from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Is the Pacific Division lead suddenly up for grabs?

We all crowned the Los Angeles Kings as division champs weeks ago, but their loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday night combined with Anaheim's win in Edmonton means the gap between the SoCal rivals is now just three points. And the San Jose Sharks are now just one point behind the Ducks after defeating the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday night.

But the story here is definitely the Ducks, now 17-4-2 since the Christmas break, the best record in the NHL in that span. They've won 10 of their past 12 games (10-1-1), captain Ryan Getzlaf is playing his best hockey of the season after starting the season slowly, and what I love the most about them is how they've got talent spread out over their three top lines. Corey Perry is on the top line, Getzlaf centers the second line and Ryan Kesler centers the third. That's the kind of balance the Ducks have never had, and finally splitting up Getzlaf and Perry during training camp was important.

Watch out, Kings, because here come the Ducks.

continue for more on the Pacific from the ESPN hockey guys...