Comments / New

Pacific Division Round Up: Doughty vs. Tkachuk

Posted on by Haley Van Horn

The Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames aren’t having their best seasons thus far, but they are, however, having a lot of fun hating each other. After last year’s drama and the fact that they’ve played each other twice already, the drama between Drew Doughty and Matthew Tkachuk is heating up! Finally, the Kings have replaced the Sharks as their number one rivals — which works out, since we’ve moved on to hating Vegas.

Anaheim Ducks (6-3-0)

Listen, the Ducks are in second place in the Pacific, but that probably won’t last much longer. If you recall last season, these guys sat happily in the top three for a few weeks then slipped away into oblivion with the Kings in the last two places. This week, they played four games and came out with two wins.

First came the Boston Bruins who took em’ out to the tune of 4-2. The Buffalo Sabres then rolled into town and the Ducks beat them 5-2. After Saturday’s game between Buffalo and San Jose, I’ll spare you the details. The Carolina Hurricanes also saw the Ducks and Anaheim topped them 4-2. The jerks had a really tough time in California. Finally, the Flames and the Ducks faced off, giving Anaheim their second loss of the week. That ended their four-game win streak at home.

The Ducks face the Nashville Predators Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT.

Arizona Coyotes (4-2-1)

Guess what? Phil Kessel has scored goals with his new team. It took a few weeks, but he did it. It didn’t happen when they beat the Winnipeg Jets 4-2, though. Christian Dvorak had half of those goals. It did happen, however, when they beat the Nashville Predators 5-2. Kessel had not one but two goals that game. The American hero is back to scoring. He only put up one shot on goal, however, when they faced off against Chris Tierney’s Ottawa Senators. The 5-2 final ended in Arizona’s favor, giving them a perfect week. Our fallen son Chris Tierney scored one of those Ottawa goals, though.

The Coyotes will hope to keep their streak alive against the New York Rangers on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Calgary Flames (4-2-1)

The Calgary Flames had a great week before the drama started. They beat the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 and the Detroit Red Wings 5-1. Then came that infamous Los Angeles Kings match. They lost 1-4 with the lone goal coming from Mikael Backlund. Calgary’s Tkachuk and LA’s Doughty had a tussle that turned into a decent sized brawl between the two teams. They don’t like each other and it’s fun to watch. However, LA had the last laugh in that one. The Flames bounced back, beating LA’s freeway rivals, the Anaheim Ducks, 2-1 on Sunday.

The Flames see the Washington Capitals Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

Edmonton Oilers (7-1-1)

The Edmonton Oilers are still in first place somehow, but they were handed their first loss this week. On Monday, they fell 3-1 to the Chicago Blackhawks, of all teams. The lone goal was scored by scoring legend James Neal. The Oilers recovered quickly, beating the Flyers 6-3 and the Red Wings 2-1. The Winnipeg Jets gave the Oilers their first overtime loss. This game somehow went scoreless through three periods and overtime. It took a shootout to get a winner and that winner was the Jets. So, that’s something?

The Minnesota Wild are next for the Oilers on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT. Everyone is playing on Tuesday, apparently.

Los Angeles Kings (3-5-0)

Last place Kings forever and always, please. Yes, our favorite last place team from last season continues to underachieve! First, they were shut out 2-0 against the Carolina Hurricanes. Then, they were shut out again against the Buffalo Sabres, this time 3-0. But finally, they beat their new worst enemies 4-1. Jonathan Quick made his way back into the net after being the actual worst to start the season. He lost all three of the games he started prior with a 6.43 goals-against average and a .793 save percentage. So, when you feel sad about San Jose’s goaltending situation, please refer back to this round up. Like I stated prior, Doughty and Tkachuk got into it. That was the hot gossip for the week regarding the terrible LA Kings.

The Kings pray for something good against the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT.

Vancouver Canucks (5-3-0)

The Vancouver Canucks are getting better. They’re in fifth place now and are coming off of a three-win week. First, they beat out the Red Wings 5-1. Then, they beat the St. Louis Blues 4-3 in a shootout. Their only loss for the week came from the New Jersey Devils, with a 1-0 final. Lastly, they faced the New York Rangers and won 3-2. I wouldn’t get your hopes up for the Canucks, but I hate them a little less than most teams in this division, so good luck I guess.

The Canucks see the Red Wings again on Tuesday because why not.

Vegas Golden Knights (6-3-0)

The Vegas Golden Knights only lost once this week, unfortunately. They started their week off with a loss against the Nashville Predators. That one ended 5-2 with Marc-Andre Fleury making 34 saves. The Ottawa Senators forced a shootout, and the 3-2 Knights win saw no goals from Chris Tierney. Finally, Fleury returned to his old home and shutout the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-0. He made all 29 saves to remind his old team how good he is.

Vegas see the Flyers today at 4 p.m. PT.

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