LAS VEGAS >> The Golden Knights spent the first part of the season taking control of the Pacific Division, only to play so-so hockey in January and let the Oilers to catch them.

Now neither team seems to want to win the division, allowing the Los Angeles Kings to creep close enough to make it more of a three-team race.

Vegas and Edmonton could still turn it into a two-team duel the Pacific appeared destined to be not that long ago. Given each club has represented the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final the past two seasons, those veteran teams have shown they know how to handle this time of year.

“We’ve been there, we’ve done it before,” Golden Knights center Brett Howden said. “Last year, we had a first-round exit, but we had to play well to make sure we got in the playoffs. The year before that, we clinched first place in our division in the last game of the season. So, yeah, we know how to play this time of year.”

The Golden Knights have 74 points, two more than the Oilers. Los Angeles had 69 points entering Wednesday night’s game against Vancouver. Winnipeg, with 85 points through Tuesday, appears to be running away for the race for the conference’s top seed.

The Pacific Division race didn’t appear it would be this close when Vegas went 10-2 in December to take a six-point lead over the Oilers and Kings. But then Vegas went 6-6-3 in January, and the Golden Knights and Oilers each had 68 points and what should have been a commanding 10-point lead over LA.

“It’s a good thing we had a good start,” Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb said. “You give yourself some leeway. You’re going to have tough stretches throughout the year. The year’s way too long. Not everything is going to go perfect, but let’s go nip it in the bud.”

Nailing down the top seed would ensure home-ice advantage through at least the first two rounds of the playoffs. The Golden Knights had that edge throughout the postseason two years ago en route to winning the Stanley Cup championship.

Last season, they were the second wild card in the conference and lost their first-round series to Dallas in seven games.

“The first year, we came out of the (All-Star) break and we went on a tear,” Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy said. “Last year, we were uneven. This year, we’re uneven. I like our play a lot more this year than I do last year. I think we’ve played better than our record shows. We just haven’t sustained it for 60 (minutes) and some games have gotten away from us.

“I think our guys understand that. I think they know what it’s supposed to look like most nights. Now we’ve got to make it look that way for longer stretches.”

The reigning Western Conference-champion Oilers have lost three in a row out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break and four overall, in a midseason rut similar to Vegas’.

“Everybody knows how we can play, how good this group is when everybody’s playing the right way,” veteran winger Corey Perry said. “It just comes down to the little things, the little battles, the little moments. Those are not there right now and lacking. We’ll find it.”

Edmonton reached Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final last season after losing 10 of its first 13 games, firing Jay Woodcroft and finding that game under new coach Kris Knoblauch, who doesn’t want to lean too hard into that muscle memory.

“How well we handle adversity also makes you a little more complacent,” Knoblauch said. “There’s not as much urgency to turn things around, because there’s so much confidence on, ‘It’ll be OK.’ It’s a fine line on being confident but also a little bit complacent or overconfident. There’s a lot of confidence in the team, and right now we’ve got to show a little more urgency to turn the switch.”

On the other side of the conference playoff race are teams trying to capture the final wild-card spot. Vancouver and Calgary were separated by just a point through Tuesday.

“The reality is that we’re fighting with Vancouver and a couple other teams for that last playoff spot,” Flames defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “Unless one of the top teams really drops away, that’s our reality that we’re fighting for that seventh, eighth spot in the conference. That’s just the reality of it.”

AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.