Comments / New

Pacific Division Round Up: The Oilers are good?

Posted on by Haley Van Horn

We are living in some parallel universe where the Edmonton Oilers are thriving and the San Jose Sharks are sinking. The Oilers have five wins under their belt, sitting proudly in the first place of the Pacific Divison. Did anyone expect this? I know I did not. Well, at least it’s not Vegas … right?

Here’s how Edmonton and the rest of our enemies shaped up this week.

Anaheim Ducks (4-2-0)

The Anaheim Ducks are doing just fine without Corey Perry throwing a fit every night. This week, they played four games, splitting wins and losses. The first was a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Jakob Silfverberg, Rickard Rakell and Nick Ritchie put pucks into the goal, while netminder John Gibson came out with a .969 save percentage. It must be nice.

They fell short to Sidney Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday. It was a close one, ending 2-1. Friday brought them back to the win column, finding a 2-1 lead over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Cam Fowler found the net, as well as Silfverberg. Ryan Miller was in net and made 26 saves. Two reliable goalies, huh? Okay then.

The Ducks headed to Boston to face the Bruins bright and early this morning with a 10 a.m. puck drop. The early start wasn’t kind to them, losing 4-2 after a hat trick from David Pastrnak.

The Ducks will come home to take on the Buffalo Sabres this Wednesday at 7 p.m. Pacific.

Arizona Coyotes (1-2-1)

The new guy, Phil Kessel, hit a major milestone this week, playing in his 1,000th career NHL game. He still hasn’t found the net with the Desert Dogs, though. However, the Coyotes are our favorite team this week after somehow beating the Vegas Golden Knights 4-1 for their first win of the season. Connor Garland found the net twice, as well as Niklas Hjalmarsson and Nick Schmaltz.

Game two this week for the ‘Yotes came against the best team in the Central Division. The Coyotes put up a hard fight against the Colorado Avalanche, but lost 2-3. Michael Grabner and Nick Schmaltz got on the board for Arizona.

The Coyotes see the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at 5 p.m. Pacific.

Calgary Flames (2-2-1 )

The Calgary Flames had a rough week. They started their week with a new rivalry game, thanks to the feud between Drew Doughty and Matthew Tkachuk. The game went to overtime, but the Kings had the last laugh, winning 4-3. The Flames went into overtime in their next game, as well, this one eventually ending in a shootout. They beat Joe Pavelski and his Dallas Stars, 3-2. Pavs had a grand total of zero points and only two shots on goal, if that makes any of you feel better.

The Golden Knights then put a proper beating to them, ending that game with a 6-2 final. Johnny Gaudreau got on the board, along with Rasmus Andersson, but they couldn’t bring their team to victory. Then came our San Jose Sharks who delivered them a beautiful 3-1 loss last night at SAP Center.

The Flames face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at 6 p.m. Pacific.

Edmonton Oilers (5-0-0)

The first place Edmonton Connor McDavids. Life comes at you fast. They started their week with a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders. James Neal scored all but one of those goals, because we are living in a different dimension. James Neal also scored one of the four goals scored in four periods against the New Jersey Devils. The shootout victory was the Oilers’ fourth straight win.

Last, but certainly not least, the Oilers smashed the New York Rangers, 4-1. James Neal went pointless, but Leon Draisaitl racked up two goals and an assist. The Edmonton Oilers are going to win the cup. I am just kidding, but man, this is a strange turn of events.

The Oilers look to keep their streak alive against the Chicago Blackhawks tonight at 5:30 p.m. Pacific.

Los Angeles Kings (2-2-0)

The Los Angeles Kings are not our worst enemy anymore and I miss when they were. I’m not even mad that Drew Doughty netted the overtime goal that ended their game against the Calgary Flames 4-3 in their favor. I did heavily enjoy their 8-2 loss against the Vancouver Canucks, however. Jonathan Quick had a glorious .680 save percentage. You just love to see it!

They faced off against the Nashville Predators and won 7-4. What is up with the Kings scoring a bunch of goals this year? Anyway, Jack Campbell held his own in the net much better than his older counterpart, putting up 28 saves on 32 shots. Then came the Vegas Golden Knights, who beat them 5-2. Jonathan Quick let in two goals on five shots, making us feel better. It’s a shame they failed us the one time we were rooting for them.

The Kings will face the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. Pacific.

Vancouver Canucks (2-2-0)

The Vancouver Canucks are better than the San Jose Sharks thus far. Everything hurts. They had that huge win against the Kings on Tuesday, netting eight goals. It was a full team effort, with Brandon Sutter scoring the most goals of the night with two. Jacob Markstrom made 37 saves on the night.

The Canucks saw the Flyers for their final game of the week. The game ended 3-2 in a shootout. Brock Boeser and Tanner Pearson netted the goals in regulation. It was Pearson’s goal in the shootout that secured the victory, as well. Our old friend Justin Braun, who plays in Philly now, had himself an assist, though. So I guess that is nice.

The Canucks will take on the Red Wings on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Pacific.

Vegas Golden Knights (3-2-0)

The Vegas Golden Knights fell hard this week. First, they were taken down by the Boston Bruins. The 4-3 loss saw goals from Max Pacioretty, Mark Stone and Reilly Smith. They then lost a second straight game, this time to the less-than-stellar Arizona Coyotes. The lone goal was scored by Shea Theodore in the final seconds of the first period. They wouldn’t strike again throughout the last two periods.

They found their groove again, unfortunately. The Calgary Flames were their victims in the 6-2 victory. Somehow, Ryan Reaves scored a goal in this game. That goal was his first and probably last of the season. Then, our new worst enemy faced our old worst enemy. Kinda awkward. The LA Kings couldn’t help us out at all, losing to the Golden Knights, 5-2. Paul Stastny got himself a pair of goals and assists.

Vegas will face the Nashville Predators on Tuesday at 7 p.m. Pacific.

fear the fin logoAs many of you know, Fear the Fin is an independent site run by Sharks fans for Sharks fans. Help keep Fear the Fin independent by contributing to our GoFundMe or buying merchandise. Proceeds help us pay our writers and fund subscriptions to our favorite analytics sites.

Looking for an easy way to support FearTheFin? Use our Affiliate Link when shopping hockey merch this holiday season!

Talking Points