Pacific Division Power Rankings: A Week Into The Season
This season the Pacific Division will once again rank as one of the toughest in the NHL thanks to the state of California.
The San Jose Sharks, Los Angeles Kings, and the Anaheim Ducks are all poised for another Stanley Cup run, though they’ll have to fight amongst each other for it. The Vancouver Canucks, who had a pretty hard fall from grace last season, will also be in the hunt for the playoffs and are always a threat with the Sedin twins at the helm.
In our first installment of the Pacific Division power rankings we take a look after the first week of the season and see where teams stand. Not too many surprises as of yet, but with just a week of games in there’s plenty of moving and shaking to be done over the next few months. Here’s our rankings from one to seven.
San Jose Sharks. 1. team. 120. No captain? No problem. The San Jose Sharks have come out firing on all cylinders and did not allow an opponent to score for the first 10 periods of the season. That all changed two nights ago in a narrow 6-5 shootout victory, but the fact remains the Sharks have shown they can score plenty of goals and at the very least will have very solid goaltending this season while they rotate <strong><a href=. (3-0-0, 6 points). Previous:
Previous: . Anaheim Ducks. 2. team. 105. After losing 6-4 on their opening night they’ve rattled off three straight wins against Detroit, Buffalo, and Philadelphia. They’ll be a threat to win the Pacific Division again this year, and it all starts with <strong><a href=. (3-1-0, 6 points)
67. They took a beating on their banner-raising night at the hands of the San Jose Sharks, but last night’s win was an example of how good this team can be. Sure, it was the Edmonton Oilers, but any night you take beat someone 6-1 it’s a good thing. Couple that with their 4-1 win over the Jets and they’ve outscored their opponents 10-2 in their last two games. These Kings might finally have some consistent firepower, so watch out. Also, keep an eye out on their 2012 1st round pick <a href=. (2-1-1, 5 points). Previous: . Los Angeles Kings. 3. team
Previous: . Vancouver Canucks. 4. team. 104. They’ll have a tough time cracking the top three dominated by California teams, but if any of the bottom four teams can do it, they can. The Canucks were not as bad as their record showed last year, but they’ll have to prove it on the ice. Two wins against the two teams at the bottom of the Pacific Division is a nice easy start and should help them gain some confidence moving forward in year one of the Willie Desjardins era.. (2-0-0, 4 points)
Previous: . Arizona Coyotes. 5. team. 121. They split with a lost to the Winnipeg Jets and nice win over the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday, followed by a win last night at home against Edmonton. They could be a wild card in the Pacific Division this year. <strong><a href=. (2-1-0, 4 points)
112. The Calgary Flames picked up a nice win against the Predators two nights ago, but they have already shown they will have a tough time with better competition. With that being said Jonas Hiller was lights out last night against the Blackhawks in his 49-save effort and if he plays like that all season the Flames may have a shot at the playoffs.. (3-2-0, 6 points). Previous: . Calgary Flames. 6. team
(0-3-1, 1 point). Previous: . Edmonton Oilers. 7. team. 148. It’s the same old story. Incredible talent, but can’t pull it together. So far it has been much of the same as the Oilers have allowed at least five goals in their first four games of the season to the Flames, Canucks, Kings, and Coyotes. If they don’t figure out how to play defense they’ll be at the bottom of the Pacific Division once again.