men. The remainder of their blueline is still impressive, assembled with huge bodies who play physical and block many shots.