Pacific Division Power Rankings: Week 6

The Pacific Division was a mess of mediocrity this week as no team went above .500. As a result this week’s power rankings will look very similar to last week’s. Here’s to hopefully making the playoffs in a very bad division.

1. San Jose Sharks (10-6-3, 2-2-0) Last Week: 1

The Sharks maintain top spot for the third straight week, not really because of their own play, but because nobody really snatched it away from them. The Sharks downed the Flames 3-1 in a crucial divisional game on Sunday night, then beat Nashville on Tuesday night to take over first in the division. The Sharks are beginning to smell blood in a weak division.

2. Calgary Flames (10-7-1, 1-1-0) Last Week: 2

Calgary split their weekend back-to-back, shutting out the Kings 1-0 and then losing to teh Sharks 3-1. The Flames continue to deal with a growing goaltending controversy as David Rittich continues to look the better of the two goalies, but change doesn’t seem to be occurring quite yet. On the bright side, despite some questionable goaltending the Flames have still had a solid start to the year.

3. Vancouver Canucks (10-8-2, 1-2-1) Last Week: 3

Vancouver has lost three straight games on their Eastern Conference road trip, the last two being regulation losses against the respective New York teams. The Canucks have only one win in their last five games which came in an odd 8-5 victory over Boston. The Canucks will close out this six game road trip against the Minnesota Wild who have also looked very good this year. At the conclusion of the Wild game, the Canucks will have played 21 games with only 7 at home, where they’re 5-2-0 so far this year.

4. Edmonton Oilers (9-8-1, 1-2-0) Last Week: 5

Coaching rumors are startling to swirl in Edmonton as many think Todd McLellan may be on the chopping block if the Oilers can’t figure things out. They managed to swap a four game losing streak with a victory over Montreal last week, however major problems still persist in Edmonton and it remains to be seen if this current iteration of the team can sort things out.

5. Arizona Coyotes (8-8-1, 1-2-1) Last Week: 4

They aren’t bad, but they aren’t particularly good anymore after they cooled off following a hot stretch of play that brought them back into the conversation. They have definitely been affected by the injury to Antti Raanta, but luckily it doesn’t seem to be a long term thing and he should be returning shortly. If he can continue to provide them with stellar goaltending, this team is good enough to be in the conversation all season long.

6. Vegas Golden Knights (8-10-1, 2-2-0) Last Week: 7

I’m putting the Knights ahead of the Ducks simply because of the thumping they gave the Ducks last night. Vegas has really struggled offensively this year, but may finally be reversing that trend with at least three goals in five of their last seven games. The Knights still have to get back to that .500 mark they’ve been stuck beneath all year, and they still have the talent to do so.

7. Anaheim Ducks (8-9-3, 1-2-0) Last Week: 6

Similar to Vegas, the Ducks have struggled to score this year, only scoring three goals or more in regulation 6 times in 20 games. Anaheim has only scored nine regulation goals in seven games during the month of November, three of which came against the Flames (insert Mike Smith eye roll here). The Ducks have two good goaltenders, but it’s clear that if they aren’t having an A+ performance, the Ducks are getting blown out of the building.

8. Los Angeles Kings (5-11-1, 0-3-0) Last Week: 8

With Jonathan Quick already out long term, you’d think the Kings already have it tough enough in net. Nope, Jack Campbell who had been faring well as the backup, also suffered a knee injury and will be out long term. The Kings are a mess right now, and judging by their cap situation, it won’t be getting cleaned up anytime soon. Tanner Pearson may have just been the first domino to fall in LA as changes are coming.

by Michael MacGillivray