Post by Calgary Flames on Jan 6, 2022 12:18:20 GMT -6
Although it's still early we thought we would look at the performance of the Pacific division teams to date from 1st to worst. Overall, the division has been the strongest in the West with 3 solid playoff teams and holds down both wildcard spots. The parity is very solid in the West and perhaps with the exception of a couple teams, there is no need to panic this early into the year. Without further delay, here is a look at the Pacific!
Calgary Flames 9-3-3: talked about them enough, not jinxing it.
LA Kings 9-5-1: A very hot start for the Kings of California lead by head coach Peter DeBoer and GM Corey Chernuka. The team has very well balanced scoring with whopping 7 players with 13 points or more in 15 games lead by early Norris candidate Mackenzie Weegar. Veterans Pavelski, Perron, Carlson, Guentzel, and Radulov have all been very good. Why aren't they in first? Binnington has not been good with an .889 SV% which could partially be the fault of the D group (aside from Weegar and Carlson). This is a veteran team that should continue to play well and likely will not have too many peaks and valleys but very steady play.
Anaheim Ducks 9-7-0: One of the few teams in the league without a loser point, the Travis Felts lead Ducks are sitting in 3rd in the Pacific, although with an extra game played over most of the division. In contrast to the Kings, the Ducks have relied on steady but unremarkable scoring but outstanding starting goaltending with young phenom Carter Hart. There are likely good times ahead as the Ducks have also played Jaroslav Halak a significant amount of time. If the Ducks start to ride Hart a little more they could be very "Mighty". See what I did there? Commitment to team defense has also been pretty good.
Vancouver Canucks 8-5-1: The Sanderson lead 'Nucks are sitting in the first wild card spot in the West and have the second best goal differential in the conference. How did they get there? Top end scoring with four players on a ppg pace including William Karlsson who has 18 points in 14 games and Sam Girard who has 14 assists in 14 games. The Canucks have received solid goaltending with Cal Peterson leading the way and Joonas Korpisalo providing decent relief in backup. How do the Canucks get better and climb the standings? Fire Aaron Sanderson for a starter. Short of that they could probably get a little more out first round pick Adam Fox and Chris Kreider who has been off to a slow start.
Edmonton Oilers 7-6-1: Travis Chorostkowski lead Oilers currently hold down the second wild card spot in the West giving the Pacific Division an impressive 5 playoff teams. The combination of Laine and Horvat has been exception with 6-16-22 and 12-9-21 stat lines respectively. They have gotten some depth scoring including Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk on the backend who have 12 and 10 points through 14 games but it gets pretty thin up front pretty quick. Also holding them back a bit is Thatcher Demko with a .500 record and an .890 save percentage. Laurent Brossoit has been good but the Oilers have piled on Demko early. How do they climb the standings? More scoring out of skilled players the likes of Couture and Tuch but much better goaltending.
San Jose Sharks 6-7-1: Matthew Rensby-Willis' (sounds like an English Lord) has the Sharks sitting 2 points out of the play-offs. The Sharks have the best player on planet Earth in McDavid who has not disappointed with 24 points in 14 games. Timo Meier has been riding shotgun to McDavid and has 17 points himself. Ekholm and Slavin have been really good on the backend with Ekholm racking up 16 points. What's let them down? Goaltending. Like many teams in the league it seems. Both youngster Nedeljkovic and corpse Elliot have been bad. How do the Sharks get better? Trade for legendary center Sidney Crosby is a pretty good start giving the Sharks the undisputed 1-2 punch down the middle. Getting more out of wingers Hintz, Lee, and Coleman and better goaltending should see the Sharks climb the standings.
Vegas Golden Knights 6-8-1: The Knights are off to a bit of a slow start. Gm Tom Jervis is likely happy with 10 goals in 14 games from Auston Matthews and 17 points for Claude Giroux. They also have some decent depth scoring from Eberle and Konecny and Trouba has been solid with 11 points in 14 games on the back end. The team has leaned heavily on Igor Shesterkin starting all but 1 game but, like many goaltenders this year, he has struggled a bit with a sub .900 SV%. How are the Knights going to get better? They do have a game in hand on most teams and Konecny has another gear but the Knights also have more players (6) rated in the 60's on the pro roster than any other team in the division. The broad shoulders of Auston Matthews are probably going to carry the weight for the Knights to become contenders.
Seattle Kraken 5-8-1: Josh Rose's Kraken currently sit last in the Pacific and are the only team that does not have a PPG player. Sebastian Aho is close with 13 points in 14 games and they have solid production out of the young D corps of Chychrun, Hronek, and Provorov. After that there is not much scoring as the top line features Iafallo and Keller who have struggled and the sercond line features Norris, Vrana, and Bill Nylander. The second line probably has more offense to give as all 3 have played below expectations. John Gibson also needs to be better if the team is going to climb out of the basement of the Pacific. The future might be brighter than the current as the team did draft a lot of higher end talent in the farm and out and out prospects.
Calgary Flames 9-3-3: talked about them enough, not jinxing it.
LA Kings 9-5-1: A very hot start for the Kings of California lead by head coach Peter DeBoer and GM Corey Chernuka. The team has very well balanced scoring with whopping 7 players with 13 points or more in 15 games lead by early Norris candidate Mackenzie Weegar. Veterans Pavelski, Perron, Carlson, Guentzel, and Radulov have all been very good. Why aren't they in first? Binnington has not been good with an .889 SV% which could partially be the fault of the D group (aside from Weegar and Carlson). This is a veteran team that should continue to play well and likely will not have too many peaks and valleys but very steady play.
Anaheim Ducks 9-7-0: One of the few teams in the league without a loser point, the Travis Felts lead Ducks are sitting in 3rd in the Pacific, although with an extra game played over most of the division. In contrast to the Kings, the Ducks have relied on steady but unremarkable scoring but outstanding starting goaltending with young phenom Carter Hart. There are likely good times ahead as the Ducks have also played Jaroslav Halak a significant amount of time. If the Ducks start to ride Hart a little more they could be very "Mighty". See what I did there? Commitment to team defense has also been pretty good.
Vancouver Canucks 8-5-1: The Sanderson lead 'Nucks are sitting in the first wild card spot in the West and have the second best goal differential in the conference. How did they get there? Top end scoring with four players on a ppg pace including William Karlsson who has 18 points in 14 games and Sam Girard who has 14 assists in 14 games. The Canucks have received solid goaltending with Cal Peterson leading the way and Joonas Korpisalo providing decent relief in backup. How do the Canucks get better and climb the standings? Fire Aaron Sanderson for a starter. Short of that they could probably get a little more out first round pick Adam Fox and Chris Kreider who has been off to a slow start.
Edmonton Oilers 7-6-1: Travis Chorostkowski lead Oilers currently hold down the second wild card spot in the West giving the Pacific Division an impressive 5 playoff teams. The combination of Laine and Horvat has been exception with 6-16-22 and 12-9-21 stat lines respectively. They have gotten some depth scoring including Torey Krug and Matt Grzelcyk on the backend who have 12 and 10 points through 14 games but it gets pretty thin up front pretty quick. Also holding them back a bit is Thatcher Demko with a .500 record and an .890 save percentage. Laurent Brossoit has been good but the Oilers have piled on Demko early. How do they climb the standings? More scoring out of skilled players the likes of Couture and Tuch but much better goaltending.
San Jose Sharks 6-7-1: Matthew Rensby-Willis' (sounds like an English Lord) has the Sharks sitting 2 points out of the play-offs. The Sharks have the best player on planet Earth in McDavid who has not disappointed with 24 points in 14 games. Timo Meier has been riding shotgun to McDavid and has 17 points himself. Ekholm and Slavin have been really good on the backend with Ekholm racking up 16 points. What's let them down? Goaltending. Like many teams in the league it seems. Both youngster Nedeljkovic and corpse Elliot have been bad. How do the Sharks get better? Trade for legendary center Sidney Crosby is a pretty good start giving the Sharks the undisputed 1-2 punch down the middle. Getting more out of wingers Hintz, Lee, and Coleman and better goaltending should see the Sharks climb the standings.
Vegas Golden Knights 6-8-1: The Knights are off to a bit of a slow start. Gm Tom Jervis is likely happy with 10 goals in 14 games from Auston Matthews and 17 points for Claude Giroux. They also have some decent depth scoring from Eberle and Konecny and Trouba has been solid with 11 points in 14 games on the back end. The team has leaned heavily on Igor Shesterkin starting all but 1 game but, like many goaltenders this year, he has struggled a bit with a sub .900 SV%. How are the Knights going to get better? They do have a game in hand on most teams and Konecny has another gear but the Knights also have more players (6) rated in the 60's on the pro roster than any other team in the division. The broad shoulders of Auston Matthews are probably going to carry the weight for the Knights to become contenders.
Seattle Kraken 5-8-1: Josh Rose's Kraken currently sit last in the Pacific and are the only team that does not have a PPG player. Sebastian Aho is close with 13 points in 14 games and they have solid production out of the young D corps of Chychrun, Hronek, and Provorov. After that there is not much scoring as the top line features Iafallo and Keller who have struggled and the sercond line features Norris, Vrana, and Bill Nylander. The second line probably has more offense to give as all 3 have played below expectations. John Gibson also needs to be better if the team is going to climb out of the basement of the Pacific. The future might be brighter than the current as the team did draft a lot of higher end talent in the farm and out and out prospects.
