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Pacific Division Round Up: Calgary is still good

Another week, another Calgary domination. The Flames currently sit comfortably in first place in the Pacific with 46 points. They won all three games they played this week, continuing their rise up the standings. The Vegas Golden Knights and the Anaheim Ducks also had a successful week, which is more bad news for the Sharks.

The Kings are still really bad though, so at least we have that?

Anaheim Ducks (18-11-5)

The Ducks only played two games this week, but both ended in wins. They faced the Dallas Stars on Wednesday and had a field day. The final score was 6-3 in Anaheim’s favor. They scored the only goal in the first period, thanks to Ondrej Kase. Dallas came back and scored three goals in the second period, while Kase scored his second goal and the game was 3-2. Kase netted a hat trick, scoring again in the third period. The Ducks saw four unanswered third period goals, rounding out the game thanks to Brandon Montour, Jakob Silfverberg and Hampus Lindholm.

The Ducks hit the ice again on Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. This win was less glamorous for Anaheim. Columbus scored one goal in the first period, and so did the Ducks. Daniel Sprong scored the only regular time goal. The game stayed tied 1-1 and ended in overtime with another goal scored by Sprong.

The Ducks face the Pittsburgh Penguins today at 4 PT.

Arizona Coyotes (14-16-2)

The Arizona Coyotes had a busy week. They kicked things off with a 4-3 loss to the Boston Bruins. Michael Bunting, Nick Cousins and Nick Schmaltz all found the back of the net, but couldn’t keep their team alive against the offensively aggressive Bruins team. They visited another offensively hot team on the East Coast, the Buffalo Sabres. They fell 3-1 with the lone goal scored by Christian Fischer.

The Coyotes turned their luck around against the New York Rangers. This was the only game they won on their East Coast roadie. The game ended with a 4-3 score in overtime. The Coyotes went scoreless in the first period but got on the board in the second with a goal from Jordan Oesterle. The Desert Dogs eventually tied it up with goals from Josh Archibald and Oliver Ekman-Larsson. Derek Stepan scored the winning goal in overtime. They played the Carolina Hurricanes next and it was an ugly one. They were shut out 3-0. Not much to say about that one.

The Coyotes come home to face the New York Islanders on Tuesday at 6 PT.

Calgary Flames (22-10-2)

It’s the Flames’ world and we are just living in it. Calgary started their week off against the Philadelphia Flyers for a high scoring game that ended with a 6-5 score settled in overtime. Sean Monahan scored two goals, while Johnny Gaudreau, Mark Giordano, Rasmus Andersson and Sam Bennett each had a goal apiece. They faced the Minnesota Wild next, winning that one 2-1. Matthew Tkachuk got back on the scoreboard with the other goal scored by Giordano. David Rittich was in net and made 34 saves.

They took on the struggling St. Louis Blues yesterday and blew them out 7-2. Johnny Gaudreau and Alan Quine both had two goals each. Elias Lindholm, Mark Giordano and Matthew Tkachuk also scored. Rittich was back in goal again and had a .928 save percentage.

The Flames head to Dallas on Tuesday to face the Stars at 5:30 PT.

Edmonton Oilers (18-13-3)

The Edmonton Oilers had a rocky week. They started it off beating the Colorado Avalanche 6-4. The Oilers saw two goals from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. The other four goals were scored by Leon Draisaitl, Kyle Brodziak, Connor McDavid and Darnell Nurse. Then came the Winnipeg Jets. This game was a 5-4 overtime win for the Jets. Alex Chiasson, Jujhar Kharia, Darnell Nurse and Ryan Spooner got on the board for the Oilers to tie it up before the end of the third period, but the extra frame didn’t go their way.

The Philadelphia Flyers came to visit on Friday and the Oilers beat them 4-1. Connor McDavid had two goals, the other two were scored by Alex Chiasson and Adam Larsson. Mikko Koskinen was in net and made 31 saves. They saw the Vancouver Canucks next and the opened up scoring with a goal from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Before the end of the second period, the Canucks scored two goals to secure the lead. Edmonton got on the board once more thanks to Alex Chiasson, but they still lost 2-4.

The Oilers play the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday at 6 PT.

Los Angeles Kings (11-20-3)

The Los Angeles Kings are still an absolute mess. They lost every game they played this week, starting with the Detroit Red Wings. They lost 3-1 with the only Kings goal scored by Anze Kopitar. Then came the Buffalo Sabres. They lost 4-3 in overtime, so at least they got a point? Jake Muzzin, Adrian Kempe and Matt Luff scored, sending the game to overtime, where they were unsuccessful.

Another tough loss came from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Kings lead early with a goal scored by Dustin Brown, but that would be the only goal they scored. Columbus came back to score three unanswered goals, ending the game with a 3-1 win. They sent another game to overtime, this time against the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Kings lost again, of course. Alex Iafallo and Jake Muzzin both had a goal and an assist, while Matt Luff continued his goal scoring streak. Overtime wins just aren’t coming for this Kings team.

The Winnipeg Jets head to Los Angeles on Tuesday at 7:30 PT.

Vancouver Canucks (16-16-4)

The Canucks started their week out beating the Columbus Blue Jackets 3-2. Josh Leivo, Elias Pettersson and Jake Virtanen got on the board. Jacob Markstrom was between the pipes and made 34 saves. They saw the battered Nashville Predators next and sent the game to overtime. Bonus hockey did not end in their favor, but at least they got a point, right? The final score was 3-4, with goals scored by Jay Beagle, Brock Boeser and Bo Hovart.

They faced the Edmonton Oilers next and they started the game off down 1-0. Alexander Elder and Brock Boeser scored before the end of the second period to give Vancouver a 2-1 lead. They netted two more, off the sticks of Horvat and Pettersson, to come out on top, 4-2.

Vancouver’s next game is against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday at 7 PT.

Vegas Golden Knights (19-14-2)

The Vegas Golden Knights played three games this week and the results were split. They got one win in regulation, one in overtime, and one overtime loss. Their only win in regulation came on Wednesday against the New York Islanders. William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Tomas Nosek had the goals while Marc-Andre Fleury had 23 saves on 22 shots. The final score was 3-2. They fell 4-5 to the New Jersey Devils in overtime. William Karlsson had two goals, while Alex Tuch and William Carrier each got on the board once. Marc-Andre Fleury was in net and allowed the overtime goal.

Vegas played the New York Rangers and won in overtime with a final score of 4-3. The game was tied after 20 minutes, Reilly Smith scoring the Vegas goal. Vegas scored two goals in the second period, thanks to Paul Stastny and William Carrier. They had the lead going into the third period, but the Rangers tied it up and sent the game to overtime. Alex Tuch quickly scored and Vegas regained their overtime composure to get the win.

The Golden Knights play the Blue Jackets today at 4 PT.

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