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Pacific Division Round Up: Calgary sinks, Sharks swim up the standings

Posted on by Haley Van Horn

The San Jose Sharks are now within a point of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Pacific Division standings. They took the Calgary Flames’ spot this week after the Flames hit a rough patch.

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

Anaheim Ducks (10-11-3)

The Anaheim Ducks have taken over the Sharks’ old position in second-to-last place in the Pacific, currently riding a three-game losing streak. On Monday, they fell 5-2 to the Washington Capitals. On Thursday, the Florida Panthers took them down 5-4 in overtime. The Ducks were up 4-2 going into the third period, where the Panthers were able to tie it up and ultimately win in OT. Finally, the Tampa Bay Lightning put a 6-2 beating to them, ending their tough week on an even uglier note.

Hampus Lindholm returned to the lineup on Saturday against the Lightning. He didn’t put up any points in the ugly game, but I’m sure his presence is a relief to the Ducks and their fans alike.

Anaheim will face the New York Islanders today at 7 p.m. PT.

Arizona Coyotes (14-8-3)

The second-place Arizona Coyotes, who would have thought? On Monday, they shut out the struggling Los Angeles Kings, 3-0. On Thursday, the Toronto Maple Leafs beat them 3-1 with a new coach behind the bench of the blue and white. The Coyotes then played back-to-back weekend games. First, they beat the Kings again 3-2. On Sunday, they faced off against the first-place Edmonton Oilers,  who forced the game into overtime which went scoreless. It was settled in a shootout, with Edmonton taking the win.

Lawson Crouse left the game against the Kings with an upper-body injury. He was tripped, which lead to him slipping and landing headfirst into the boards. He scored the go-ahead goal for the Coyotes. There has yet to be an update on his status, but he did not play against Edmonton.

Arizona will see Anaheim on Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PT.

Calgary Flames (11-12-3)

The Calgary Flames are another team the Sharks were able to pass in the standings this week. The Colorado Avalanche gave them their first loss of the week on Tuesday. The St. Louis Blues kept that theme alive, shutting them out 5-0. Yikes! They finally found some hope in a shootout against the Philadelphia Flyers, with a tight 3-2 win.

Last Thursday, T.J. Brodie dropped to the ice during practices and began convulsing. He will be a game-time decision today. We hope all is well with him after that scary incident.

The Flames will play the Pittsburgh Penguins today at 4 p.m. PT.

Edmonton Oilers (16-7-3)

The Edmonton Oilers are holding on to their early-season momentum as the weeks roll by. This week, they started off with a win against the Sharks. I’ll spare you the details of that. They did, however, follow that up with a 5-1 loss to the LA Kings, the worst team in the division. The Oilers then went on to do us a favor, though, and beat the Vegas Golden Knights 4-2, putting the Sharks just a point below Vegas in the standings. Finally, they saw the Coyotes. That game ended in a shootout favoring Edmonton.

Jujhar Khaira did not dress for Saturday’s game against Vegas. He was a game-time decision against the Coyotes on Sunday but didn’t hit the ice. No word on his current status.

The Oilers will face the Avalanche on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT.

Los Angeles Kings (9-13-1)

The Los Angeles Kings started off the week with a shutout loss against the Arizona Coyotes. They somehow bounced back to beat the first-place Oilers, 5-1. Tyler Toffoli had a pair of goals while Jonathan Quick made 25 whole saves. Finally, the Kings lost 3-2 to the Coyotes. Another rough week for the Kings.

The Kings will (hopefully) lose to the Sharks tonight at 7:30 p.m. PT.

Vancouver Canucks (12-8-4)

The Vancouver Canucks had an interesting week. They started it out rough, losing 6-1 to the Dallas Stars. Joe Pavelski had a whole zero points in that game, just FYI. They quickly recovered, putting a 6-3 beating to the Nashville Predators. Jacob Markstrom made an impressive 45 saves. They finished their week off with a 2-1 shootout victory over the Washington Capitals.

Alexander Edler suffered an upper-body injury against the Capitals and did not return to the game. There has yet to be an update on his status.

The Canucks will face the Flyers today at 4 p.m. PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (11-10-4)

The Sharks are now only a point below the Golden Knights in the standings, which is great news. On Tuesday, they beat the struggling Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2. That win was mostly due to Marc-Andre Fleury’s insane ability. The video below is of the incredible save he made against Toronto. This is the only compliment I will ever give him. That was followed up by a glorious 2-1 defeat in overtime against the San Jose Sharks. They ended their week with a 4-2 loss to the Edmonton Oilers. What is better than Vegas losing?

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

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