Comments / New

Pacific Division Round Up: What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas, right?

Posted on by Haley Van Horn

The Sharks entertained a nice string of Pacific Division opponents this week. And while the Canucks and Oilers rarely offer much in competition, the Sharks did have to face the Golden Knights just as they started hitting their stride.

Here’s how the rest of the division fared:

Anaheim Ducks (10-10-5)

The Anaheim Ducks had a pretty good week. They started off with a game against the struggling Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday and coming out on top with a 4-3 victory. Adam Henrique, Ondrej Kase and Kalle Kossila picked up a goal each, while Ryan Getzlaf had himself both a goal and an assist. John Gibson made 25 saves on 28 shots.

Against the Edmonton Oilers, they went into overtime before pulling off a 2-1 win. Nick Ritchie had the regulation goal in the third period. Rickard Rakell scored the game winner and had an assist on the Ritchie goal. The Ducks finished off the week with a loss to the Nashville Predators. In the 5-2 defeat, Adam Henrique and Ondrej Kase had the two Anaheim goals. Hampus Lindholm is still on the injured reserve, missing his third game with a lower-body injury.

The Ducks play the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at 4:30 PT.

Arizona Coyotes (9-11-2)

The Arizona Coyotes are back in second-to-last place in the division. It’s a sad day. The Coyotes lost all three games they played this week. The first loss came in overtime against the Vegas Golden Knights. Derek Stepan had both of Arizona’s goals, so that’s cool. Things got worse when the Colorado Avalanche rolled into town. The lone Desert Dogs goal was scored by Dylan Strome. Antti Raanta had a tough night in net, saving 34 of 39 shots in the 5-1 loss.

The downward spiral only continued when they faced the Calgary Flames. This one ended in a 6-1 Coyote defeat. Yikes. Clayton Keller scored the only Arizona goal. Raanta allowed six goals on 26 shots before being pulled and replaced by Adin Hill who made one save on one shot.

In an attempt to shake things up, the Coyotes traded Brendan Perlini and Dylan Strome to the Chicago Blackhawks for center Nick Schmaltz. That’s… interesting?

The Coyotes hope to improve their luck on Tuesday against the Minnesota Wild at 5:00 PT.

Calgary Flames (14-9-1)

The Calgary Flames are currently sitting on top of the Pacific Division. They played the Vegas Golden Knights twice this week, coming out with a win and a loss. On Monday, they beat them 7-2. Matthew Tkachuk and Sean Monahan each had two goals, while Johnny Gaudreau, Sam Bennett and T.J. Brodie had a goal apiece. David Rittich had 20 saves on 22 shots. The Flames earned another big win over the Winnipeg Jets, this time a 6-3 final score. Sam Bennett, Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Jankowski, Matthew Tkachuk, Dillon Dube and Derek Ryan all got on the scoreboard.

The Flames play the Dallas Stars Wednesday at 6:00 PT.

Edmonton Oilers (10-11-2)

The Edmonton Oilers had a light week, only playing three games. The first game of the week was the overtime winner over the Sharks. I won’t make you relive a loss, don’t worry. They continued their California road trip in Anaheim against the Ducks. They lost that one 2-1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had the only Oilers goal. They went on to face the Los Angeles Kings. By period two, the game was tied up 2-2. Alex Chaisson had the two Edmonton goals. Edmonton failed to score for the rest of the game and lost to the Kings 5-2.

The Oilers host the Dallas Stars on Tuesday at 6:00 PT.

Los Angeles Kings (8-14-1)

Aside from Jonathan Quick hitting the ice for a full practice for the first time since sustaining an injury earlier this season, the Los Angeles Kings had a fairly disappointing week. They started off on a high note, beating the St. Louis Blues 2-0. Cal Petersen had his first NHL shutout, while Anze Kopitar and Matt Luff each had a goal. Things went south when the Colorado Avalanche came into Staples Center. The Kings lost 7-3. Matt Luff, Austin Wagner and Kyle Clifford scored the Kings’ goals.

Then came the Vancouver Canucks, looking to end their big losing streak. What better team to face when you’re trying to get a much-needed win than the 2018 Los Angeles Kings? The Canucks won 4-2. Matt Luff kept his score streak going, while Drew Doughty scored his first goal in a while. They faced another Canadian division rival, the Edmonton Oilers. This one was a close one, tied 2-2 by the second period. Dustin Brown had both of the opening Kings’ goals. Kopitar went on to score the winning goal, while Dustin Brown and Matt Luff scored on the open net, giving Brown a hat trick and the Kings’ a 5-2 victory.

The Kings face the Canucks on Tuesday at 7:00 PT.

Vancouver Canucks (11-13-2)

The Vancouver Canucks fell out of the top three in the division after suffering a terrible eight-game losing streak. They started out losing to the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. The 6-3 defeat saw goals from Elias Pettersson, Tyler Motte, and our old friend Nikolay Goldobin. The Canucks headed to Anaheim and lost again to the Ducks. This one was a closer game, at least, a 3-4 loss. Goldobin had another goal and an assist. Bo Horvat and Derrick Pouliot had the other two Vancouver goals.

If you recall, the Sharks shut them out 4-0. I usually don’t cover much of the games that involve the Sharks since we do full recaps on those games here, but let’s all remember that beautiful Erik Karlsson goal. Okay, we’ll carry on with the rest now. Their losing streak was finally snapped thanks to the Los Angeles Kings. They won 4-2, with goals scored by Elias Pettersson, Sam Gagner, Adam Gaudette and Tyler Motte.

The Canucks play the Kings again on Tuesday at 7:00 PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (12-12-1)

The Vegas Golden Knights are back in the top three of the division, unfortunately. They had a tough loss to the Calgary Flames early in the week, falling 7-2. They were losing 7-0 when Nick Holden and Max Pacioretty each scored in the third period. They played the Arizona Coyotes next, winning 3-2 in overtime. Pacioretty had two goals, including the game winner. The other goal was scored by Tomas Nosek.

Vegas played Calgary again later in the week and came out on top this time, shutting them out 2-0. Alex Tuch and Collin Miller had the two goals, while Marc-Andre Fleury had 29 saves on the night. Vegas then beat the Sharks 6-0, but as far as I am concerned, that never happened.

Vegas plays the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday at 5:00 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