Bartnick’s take on the Western Conference at quarter turn The Western Conference is as tumbled and dried as the East

Teams in the NHL’s Western Conference are more spread out in the  standings than in the Eastern Conference.

The West has the 2 best teams in the NHL, Colorado and Dallas. The West also has the two worst teams in the NHL, Calgary and Nashville.

Like the East grades are based on eyetests and expectations.

CENTRAL –

Colorado A+, Colorado has only 2 regulation losses and its mid- December. The Avs have the best center Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cala Makar in the NHL. Goaltenders Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood have been superb.

Dallas A, Dallas has an embarrassment of riches upfront. Different forwards are taking turns carrying the scoring. Mikko Rantanen, Wyatt Johnston and Jason Robertson are lethal. Roope Hintz hasn’t even been playing up to his best.

Minnesota A, Minnesota has the NHL’s best goalie tandem in Filip  Gustavsson and Jesper Walllsted. No superstar winger means more to his team than Kirill Kaprisov. Matt Boldy is really good too.

St Louis D, St. Louis was supposed to have a solid duo in net Jordan Binnington and Joel Hofer. They have been spotty. So have elite forwards Rob Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. The team is waiting for GM Doug Armstrong to make some moves.

Utah B, The Mammoth are a high flying team who can outscore anyone. They need to work on not having too. Especially with sensational Logan Cooley on the IR. Karel Vejmelka inconsistency in net is a product of Utah’s lack of defensive commitment.

Nashville D, Nashville had its second straight horrible start to a season. Now everyone is wondering where former champion forwards Steven Stamkos and Ryan O’Reilly will be in April. Goaltender Juuse Saros and Head Coach Andrew Brunette may be gone as well.

Winnipeg B, The Winnipeg Jets are playing their steady brand of regular season hockey.They withstood injuries to Captain Adam Lowry and now goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

Chicago B+, Chicago’s never ending rebuild is finally paying off.  Connor Bedard is quieting critics and making a case for the Canadian Olympic team. Frank Nazar is a capable Batman to Bedards’s Superman. Spencer Knight is claiming his spot as Chicago’s franchise netminder.

PACIFIC-

Anaheim A, Anaheim is on top of the Pacific Division. Legendary coach Joel Quenneville has got the most out of his kids up front  Leo Carlsson, Cutter Gauthier Beckett Sennecke and old men Chris Kreider and Mikail Granlund.  Same on the backend with seasoned Radko Gudas, JacobTrouba and youngsters Jackson LaCombe, Olen Zellewegger. The Ducks now have to overcome goaltender Lucas Dostal’s injury.

Los Angeles B-, Los Angeles is trying to send their retiring Captain Anze Kopitar out in style. They need to play better at home. They may also need to find his replacement. Quinton Byfield has regressed after a hot start and Phillip Danault is on the trade block.

San Jose A, San Jose is challenging for a playoff spot. No one saw that coming. Macklin Celebrini is the NHL’s best young player. Young guns  WIll Smith and William Eklund are helping Celebrini with the offense. Goaltender Yaroslav Askarov is starting to get some traction in the NHL.

Vegas B, Vegas is right where they want to be, in a playoff position. This franchise will not stand pat at the deadline giving the team whatever it needs for a long playoff run. Mitch Marner has fit in seamlessly with this team. Alex Pietrangelo has been missed on the blueline.

Seattle C-,  Seattle was not expected to be a good team but do they have to be this boring. This franchise is as depressing as the weather in Seattle.

Vancouver C-, Vancouver’s Czar Jim Rutherford stated before Halloween the Canucks were open for business. Unfortunately for Rutherford the only player anyone wants is Quinn Hughes.

Calgary C, Calgary is not a good hockey team but they play hard. Dustin Wolf is an above average goaltender. GM Craig Conroy is against trading veterans so the Flames will probably screw themselves out of a good spot in the lottery.

Edmonton B, Edmonton is once again got off to a slow start. Stuart Skinner is still a sieve half the time. Evan Buchard is still a liability in his own end. Edmonton still has Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. So no one is betting they won’t make the Stanley Cup Final.