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Pacific Division Round Up: Hall and ‘Yotes?

Posted on by Haley Van Horn

The Edmonton Oilers’ reign as the Pacific Division’s top team has come to a close. The Oilers made their way down to third place with the Arizona Coyotes taking over first. There were a few shake ups across the division this week. Here’s what you may have missed:

Anaheim Ducks (14-15-4)

The Anaheim Ducks had an okay week, but still stand solid in second-to-last place. Both of their wins came in a shootout. The first was a 3-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild. Anaheim then went on to see a midweek 2-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings. They wrapped things up with their second shootout victory over the New York Rangers. The Rangers lost a 2-0 lead and Hampus Lindholm was able to force the game into overtime with his first goal of the season, eventually landing the Ducks a 4-3 win.

The Ducks will face the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Arizona Coyotes (19-12-4)

The Arizona Coyotes have made their way into first place. I don’t know about you, but I think this is fun. They started their week with a big 5-2 loss to the red hot Calgary Flames. They flipped it and reversed it come Thursday, beating the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2. Clayton Keller had two goals while Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves. The garbage fire that is the New Jersey Devils came out on top for the last Coyotes game of the week. That one ended 2-1.

Sad news to report. Our old friend Jason Demers is week-to-week after sustaining a lower-body injury this week. Get well soon, Daddy.

But the biggest news of the week is that after being the long-time front-runners for Devils forward Taylor Hall, the Coyotes have acquired him today in exchange for picks and prospects.

The Coyotes will see the Sharks on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Calgary Flames (18-13-4)

The Calgary Flames have moved up to third place this week after a seven-game winning streak that was snapped on Saturday. They started off their week with a 5-4 overtime win against the Colorado Avalanche. They played the Arizona Coyotes the next day and won that one 5-2. Their seventh consecutive win came over the Toronto Maple Leafs, ending 4-2. The Carolina Hurricanes crushed their dreams of winning eight straight with a 4-0 shut out win over the Flames. Yikes!

Matthew Tkachuk was sidelined with an upper-body injury this week. He was a game time decision against the Leafs. He returned to the ice for that game and Saturday’s against the Hurricanes. It seems like he is good to go now.

The Flames will play the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at 6 p.m. PT.

Edmonton Oilers (18-13-4)

The Edmonton Oilers no longer call first place home after making their way down to fourth place this week. It started on Tuesday when the Carolina Hurricanes pulled off a big 6-3 win in Edmonton. They suffered a similar fate against the Minnesota Wild. That one ended 6-5 in favor of the Wild. Finally, the Toronto Maple Leafs handed them a 4-1 loss on Saturday. It was a hard week for the Oilers.

The Oilers will see the Dallas Stars today at 5:30 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles Kings (14-18-3)

If I told you the Los Angeles Kings won more games than they lost this week would you believe me? Because that is exactly what happened somehow. It started with a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers on Tuesday. They beat the Ducks 2-1 on Thursday. Their lone loss of the week came in a 5-4 shootout against the Pittsburgh Penguins. Finally, they beat the Detroit Red Wings 4-2. Anze Kopitar had a pair of goals against the Red Wings. Jonathan Quick also had a really nice save this week. What year is it?

It loos like Ilya Kovalchuk’s contract with the Kings will be terminated. It’ll be interesting to see if he stays in the NHL or goes back to playing abroad.

The Kings will face the Boston Bruins on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT.

Vancouver Canucks (16-14-4)

The Vancouver Canucks were another team who had a rough week. They started it off with a 4-1 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. They did, however, beat the Carolina Hurricanes, who had a good run against their Pacific Canadian rivals. That one ended 1-0 with Elias Pettersson scoring the lone goal and Jacob Markstrom making a total of 43 saves. Our Sharks put a nice 4-2 beating to the Canucks, which was cool. Finally, the Vegas Golden Knights stomped the Canucks 6-3.

Michael Ferland has been placed on long term injured reserve. He sustained a concussion back in October. He returned this week and has been sidelined again with concussion like symptoms.

The Canucks will face the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (18-13-5)

The Vegas Golden Knights have made their way into second place in the Pacific Division, which is disappointing. They started their week with a 5-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. Marc-Andre Fleury returned to the lineup and made 28 saves. They lost on Thursday to the St. Louis Blues. They got back in the win column with a 3-2 overtime win over the Dallas Stars on Friday. Malcolm Subban returned between the pipes for that one and made 28 saves. Finally, they beat the Canucks 6-3. Max Pacioretty scored two goals. Fleury was back in the net for that big win.

Vegas will face the Wild on Tuesday at 7 p.m. PT.

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