NHL Pacific Division Power Rankings: Week 4

As we head into the fourth week of the Pacific Division power rankings, we are beginning to see a bit of separation happening in the overall standings with Edmonton and Calgary at the top with 14 points and San Jose not far behind with 12. Below those three though is a mish-mash of teams fighting around the .500 mark and below. While we expect Vegas to rebound when they get healthy, these other teams may fall behind too far too early if they don’t start winning more soon. Overall though it was a good week for most of the teams in these rankings with only Seattle and Vancouver having more regulation losses than wins. Here are this week’s rankings!

1. Edmonton Oilers (7-1-0, 2-1-0, Last Week: #1)

Results: PHI 5 at EDM 3, EDM 2 at VAN 1, SEA 2 at EDM 5

Schedule: 11/03 vs NSH, 11/05 vs NYR, 11/09 at DET

Make that three consecutive weeks for the Oilers at the top of the power rankings after another solid week for the club. Things opened with a shaky loss at home to the Flyers but they rebounded nicely in Vancouver before dispatching the Kraken at home. Edmonton looks to be among the upper echelon of teams so far this year and with their two superstars leading the way, they should be able to hang with and beat anyone in the regular season.

Impressive Stat: Edmonton has a 46.2% powerplay this season. Scoring on nearly one of every two man advantages is a surefire way to ensure a 7-1 start.

2. Calgary Flames (6-1-2, 2-0-1, Last Week: #2)

Results: CGY 4 at PIT 0, PHI 0 at CGY 4, NSH 3 at CGY 2 (OT)

Schedule: 11/04 vs DAL, 11/06 vs NYR, 11/09 vs SJ

Calgary continues to impress early in the season after finishing off a perfect five game road trip and extending their winning streak by crushing the Flyers 4-0 at home. Nashville ending up snapping the streak with an overtime win, but the Flames were right there all night long and were unfortunate to walk away with just a point. The team has already far surpassed even the most optimistic expectations to start the season, but we will see if they can translate over the course of a full season.

Impressive Stat: Jacob Markstrom has three shutouts and a .947 SV% through seven starts

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

Results: MTL 4 at SJ 0, WPG 1 at SJ 2 (OT), BUF 3 at SJ 5

Schedule: 11/04 vs STL, 11/06 vs NJ, 11/09 at CGY

Despite a Covid outbreak causing some havoc for the franchise this week, the Sharks managed to do a good job of getting back into the win column. The week started with a frustrating 4-0 loss to the Canadiens which brought the team down to 4-3 after a 4-0 start. It seemed like the Sharks were coming back down to Earth but they managed to pick up wins over Winnipeg and Buffalo to jump back to 6-3 on the year. They still have a lot to prove as many picked them to end up near the bottom of the Western Conference in their predictions, but so far the Sharks are swimming, not sinking (see what I did there).

Impressive Stat: James Reimer is off to a hot start with a 3-1 record and .950 SV%.

4. Anaheim Ducks (4-4-3, 2-0-2, Last Week: #7)

Results: BUF 4 at ANA 3 (OT), ANA 4 at VGK 5 (SO), MTL 2 at ANA 4, NJ 0 at ANA 4

Schedule: 11/05 vs ARI, 11/07 vs STL, 11/09 at VAN

If there’s one thing about this year’s Ducks team, it’s that they’re very scrappy and aren’t going down without a fight. They have a very talented group of youngsters who are being asked to do a lot for the team, which will ultimately lead to some mistakes, but will also really help this team out as they move forward in their rebuild/retool. If they can get John Gibson a bit more support so he’s not tasked with as many dangerous chances, they could turn close losses into close victories sooner than later.

Impressive Stat: Ryan Getzlaf took over the franchise record in points with #989, passing Teemu Selanne.

5. Vegas Golden Knights (4-5-0, 2-1-0, Last Week: #5)

Results: VGK 3 at DAL 2 (OT), ANA 4 at VGK 5 (SO), VGK 0 at TOR 4

Schedule: 11/04 at OTT, 11/06 at MTL, 11/07 at DET, 11/09 vs SEA

Vegas manages to stick at #5 for now although they have done a decent job of getting out of their early 1-4 hole. They still have some work to do as they continue to deal with injuries to their star players that aren’t returning any time soon. As it stands Vegas should have enough talent to at least stay close enough to the playoff picture that they will be fine when they return. However, if they have to move more pieces off the team to acquire Jack Eichel who will be out for some time, it might make it hard for them to be successful in the short term.

Impressive Stat: Vegas has the highest attendance by capacity % this season, sitting at 103.4% as they have sold more tickets (standing room) than there are actual seats. Definitely looks like a hockey market to me.

6. Los Angeles Kings (3-5-1, 2-1-0, Last Week: #8)

Results: WPG 3 at LAK 2, MTL 2 at LAK 5, BUF 2 at LAK 3

Schedule: 11/03 vs STL, 11/05 vs NJ, 11/08 at TOR, 11/09 at MTL

Despite picking up a pair of wins this week, the Kings suffered a big loss with Drew Doughty going down with a knee injury. Doughty had been off to a terrific start with seven points through his first four games. For a Kings team that is already relatively young, they will have to make do without their leader on the backend for at least eight weeks as he recovers. Luckily it shouldn’t affect his chances for making Team Canada this winter.

Impressive Stat: Anze Kopitar has 13 points through nine games this year

7. Seattle Kraken (3-6-1, 1-2-0, Last Week: #6)

Results: MIN 1 at SEA 4, NYR 3 at SEA 1, SEA 2 at EDM 5

Schedule: 11/04 vs BUF, 11/06 at ARI, 11/09 at VGK

I was tempted to drop the Kraken to last on this list but a combination of having lower expectations for the team and Vancouver having struggles at home left them at #7 on the list. At this point, Seattle looks more or less like what they are, a team that is still working to figure out its identity as the settle into their first ten games in the NHL. Seattle will have to have a strong start to November because it closes with games against Carolina, Tampa Bay, and Florida.

Impressive Stat: Brandon Tanev has six goals already this year through ten games while his career high is 14. Probably a safe bet that he will eclipse that mark this year.

8. Vancouver Canucks (4-5-1, 1-2-0, Last Week: #4)

Results: PHI 2 at VAN 1, EDM 2 at VAN 1, NYR 2 at VAN 3 (OT)

Schedule: 11/05 vs NSH, 11/07 vs DAL, 11/09 vs ANA

The Canucks have continued to flirt with the .500 mark this season as they haven’t really found their groove yet as a team. While expectations were uncertain coming into the season, the thought was they would at least be able to contend for a playoff spot, but right now Vancouver is barely scraping by. Vancouver had lost the first three games of this seven game homestand but managed to eke out a comeback overtime victory over the Rangers to stop things from sinking completely.

Impressive Stat: Not impressive but room for hope is that Elias Pettersson has just one goal and is shooting at 3.7% this year, that is bound to turnaround at some point.

by Michael MacGillivray