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Pacific Division Round Up: Edmonton Oilers against the trade deadline

As we inch closer to the National Hockey League’s trade deadline on Feb. 25, teams are starting to rock the boat by making trades. Desperate for some wins, the Edmonton Oilers took to the trading route this week and sent their starting goaltender packing.

Anaheim Ducks (23-27-9)

Just last week we had a nice chat about how terrible the Anaheim Ducks were doing as they continued to drown on a seven-game losing streak. After firing their head coach, things seemed to improve, at least by Anaheim standards. The team is no longer in last place of the division, sitting just above the Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers now. Their first win of the week was helpful, as it came over division rival the Vancouver Canucks. The 1-0 win saw a goal from Jakob Silfverberg and 35 saves by Kevin Boyle.

The Boston Bruins started their California road trip in Anaheim and delivered a 3-0 defeat to the Ducks. Kevin Boyle was in net again and made 26 saves. Things turned around for the Ducks come Sunday when they found themselves victorious in a 5-2 final over the Washington Capitals. How this happened, I don’t know, but Adam Henrique and Jakob Silfverberg each had a pair of goals. Corey Perry also got on the board that night, so I’m guessing he didn’t have to throw a fit for once.

The Ducks face the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at 5 p.m. PT.

Arizona Coyotes (26-27-5)

The Arizona Coyotes pulled off two upsets this week. The first victory over the Vegas Golden Knights. Goals from Nick Cousins, Richard Panik, Josh Archibald, Alex Galchenyuk and Jordan Oesterle helped launch the Coyotes to a 5-2 win. Darcy Kuemper made 41 saves. It was a good win for the Desert Dogs. Things went south for the Coyotes when they saw the St. Louis Blues, getting shut out 4-0. No highlight reel for this one.

They found their groove again against the Toronto Maple Leafs, beating them 2-0, which is pretty impressive. Josh Archibald and Alex Galchenyuk had the only goals scored that night. Darcy Kuemper made 22 saves on the night. Toronto didn’t get many shots on goal, eh?

The Coyotes take on the Flames today at 1 p.m. PT.

Calgary Flames (35-16-7)

The Calgary Flames are back in first place in the Pacific. Boo. They had a not-so-hot week, though, first falling 6-3 to the red hot Tampa Bay Lightning. Calgary had two goals from Sean Monahan and one from Mark Giordano. David Rittich had 21 saves between the pipes. The Florida Panthers went on to beat them 2-3 in a shootout. Mark Jankowski and Elias Lindholm kept the Flames in the game but they couldn’t find the net in overtime.

The Flames pulled off one win this week against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The 5-4 final saw goals from Sam Bennett, Austin Czarnik, Michael Frolik, Travis Hamonic and Andrew Mangiapane. Everyone got involved in the action this weekend. Mike Smith made 34 saves on the night.

The Flames see the Coyotes today at 1 p.m. PT.

Edmonton Oilers (24-29-5)

The Edmonton Oilers had a great time with trades this week. They sent Cam Talbot to the Philadelphia Flyers in a goaltender swap for Anthony Stolarz. They also traded center Ryan Spooner to the Vancouver Canucks for defenseman Sam Gagner. Gagner has one goal and two assists in eight NHL games this season, while Spooner is sent to his third team of the season. Oh Edmonton, what a treat.

Regardless of the trades made, the Oilers lost all three games they played this week. The first ended 3-1 against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Leon Draisaitl was the only Oiler to find the net. They repeated that final score, this time against the team of jerks, the Carolina Hurricanes. Draisaitl again was the lone Oiler to slip a puck past all those jerks. Post trades, the Oilers lost again to the New York Islanders. Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored in the 5-2 loss. Stolarz hasn’t hit the ice with the team yet, but Gagner played against the Isles and took a whole zero shots on net.

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

Los Angeles Kings (23-29-6)

The Kings are back to being in last place. They made a trade this week, sending Nate Thompson and a fifth-round pick to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick. They lost every game they played this week, starting with a 6-4 defeat against the Washington Capitals. Austin Wagner had two goals, while the others were tapped in by Oscar Fantenberg and Tyler Toffoli. Their game against the Vancouver Canucks went into a shootout, but ended in the Canucks favor with a 4-3 final score. Alec Martinez, Michael Amadio and Austin Wagner scored for LA.

Their Saturday matchup against the Boston Bruins was an interesting one. They went back-and-forth, tying it up twice before the Bruins scored two late goals for the win. The game ended 4-2 with goals from Alex Iafallo and Ilya Kovalchuk.

The Kings play the Capitals today at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Vancouver Canucks (26-27-7)

Aside from sending Gagner to Edmonton and acquiring Spooner, things have been quiet for Vancouver on the trade front. They fell hard and fast to the Sharks to kick their week off in a sweet 7-2 Sharks victory. They went on to play the Ducks and fell short there as well with a 1-0 loss. They pulled off a shootout win over the struggling LA Kings. Adam Gaudette, Elias Pettersson and Brock Boeser found the net. Boeser notched the winning shootout goal, as well.

The Canucks fell again to the Sharks on Saturday. It was an interesting game that ended 3-2. Brock Boeser and Antoine Roussel scored for Vancouver, while goaltender Jacob Markstrom made 23 saves. The Canucks are currently missing six players with injuries. They’re struggling, man.

The Canucks see the Coyotes on Thursday at 7 p.m. PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (32-24-4)

The Vegas Golden Knights made a few changes to their lines this week to help pull them out of a progressing losing streak. It worked — kind of? Not against the Coyotes, who beat them 5-2. Only Brandon Pirri and Nate Schmidt found the net. Marc-Andre Fleury made 21 saves between the pipes. They proceeded to lose again, this time 6-3 to the Toronto Maple Leafs. William Karlsson, Oscar Lindberg and Paul Stastny had the Vegas goals, while Fleury made 37 saves.

Things improved for Vegas when they saw the Nashville Predators. They finally got a win, and it was a big one. The 5-1 victory saw goals from Oscar Lindberg, Brandon Pirri and Shea Theodore, and two from Max Pacioretty. Malcolm Subban stood between the pipes, making 29 saves. Vegas has yet to make any trades, do you think they will before the deadline?

The Golden Knights play the Colorado Avalanche today at 6 p.m. PT.

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