What’s Going On In The Pacific Division: The Oilers have a chance to match the longest win streak, the Canucks still scoring, and more!
5 months ago
It’s Wednesday, so you know what that means!
So what’s going on in the Pacific Division? Well, the Edmonton Oilers will get a chance to match the record for the longest consecutive win streak, the Calgary Flames look like sellers, and the Los Angeles Kings continue to lose.
Without further ado, let’s dig into this week’s What’s Going On In The Pacific Division, the last edition until after the All-Star break.
Anaheim Ducks
Since our last look at the Anaheim Ducks, they’ve played two games, losing one in overtime and beating the Minnesota Wild to pick up three of four points.
Not much has changed for the Ducks, as Frank Vatrano still leads the team in goals with 21 while also putting up 35 points, the same total that Troy Terry has, along with 14 goals. Adam Henrique, a player who will most likely be traded, has 15 goals and 32 points, while Mason McTavish has 13 goals and 30 points.
Goaltending has been hit or miss for the Ducks this season. Lukáš Dostál has a .902 save percentage and a 3.50 goals-against average in 22 games played, while John Gibson has a .900 save percentage and a 3.09 goals-against average in 31 games played.
On Jan. 20, the Ducks announced that their big free agent signing, Alex Killorn, will undergo knee surgery and will be out for a few weeks. He joins Pavel Mintyukov, Max Jones, and Trevor Zegras as Duck players that were injured in January.
The Ducks have one more game in the month of January, facing off against the San Jose Sharks on Wednesday evening. They’ll return on Feb. 9 with a chance to potentially end the Oilers win streak before they break the record, before heading out on a four-game road trip against the three Eastern Conference Canadian teams and the Buffalo Sabres.
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames went 1-1-0 in their last two games since the last What’s Going On In The Pacific Division, losing to the Columbus Blue Jackets, before shutting out the Chicago Blackhawks.
Blake Coleman still leads the team in points, as he has 20 goals and 40 points. Yegor Sharangovich is tied with Coleman in goals with 20, but has five fewer points. Nazem Kadri has 16 goals and 39 points, while Elias Lindholm is the only other player with 30 points as he has nine goals and 32 points. The Flames have seven players with 20 or more points, including three defencemen in MacKenzie Weegar (12 goals, 29 points), Rasmus Andersson (seven goals, 28 points), and Noah Hanifin (eight goals, 25 points).
Goaltending is the only thing keeping the Flames in the playoff race, as Jacob Markström has a .912 save percentage and a 2.60 goals-against average in 29 games played. Daniel Vladař has played the majority of the other games and has an .888 save percentage and a 3.27 goals-against average in 16 games played.
The Flames have 49 points and sit five back of the St. Louis Blues with four teams ahead in the Wild Card standings. It’s likely that they’ll be making some moves at the deadline, as it seems that both Chris Tanev and Lindholm could be on their way. Hanifin’s situation is a bit different, and we’ll figure out sooner rather than later if they’ll re-sign him.
Upon returning on Feb. 6, the Flames will head on an Eastern Conference road trip, facing off against the Boston Bruins, the New Jersey Devils, the New York Islanders, and the New York Rangers, before hosting the Sharks.
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers’ massive win streak continues, as they shutout the Chicago Blackhawks and beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 before the All-Star break.
In those two games, the team scored seven goals, with Connor McDavid potting three goals and four assists for 20 goals and 67 points on the season. He was reunited on a line with Leon Draisaitl, who had six points in those two games and now has 23 goals and 57 points. Zach Hyman is their first 30 goal scorer of the season as he has 30 goals and 47 points, while both Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (12 goals, 44 points) and Evan Bouchard (11 goals, 43 points) are over 40 points.
After an abysmal start to his season which saw an .853 save percentage after eight games, Stuart Skinner now has a .910 save percentage and a 2.44 goals-against average. The 25-year-old netminder is arguably the biggest reason for the Oilers turn around, but Calvin Pickard has played well, as he has a .915 save percentage and a 2.34 goals-against average in eight games played.
The Oilers have been linked to several players in recent times, including the Philadelphia Flyers defenceman Sean Walker who’d be an upgrade on the Oilers’ second defence pair. It’s believed that the Oilers are looking for an upgrade on defence, but they’ll remain patient until their winning streak ends or they’re closer to the deadline according to the latest 32 Thoughts Podcast.
Edmonton has a much more difficult month of February, as they’ll return to action on a road trip against Pacific Division foes. First will be a date to match the win streak record against the Vegas Golden Knights, before heading to the Los Angeles Metropolitan area to face the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings in back-to-back games. They’ll return home for one game to face the Detroit Red Wings, before another road trip in the central division, with their first game against the St. Louis Blues.
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are an absolute mess, as they’ve lost their last four games (0-2-2) and lost three games since the last What’s Going on in the Pacific Division. Since December 28, the Kings are 2-8-6 and have squandered a 13-point lead for the third spot in the Pacific Division.
It’s the usual suspects who lead the Kings in points, as Adrian Kempe has 17 goals and 43 points, Kevin Fiala has 12 goals and 42 points, and Anže Kopitar has 15 goals and 41 points. Youngster Quinton Byfield has 14 goals and 34 points, while Trevor Moore leads the team with 21 goals and has 34 points.
Former Flames’ netminder Cam Talbot has struggled in recent times, as he has a .911 save percentage and a 2.59 goals-against average. At one point, he looked like a potential Vezina Trophy candidate, but he has an .873 save percentage and a 0-6-2 record in 2024. Another former Flame in David Rittich has played well in his 10 games, as he has a .920 save percentage and a 2.09 goals-against average with a 4-1-3 record.
On the latest episode of 32 Thoughts, Elliotte Friedman sees Arthur Kaliyev potentially being traded at this season’s deadline. The winger seemingly isn’t a fit for the Kings this year, and he has six goals and 14 points in 38 games. Last season, the 22-year-old scored 13 goals and 28 points in 56 games. Friedman believes that it’ll just cost a depth forward to get the move done.
When the Kings return on Feb. 10, they’ll host the Edmonton Oilers, before heading on a four-game road trip against the Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Boston Bruins, and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks may suck, but they compete hard, which is always good for a rebuilding team. Since our last What’s Going On In The Pacific Division, the Sharks are 1-1-0, shutting out the Kraken on Tuesday night.
Tomáš Hertl leads the team in goals and points as he has 15 and 34, with the injured Mikael Granlund having five goals and 29 points in 38 games. Rookie William Eklund has eight goals and 23 points, while Fabian Zetterlund had 14 goals and 21 points in 50 games.
Mackenzie Blackwood registered the first Sharks shutout of the season on Tuesday, and he now has an .899 save percentage and a 3.51 goals-against average in 32 games played. Kaapo Kähkönen has a .901 save percentage and a 3.59 goals-against average in 23 games played, relatively impressive numbers for a team that has allowed the most goals in the league this season.
In a recent article from Steven Ellis of Daily Faceoff, the Sharks have the second-highest odds of landing Macklin Celebrini, as they have a 13.5% chance of landing the first overall pick. The Chicago Blackhawks have the highest chance at 25.5%, with the Anaheim Ducks rounding out the top three with an 11.5% chance of landing the 17-year-old centre who has 18 goals and 35 points at Boston University.
It’ll be a long time before the Sharks can return to their tank, as they head on a short-two game road trip against the Winnipeg Jets and Calgary Flames starting on Feb. 14. They’ll then head home to host the Columbus Blue Jackets, Vegas Golden Knights, and Nashville Predators.
Seattle Kraken
The Seattle Kraken have had moderate success since the last What’s Going On In The Pacific Division, beating the Chicago Blackhawks, losing in overtime to the St. Louis Blues, beating the Columbus Blue Jackets, before being shut out by the San Jose Sharks.
Oliver Bjorkstrand leads the team in points with 13 goals and 40 points, while defenceman Vince Dunn has eight goals and 37 points. Jared McCann leads the team with 20 goals and 35 points, and Eeli Tolvanen is the only other player on the team with 30 points, as he has 13 goals and 30 points.
Joey Daccord continues to play well this season, as he has a .921 save percentage and a 2.32 goals-against average in 34 games played, along with a 15-9-9 record. Philipp Grubauer has recently returned from injury and has an .884 save percentage and a 3.25 goals-against average in 17 games played.
The Kraken’s playoff hopes are far from diminished, as they sit just two points out of a playoff spot with the St. Louis Blues having a game in hand on the Kraken. Moreover, the Kraken will just need to pass two teams, an entirely doable feat with 32 games left in the season. Still, the Kraken may find themselves standing pat at the trade deadline according to Frank Seravalli’s article looking at what each Western Conference team will do at the deadline.
Upon returning from the All-Star break, the Kraken will embark on a four-game road trip in the Eastern Conference, taking on the Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, and the Boston Bruins. To round out their next five games, they’ll host the Detroit Red Wings.
Vancouver Canucks
Since last Wednesday, the Vancouver Canucks have gone to overtime twice, losing the St. Louis Blues, before struggling to defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets, eventually beating them 5-4 in overtime.
All the Canucks know how to do is score, as J.T. Miller has 21 goals and 67 points in 49 games. Elias Pettersson is hot on his trail with 27 goals and 64 points, while Quinn Hughes leads all defenceman in points with 62, along with 12 goals. Brock Boeser has 30 goals and 52 points as well. The Canucks have eight additional players with 20 or more players, with Pius Suter (12 goals, 18 points) and Tyler Myers (three goals, 18 points) on the outside looking in.
Goaltending has also been a Canucks strong point. Thatcher Demko has played the majority of the Canucks games and has a .920 save percentage and 2.44 goals against average, along with a 26-8-1 record and five shutouts. Casey DeSmith played the rest of the games and has a .911 save percentage and a 2.58 goals-against average in 15 games played.
The big story surrounding the Canucks is that other teams are calling about Nikita Zadarov, as discussed by Don Taylor and Rick Dhaliwal on the Donnie & Dhali show. The Flames traded the soon-to-be unrestricted free agent earlier in the season to their Pacific Division foes for a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick and a 2026 third-round pick.
They’ll return to action on Feb. 6 and embark on a five-game road trip, facing off against the Carolina Hurricanes, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals, and the Chicago Blackhawks.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Golden Knights have been playing better in recent times, going 6-2-1 in their last nine and going 1-1 since last week’s check-in.
Captain Mark Stone has 15 goals and leads the team with 49 points. The injured Jack Eichel has 19 goals and 44 points, while Jonathan Marchessault has 25 goals and 40 points in 50 games. William Karlsson has 15 goals and 32 points, while Ivan Barbashev is the only other Golden Knight with 30 points, as he has 13 goals and 17 assists.
Netminder Adin Hill has returned and has a .936 save percentage and 1.94 goals against average in 17 games played, along with a 12-2-2 record. Logan Thompson filled in well for the Knights in Hill’s absence, posting a .906 save percentage and a 2.77 goals-against average in 31 games played.
The biggest story line regarding the Knights is the return of two important pieces. Karlsson was activated off the long-term injured reserve and will return after the All-Star break. Hill has played two games since coming off the injured list and has a .950 save percentage and won both games, and the Golden Knights are significantly better with him in goal. Still, the Knights are missing Eichel, Shea Theodore, Ben Hutton and William Carrier.
Upon returning from the All-Star break on Feb. 6, the Knights will host the Edmonton Oilers and have a chance to end the 16-game win streak before they match the National Hockey League record. Afterwards, they’ll make a short trip to face the Arizona Coyotes, before returning home and hosting the Minnesota Wild and Carolina Hurricanes. To round out their next five games, they’ll face the San Jose Sharks.
Thanks for reading! You can follow me on Twitter @Brennan_L_D.
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