This morning, let’s not lament the San Jose Sharks and the team’s position in the Pacific Division basement. Instead, let’s take a look at how the other teams in the division are doing. Is it possible there’s a changing of the guard of sorts? Four of the division’s teams made the playoffs last season – the Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings, Edmonton Oilers and Seattle Kraken. However, ten-plus games into this season and two of those teams – Seattle and Edmonton – are well outside the playoff picture. San Jose’s basement buddies last season, the Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks, are now in playoff contention. Meanwhile, the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers appear to be imploding before our very eyes. As the teams are finding, the only thing worse than being bad like the Sharks is having playoff expectations and then being bad like the Sharks.
Vegas Golden Knights (11-1-1, 23 pts.)
When I started writing this, the Golden Knights were the only undefeated team in regulation remaining in the NHL. That’s not the case now. Credit to Anaheim for that 4-2 victory last night.
Other than a few hiccups, like last night’s loss and the 4-3 OT loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, the Golden Knights are firing on all cylinders.
Vegas put the Colorado Avalanche to shame on Saturday night with a 7-0 beat down. This season, Vegas has outscored opponents 31-22. Two players on the team are on a point per game or better pace – William Karlsson (15) and Jack Eichel (14). Mark Stone and Shea Theodore are just outside of that with 12 points. Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault share the team lead with six goals apiece.
On the backend, Vegas is getting strong goaltending from both goaltenders. Adin Hill leads the team with a .938 save percentage, with Logan Thompson close behind with a .932 save percentage. As it stands now, Vegas appears to be primed to try for back-to-back Stanley Cups.
The only injury right now is Nicholas Hague.
Vancouver Canucks (8-2-1, 17 pts.)
Do you know who’s doing better than Hill or Thompson? Vancouver’s Thatcher Demko. The California native is on absolute fire and is one of the reasons the Canucks are in the playoff race this early in the season.
#Canucks Demko's updated numbers after 2-0 win over Dallas: 6-2 on the season with a 1.55 GAA and a .947 save percentage along with 2 shutouts. Has given up 3 goals in his last 4 starts
— Jeff Paterson (@patersonjeff) November 5, 2023
Demko shutout the Dallas Stars Saturday night, his second shutout of the season. With a .947 save percentage, he’s fourth in the NHL.
But it’s not just Demko that’s helping out the Canucks. Elias Pettersson shares the league lead in points with 20. The New Jersey Devils’ Jack Hughes also has 20. Pettersson has company at the top. Quinn Hughes and J.T. Miller are also in the top ten in league scoring. Both of them have 16 points this season and are tied for sixth. Brock Boeser leads the team with eight goals, but he’s not the only one doing the work. 16 players for the Canucks have at least one goal this season.
There are no major injuries for the Canucks.
Los Angeles Kings (7-2-2, 16 pts.)
The Kings’ offense is firing on all cylinders, but the big question is, can Los Angeles continue to outscore its problems? Cam Talbot has been excellent for the team this season, with a .923 save percentage and 2.14 goals against. He shutout the Philadelphia Flyers Saturday night.
However, as good as Talbot has been, backup Phoenix Copley has been bad. Copley has played three games and has a 4.98 goals against average and a .788 save percentage. Talbot’s good, but he cannot be relied upon to start all the games.
Of course, maybe that doesn’t matter if you’re scoring. The Kings are second in the league on goals per game with 4.27. Vancouver is first with 4.36. One of the reasons for this success is well-rounded scoring. Every player on the team with more than two games played has at least three points. While Adrian Kempe and Kevin Fiala lead the team with 12 points, five Kings players are in double digits.
Anze Kopitar and Trevor Moore lead the team with six goals apiece.
The only significant injury for the Kings is Viktor Arvidsson, who is month-to-month with a back injury.
Anaheim Ducks (7-4-0, 14 pts.)
The Ducks have overcome a slow start to win six in a row and push up the Pacific Division standings. The most recent triumph came last night when the Ducks handed the Golden Knights its first regulation loss. The 4-2 win came when Anaheim reeled off four unanswered goals in the third period. Sam Carrier had two goals.
It’s a follow-up to Wednesday night’s victory, when Troy Terry had a four-point night to almost single-handedly beat the Arizona Coyotes. Terry had a hat trick, including the overtime winner. Even with that, Terry did not reclaim the scoring lead for the Ducks. That honor goes to Frank Vatrano, who has nine goals this season, good for almost a goal a game. Mason McTavish is second on the team with six goals. He also leads the Ducks with 13 points.
If you’re surprised that number two overall draft pick Leo Carlsson isn’t in the conversation, don’t be. The young forward has just four points this season by design. The team has decided that Carlsson will play only some of the games for his rookie season and those games were decided in advance. The idea is that Carlsson will only play two games a week and never back-to-backs. The plan comes from the top. Ducks General Manager Pat Verbeek wants to keep Carlsson “strong and healthy” for what is hopefully a long career with the Ducks.
In net, it’s John Gibson who’s struggling this season while backup Lukas Dostal is carrying the team. Dostal is 5-1, while Gibson is 2-3. Dostal has a .920 save percentage while Gibson is at a .910 save percentage. Gibson was in net against the Golden Knights.
Long-term injuries for the Ducks include Alex Killorn (finger) and Jamie Drysdale (lower-body).
Also of note, while Ducks fans like what Greg Cronin is doing behind the bench, the league does not. Cronin was fined $25,000 for “unprofessional conduct directed at the officials.” During the Oct. 30 game against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Ducks had a goal waived off for goaltender interference. The Ducks challenged but the ruling on the ice stood and Cronin was livid. Here’s the goal…er, non-goal.
No goal Ducks on this play – disallowed for goaltender interference. Challenged by Anaheim and failed; Ducks head coach Cronin picks up additional minor for arguing the Situation Room's call. pic.twitter.com/AFfZovXOFK
— Scouting The Refs (@ScoutingTheRefs) October 31, 2023
Seattle Kraken (4-6-2, 10 pts.)
The Kraken has yet to find its footing this season. The team started with a four-game losing streak and hasn’t been able to string together more than a pair of wins since then. Some of that has to do with the fact that there are no offensively explosive players on the team. Jaden Schwartz, Oliver Bjorkstrand and Vince Dunn share the team scoring lead with ten points a game. Jared McCann leads the Kraken with six goals.
In net, Philipp Grubauer is not getting the wins early in the season. He’s 2-5, though his stats (3.01 goals against and .902 save percentage) are not that far off from his past two seasons with the Kraken.
2022 draft pick Shane Wright still has not cracked the Kraken lineup, though he’s playing for the team’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Wright has goals in three straight games, including that overtime winner on Oct. 29 that beat the San Jose Barracuda 5-4.
Key injuries for the Kraken include Andre Burakovsky and Brandon Tanev.
Calgary Flames (3-7-1, 7 pts.)
The good news for Flames fans is that the team is no longer on a losing streak. The 6-3 victory over the Kraken on Saturday night wiped away the six-game losing streak. However, the damage is done.
The Flames have a large hole to dig out of, and the team will have to do it without Andrew Mangiapane, for one game.
The NHL just announced that Mangiapane has been suspended for only one (1) game for this.
— Davy Jones' Locker Room (@DavyJonesLR) November 5, 2023
What a joke. https://t.co/3HyOE36mcf
Mangiapane was assessed a one-game suspension for his crosscheck to the back/neck of Jared McCann.
Not only is it a bad play, but it’s another hit to a team that can’t seem to score. Mangiapane is one of the team’s top scorers with seven points, trailing only Elias Lindholm, who has eight. Mangiapane also leads the team with four goals.
The Flames are struggling to find the back of the net and the goaltenders are having a tough time preventing goals. Both goaltenders are sub-.900 save percentage. Jacob Markstrom is averaging 3.03 goals against per game, while Dan Vladar (who has a winning record with 2-1) has allowed 4.00 goals against per game.
Edmonton Oilers (2-7-1, 5 pts.)
I swear, if Edmonton wins the top draft pick for 2024, then the world will know that the fix is in. Hand a team Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl on a platter and then watch it implode.
McDavid and Draisaitl appear to be mere mortals this season, and it’s killing the Oilers. Draisaitl only has 13 points in 10 games (insert sarcasm here) and McDavid shares second place on the team in scoring with ten points despite missing two games with an injury. Neither player is scoring at their normal clips – Draisaitl has four goals, while McDavid has just two – but they’re also not getting much support.
On the back end, while Evan Bouchard is looking good with ten points, Darnell Nurse is not with three points. That’s a tough pill to swallow when Nurse is signed through 2029-30 with a $9.25 AAV and a NMC for the next four years.
Oilers fans will tell you that the team can’t get a save either. Neither Stuart Skinner nor Jack Campbell have been particularly good in net. Skinner, has a .861 save percentage while Campbell has a .873 save percentage. For comparison’s sake, both of San Jose’s goaltenders have better save percentages and they haven’t won a game yet.
As 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