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Pacific Division Round Up: Edmonton is playing catch up

After struggling last season and a rocky start to this one, the Edmonton Oilers are starting to catch up. They’ve sneaked their way up to second place, below the Sharks in the standings. Between Anaheim’s rough week and the Arizona Coyotes moving out of last place thanks to the Los Angeles Kings, this week was a wild one in the Pacific.

Anaheim Ducks (5-5-2)

The Ducks have moved down the table thanks to another tough week of games. They’re coming off an overtime loss to the Sharks, but their results before that weren’t great, either. The Sharks added a fifth loss to the streak they were on. They fell first to the Chicago Blackhawks 3-1. They faced the Dallas Stars next and lost that one 5-2. John Gibson, who the Ducks have relied on to a fault this season, has begun to hit a slump. Paired with the amount of injuries this team is still dealing with, it could be a tough next few months for the Ducks.

The Ducks face the Flyers on Tuesday at 7 PT.

Arizona Coyotes (5-5-0)

Guys, the Arizona Coyotes are NOT in last place right now. This is not a drill. The Desert Dogs had a great week. They beat out the Columbus Blue Jackets 4-1 on Tuesday. Christian Fischer had a hat trick, while Dylan Strome had a single goal. The fun didn’t stop there for the ‘Yotes. They took down the Vancouver Canucks 4-1. Lawson Crouse, Alex Galchenyuk, Clayton Keller, and Brad Richardson all got on the board.

Then things got REALLY fun for the Coyotes. They beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 7-1! They scored SEVEN GOALS! Michael Grabner had a pair of goals that were both shorthanded. Vinnie Hinostroza, Richard Panik, Derek Stepan, Clayton Keller, and Jordan Oesterle all had goals of their own. Man, it was a great week for the Coyotes.

The Arizona Coyotes look to keep their win streak alive against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday at 7 PT.

Calgary Flames (5-5-1)

The Calgary Flames had a tough week, losing all three of their games. The first loss was handed to them by the Montreal Canadiens, 2-3. Michael Frolik and Elias Lindholm had the two goals. Next on their East Coast road trip came the Pittsburgh Penguins and let me tell you, it was ugly. They fell 9-1. Mike Smith started in goal but after allowing six goals, was replaced David Rittich. James Neal had the lone Flames goal.

They took on the Washington Capitals next and had a significantly better time. Sure, they lost, but this time it was in a shoot out. Travis Hamonic, Elias Lindholm, and Matthew Tkachuk got the Flames on the board in an attempt to revive their road trip. They’ll get another attempt today against the Toronto Maple Leafs at 4 PT.

Edmonton Oilers (6-3-1)

Ladies and gentlemen, your second place Edmonton Oilers. After losing to the Penguins 6-5 in overtime on Tuesday, the Oilers bounced back to win three games straight. They beat the Washington Capitals 4-1. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, Evan Bouchard, Alex Chiasson, and Connor McDavid scored the goals. Cam Talbot had a .969 save percentage between the pipes.

Then came the Nashville Predators. Drake Caggiula and Leon Draisaitl had two goals each in the 5-3 victory. Connor McDavid also had a goal, of course. The Oilers saw the Chicago Blackhawks next, and won that one too. The 2-1 victory saw goals from Zack Kassian and Connor McDavid. Did you guys know that Connor McDavid is good at hockey? His goal was the overtime winner.

The Oilers face the Minnesota Wild on Tuesday at 6 PT.

Los Angeles Kings (3-7-1)

Even more exciting, ladies and gentlemen, your last place Los Angeles Kings. Man, this team is not doing well. They played three games this week and actually won one of them. First, they fell 4-2 to the Dallas Stars. The two L.A. goals came from Tyler Toffoli and Anze Kopitar. Jonathan Quick was back in goal and made 19 saves on 23 shots. They lost again on Thursday. This time against the Minnesota Wild. The 4-1 loss saw a goal from Kyle Clifford and that was about the only Kings highlight.

They finally won against the New York Rangers on Sunday. Dustin Brown returned to the line up and had a goal in the 4-3 victory. The three other L.A. goals came from Ilya Kovalchuk, Trevor Lewis and Alec Martinez. Jake Campbell was back in net for the Kings, skating away with a .880 save percentage.

The Kings look to move out of last place on Thursday at 7:30 PT against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Vancouver Canucks (6-6-0)

The Vancouver Canucks fell short to the Capitals 5-2 on Monday. Sven Baertschi and Troy Stecher had the two goals. They beat the Vegas Golden Knights in a shootout next. The 3-2 victory saw two goals from Bo Horvat. Markus Granlund had the shootout winner.

The next two games were both losses. They lost 4-1 to the future Stanley Cup champion Arizona Coyotes. The lone Canucks goal was scored by Darren Archibald. They then took on the Pittsburgh Penguins and saw a rough 5-0 loss. It should be noted the Canucks are dealing with injuries. Goalie Anders Nilsson suffered a fractured finger, Alexander Edler will be out three-to-six weeks with an MCL sprain, and Christopher Tanev is day-to-day.

The Canucks will look to change their luck around when they take on the Wild today at 7 PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (5-5-1)

The Vegas Golden Knights were delivered their first loss of the week from the Vancouver Canucks in a shootout. Max Pacioretty and Ryan Reaves had the two Vegas goals. They lost again to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, this time 3-2. William Karlsson and Shea Theodore had the two goals. Our old friend Ryan Carpenter had an assist, good for him, I guess.

They pulled off an overtime win against the Ottawa Senators on Sunday. Alex Tuch had two goals and Ryan Reaves had a single goal. Jonathan Marchessault had the unassisted overtime winner, ending the game with a 4-3 score.

The Golden Knights face the Predators Tuesday at 5 PT.

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