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Pacific Division Round Up: The LA Kings slip back into last place

The San Jose Sharks are off to a rough start, spending some time in the last place of the division this week. At least, until the Los Angeles Kings did that thing they do, which is lose. Sure, the Sharks lost to the Ottawa Senators, but the Kings have one more loss than they do, which makes things just a little bit better.

Here’s how the rest of the division shaped up this week:

Anaheim Ducks (7-6-0)

The Anaheim Ducks have gotten pretty comfortable in the top three slots lately, but they had a rough week. They started things off losing to the Nashville Predators 6-1 and followed it with a 2-1 loss to the Dallas Stars. Joe Pavelski had zero goals and assists that night, just an FYI. They regained momentum against a really good Colorado Avalanche squad, winning that one 5-2. They finished the week off with a 5-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The Golden Knights make us root for the Ducks now, which should be sacrilegious, right?

This week the Anaheim Ducks acquired Erik Gudbranson from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Andreas Martinsen and a 2021 seventh-round draft pick are headed to the Penguins in return. In other news, the Ducks lost two of their key players in Josh Manson and Ondrej Kase, to injury. Kase will miss a few games with an upper-body injury, while Manson has been placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

The Anaheim Ducks will face the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT.

Arizona Coyotes (6-3-1)

The Arizona Coyotes kicked their week off with an overtime win against the New York Rangers. Things went south when they visited the other New York team, falling 4-2 to the New York Islanders. Our old friend Jason Demers aided in his team’s 5-3 victory over the New Jersey Devils with an assist on three of those five goals. Good for him.

Aside from losing Niklas Hjalmarsson for the next several months due to a cracked fibula, the Coyotes are doing okay on the injury front. However, that injury is a big loss. It looks like he will be out for the next three months.

The Coyotes will see the Buffalo Sabres today at 4 p.m. PT.

Calgary Flames (6-5-2)

The Calgary Flames fell 5-3 to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. It took a shootout to get them back in the win column, with a 6-5 victory over the Florida Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk netted two of those goals. Another game, another overtime. The Flames lost 2-1 to the Winnipeg Jets in extra time during the Heritage Classic game. Somehow, these two teams played an outdoor game, which is cool. I thought only the Chicago Blackhawks got to play those these days.

The Flames visit the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Edmonton Oilers (8-3-1)

The first place Edmonton Oilers. I don’t think that’ll ever stop being weird to say. They did not have the best week, though, after starting things off with a 0-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Mike Smith made 27 saves on 30 shots. The Oilers got a win on Thursday, but it was in overtime. They came out on top in extra time against the Washington Capitals. Things went back downhill when they saw the Florida Panthers. They lost that one 6-2, which is pretty ugly.

The Oilers have placed Josh Archibald on IR after fracturing his foot. He will be out 2-4 weeks.

The Oilers will see the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles Kings (4-8-0)

The Los Angeles Kings got one win this week. Good for them, I guess. It came on Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets, ending in a tight 3-2. The reigning Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues beat the Kings 5-2. The Wild put a big beating to them, as well, with that one ending 5-1. Then came the Chicago Blackhawks. Do you want to guess that final score? Yes, it was also a 5-1 loss for the Kings. Last place Kings, all is right in the world.

The Kings will play the Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Vancouver Canucks (6-3-1)

The Vancouver Canucks sit right above the San Jose Sharks in the standings currently. They only played two games this week. First, they beat the Detroit Red Wings 5-2. Then, they lost 6-5 in the Washington Capitals in a shootout. The Canucks had a week full of goals. Bo Horvat had a hat trick (his first ever!) against the Red Wings, while Tim Schaller got himself a pair of goals against the Capitals.

Tyler Motte suffered an injury against the Capitals. He’ll be out for at least a week. They’ve called up Adam Gaudette to fill the void in the roster.

The Canucks will host the Florida Panthers today at 7 p.m. PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (8-5-0)

The Vegas Golden Knights are still in second place in the Pacific. The good news is that the Philadelphia Flyers beat them 6-2 on Monday. They went on to beat the Blackhawks 2-1 in a shootout on Tuesday. Things got better for Sharks fans when the Avalanche beat them 6-1. They did bounce back, though, finding a 5-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

The Vegas Golden Knights will see the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT.

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