NHL’s Western Conference race seems to be set up to be wild

FILE - In this March 10, 2016, file photo, San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton (19) is shown during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, in San Jose, Calif. The NHL's Western Conference should be wild, as usual, with a slew of teams with a shot to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File) FILE - In this March 10, 2016, file photo, San Jose Sharks' Joe Thornton (19) is shown during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the New Jersey Devils, in San Jose, Calif. The NHL's Western Conference should be wild, as usual, with a slew of teams with a shot to advance to the Stanley Cup finals. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez, File)

By Associated Press September 30, 2016 4 min read

The NHL’s Western Conference should be wild all season, perhaps as much as ever as parity reigns and points are tough to come by on any given night.

A slew of teams have a shot at advancing to the Stanley Cup finals.

The defending Conference champion San Jose Sharks, who had five players in the World Cup of Hockey finals , certainly appear to have a chance to be among the final two still skating in mid-June. That alone would be a feat because no team from the conference has pulled it off since the Detroit Red Wings, now an Eastern Conference team, won the Stanley Cup in 2008 and came within a win of repeating.

Chicago, Los Angeles, Anaheim and St. Louis will likely be among the contenders. Dallas, too.

The Blackhawks and Kings, who alternated as champions from 2012 to 2015 and won five Cups in a six-season span, failed to even make it out of the first round last in 2016.