Flames VS Flyers

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There’s a new team at the top of the power rankings after three weeks.

8. Seattle Kraken (3-5-1)

Last week: 8

The Kraken had some fun at home last week, outscoring the Montreal Canadiens and Minnesota Wild 9-2 over the course of back-to-back victories, their first-ever wins on home ice.

Is this the year Brandon Tanev makes himself known for something other than his crazy team photos? Tanev, whose career-high in goals is 14, leads Seattle with six already through nine games.

This week: @ EDM, VS BUF, @ ARI

7. Anaheim Ducks (3-4-3)

Last week: 7

They may only have three wins so far, but there’s been a lot to like so far this season for Ducks fans.

The team showed a lot of fight last week, battling back from three-goal deficits to force overtime on back-to-back nights against the Buffalo Sabres and Vegas Golden Knights, respectively. Meanwhile, Troy Terry’s hot start to the season has continued. He now has 10 points (5-5-10) in nine games and scored the game-winning goal against Montreal on Sunday. Ryan Getzlaf picked up an assist on it, and in doing so, passed Teemu Selanne to become Anaheim’s all-time leading scorer.

This week: VS NJD, VS ARI, VS STL

6. Vancouver Canucks (3-5-1)

Last week: 5

It’s been a struggle to generate offense for the Canucks thus far on their seven-game homestand.

Three games into it, they’ve scored a total of just four goals while losing all three games in regulation. Having missed training camp before signing a three-year, $22.05-million contract, Elias Pettersson is becoming an outlet for Canucks fans’ frustrations. With just one goal and three assists through nine games, Vancouver is going to need him to get going to help ignite the offense.

Brock Boeser isn’t lighting the world on fire yet either, with just two goals and an assist through six games — though he did notch his 100th career goal while breaking up Mikko Koskinen’s shutout bid in the dying seconds of Saturday’s 2-1 loss to the Edmonton Oilers.

This week: VS NYR, VS NSH, VS DAL, VS ANA

5. LA Kings (3-5-1)

Last week: 6

The hits just keep coming for LA in terms of player health. Sean Walker’s season is over, Drew Doughty will be out well into December, and Viktor Arvidsson and Gabe Vilardi were placed in COVID-19 protocol just before the start of Sunday’s game against Buffalo.

So, early as it may be, that was a pair of desperately needed wins for the Kings over the Canadiens and Sabres this past weekend. Alex Iafallo has been wearing an A on his jersey in Doughty’s absence, and he stepped up big-time over the weekend, scoring three goals to help lead the team to two victories.

This week: VS STL, VS NJD

4. San Jose Sharks (5-3-0)

Last week: 2

San Jose’s hot start is already starting to feel like it was a long time ago.

The Sharks were outscored 11-4 over the course of three-straight losses to the Boston Bruins, Nashville Predators, and the Habs. Then on Saturday, seven players and head coach Bob Boughner were placed in COVID-19 protocol.

Logan Couture also missed Saturday’s game against the Winnipeg Jets with a non-COVID illness. But somehow, despite being massively shorthanded, the Sharks managed to pull out a 2-1 overtime victory.

This week: VS BUF, VS STL, VS NJD

3. Vegas Golden Knights (4-4-0)

Last week: 3

There was some very interesting news coming out of Vegas over the weekend.

That’s right — the team claimed Michael Amadio off waivers from the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Reports were also coming out that the Golden Knights are deep into discussions with the Sabres on a Jack Eichel trade, though it remains to be seen whether they’ll be able to get that over the finish line.

On the ice, the Knights seem to be righting the ship after a tough start, winning three in a row to get back to .500. They pulled out back-to-back road wins over the Colorado Avalanche and Dallas Stars, respectively, before salvaging a 5-4 shootout win at home against the Ducks, albeit after blowing a 4-1 lead with less than nine minutes to go in the third period.

Chandler Stephenson is doing all he can to convince the Golden Knights that they already have a No. 1 centre. Stephenson now has nine points (4-5-9) in eight games this season. No one else on Vegas has more than four points.

This week: @ TOR, @ OTT, @ MTL, @ DET

2. Edmonton Oilers (6-1-0)

Last week: 1

Edmonton’s perfect season came to an end with a 5-3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers last Wednesday, but the team bounced back with a 2-1 win in Vancouver on Saturday.

We warned teams last week, but apparently, it needs to be reiterated: Don’t take penalties against the Oilers. You just can’t do it. Their league-best power play was operating at a 47.1% success rate at this time last week, and it hasn’t slowed down. In fact, it’s up to 47.8% now.

The Canucks only took two penalties on Saturday, but that was all they needed. Edmonton scored on both power plays and that was the difference in the game.

This week: VS SEA, VS NSH, VS NYR

1. Calgary Flames (6-1-1)

Last week: 4

If I’m being honest, I didn’t expect there to be a new team at the top of this week’s rankings. And if there was going to be a new team, I didn’t expect it to be Calgary.

But we have to give the Fightin’ Sutters some love for the run they’re on right now. The Flames have won six straight games, a run that included a 5-0-0 road trip. They’ve scored four or more goals in five straight games, while Jacob Markstrom has three shutouts in his last four starts and owns a .957 (!) save percentage on the season. This team is firing on all cylinders right now.

This week: VS NSH, VS DAL, VS NYR

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2 thoughts on “Pacific Division Power Rankings After Week 3”

  1. Calgary is on top because Darryl Sutter is the best damn coach in the NHL bar none… I refer you to 2012 and 2014 LA Kings Stanley Cup Championships… would’ve gotten 2013 as well if not for a rash of injuries. Coach Sutter rides his players, pushes the right buttons and gets everything out of them.

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