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Pacific Division Round Up: The Battle of Alberta rages on

These teams really don’t like each other.

All eyes were on the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames this week. The rivals played two very intense games against each other in a span of a few days. There was a goalie fight and lots of goals scored. It was definitely a week to remember.

Here’s how the rest of the division shook out this week:

Anaheim Ducks (21-26-5)

The Anaheim Ducks still sit in the second-to-last spot on the table. They played four games this week and broke even when it came to wins and losses. It started on Monday against the San Jose Sharks, when our Sharks beat them 4-2. Oh yes, one of those few wins they’ve pulled off lately.

On Wednesday, the Ducks beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-2. Adam Henrique had two of the four goals that night. Come Friday, they were back in the losers column, after the Tampa Bay Lightning beat them 4-3. Finally, they finished the week off with a 3-1 victory over their freeway rivals, the Los Angeles Kings on Hockey Day SoCal. Ryan Miller was in net and made 46 saves.

The Ducks will face the Ottawa Senators Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. PT.

Arizona Coyotes (26-21-7)

The Arizona Coyotes have slipped down the standings. They now sit just above the Sharks (separated by 11 points) after only playing three games this week and losing all of them. It started on Wednesday with that 4-2 loss to the Ducks. Their next match up was against another division rival. The Los Angeles Kings were able to pull off a 3-2 win in overtime. Our old friend Jason Demers had an assist against his once worst enemies. The Coyotes lost once more in overtime as their week drew to a close. The Chicago Blackhawks pulled off a 3-2 win in a shootout over the Desert Dogs.

The Coyotes suffered a pretty big loss to their lineup this week. Oliver Ekman-Larsson sustained a lower-body injury. The captain and Kings’ Dustin Brown collided in an awkward knee-to-knee hit. There have been no further updates on his status.

The Coyotes will see the Oilers Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

Calgary Flames (27-20-7)

The moment you’ve all been waiting for! The Calgary Flames had a pretty wild week. It started on Tuesday with a close game against the St. Louis Blues. After a round of overtime, the game ended 5-4 in a shootout favoring the reigning Stanley Cup champions. Sean Monahan scored two goals but ultimately it was Jordan Binnington and his team who came out on top.

Finally, the first round of the Battle of Alberta rolled in on Wednesday. This one saw a fight between Edmonton’s Zack Kassian and Calgary’s Matthew Tkachuk. That was the milder of the back-to-back games against the Oilers for the Flames. They won 4-3 in a shootout. Andrew Mangipane had a pair of goals that night.

Saturday’s rematch wasn’t as successful for the Flames. Clearly, tensions had boiled over. There were fights, including a brawl between the goaltenders. In the year 2020! The final score of this game was pretty ugly if you’re a Flames fan, ending 8-3 in favor of the Oilers. After goaltender Cam Talbot was ejected for fighting Mike Smith, David Rittich minded the net and allowed six goals. Yikes!

The Flames will play the Sharks Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

Edmonton Oilers (28-18-6)

The second-place Edmonton Oilers had themselves a week. It started on Wednesday with the 4-3 loss in a shootout to the Flames. They went to beat the St. Louis Blues 4-2 on Friday. Leon Draisaitl scored a pair of goals while Mikko Koskinen made 30 saves between the pipes. Things were pretty good or the Oilers, but they definitely got better come Saturday. Between the brawls and all the scoring, the Oilers came out on top 8-3. Connor McDavid scored two goals, while the rest of the six were a full team effort. Mike Smith allowed all three goals before his ejection. Mikko Koskinen made eight saves for a perfect 1.000 save percentage. What. A. Game.

The Oilers will face the Coyotes on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles Kings (19-29-5)

The Sharks had another rough week, but at least the Kings are still in last place in the division, right? They had a decent week, however, starting on Wednesday with a 4-2 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning. Despite the back-to-backs, on Thursday they beat the Coyotes 3-2 in a shootout. Alex Iafallo netted all three goals. Finally, they lost 3-1 to the Anaheim Ducks. Tyler Toffoli had the only Kings goal.

Drew Doughty has missed three games with an undisclosed injury. He previously had played over 400 games straight.

The Kings will see the Washington Capitals Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Vancouver Canucks (30-18-5)

The Vancouver Canucks are still in first place after a solid week. They kicked things off on Monday with a 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues. J.T. Miller netted two of the three goals while goaltender Thatcher Demko made 36 saves. They beat the Sharks on Wednesday, but we’ll pretend that didn’t happen.

The Canucks found their third win of the week in overtime against the New York Islanders. That one ended 4-3 with two goals from rookie Quinn Hughes. They finished their week off with an afternoon loss in a shootout to the Carolina Hurricanes. The Jerks beat them 4-3. Elias Pettersson scored twice but couldn’t deliver in overtime.

Center Tyler Motte will be out four to six weeks with a shoulder injury. But, there is some good news: Michael Ferland, currently on injured reserve, will head to the AHL to play some games before returning to the Canucks lineup. His return seems to be approaching.

The Canucks will see the Bruins on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (27-20-7)

The Vegas Golden Knights are in third place under new head coach, Pete DeBoer. Their first game of the week was a 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins. Marc-Andre Fleury made 34 saves, but couldn’t hold back the Atlantic Division’s first-place team. Vegas bounced back to beat the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Their week ended strong with a 3-0 shutout victory over the Nashville Predators. Fleury only needed to make 19 saves to secure the shutout. It was a rough night when it came to shots on goal for the Predators.

Vegas will face the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

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