On the verge of a full month of hockey, the Pacific Division is starting to take shape - and right now, the Calgary Flames are the team with the cleanest week and the hottest hand.
All eight teams have played since last Wednesday, but Calgary stands alone as the only club to win both of its games. The Flames beat the Minnesota Wild 2-1 on Thursday and followed with a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday, extending their winning streak to three. Devin Cooley was a major factor in all three of those victories.
The Flames now head into a busy stretch that opens Monday against the Toronto Maple Leafs as they finish a four-game home stand. After that, they head up Highway 2 on Wednesday for the first Battle of Alberta of the season, then come back home to face the Seattle Kraken on Friday before a Halloween rematch with the Colorado Avalanche.
Seattle, meanwhile, remains one of the early surprises in the division. The Kraken beat the Utah Mammoth 5-3 at home, then dropped a 5-1 result to the Wild two days later.
Even with that split, they sit third in the Pacific at 7-4-1 and are only two points behind both the Edmonton Oilers and Vegas Golden Knights. Their week is a short one: the Maple Leafs come to town Wednesday, then Seattle visits Calgary on Friday.
Edmonton had a split of its own, though the tone was very different. The Oilers outlasted the Carolina Hurricanes 6-5 in a shootout behind a power play that kept humming, then were handed a 7-2 loss by the Maple Leafs on Saturday. They close out their five-game home stand with Detroit on Monday and Calgary on Wednesday before heading east for games against the New York Islanders on Saturday and the New York Rangers on Sunday.
Vegas also comes into the week searching for a bounce-back. The Golden Knights have lost three straight after a 6-2 defeat to the St.
Louis Blues and a 2-1 overtime loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, both on the road. They are tied with Edmonton at 17 points, though the Oilers have two games in hand to lead the division entering the week.
Vegas has a lighter schedule ahead, with Ottawa on Tuesday and New Jersey on Friday.
The Los Angeles Kings have at least started to build a little momentum after a rough opening. They followed last week’s 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals with a 3-2 overtime victory over the Islanders, before falling 3-1 to the Devils on Saturday.
That leaves them seventh in the division at 2-5-2 and six points. The road trip continues with back-to-back games against the Rangers on Monday and the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday, then a return home for Ottawa on Thursday and Buffalo on Saturday.
San Jose also split its two games, taking a 6-2 win over Ottawa on Thursday before losing 6-4 to Boston on Saturday to finish its Eastern Conference road trip at 3-2-1. The Sharks are at the final wild card spot at 6-5-1, though only one of those wins has come in regulation. A four-game home stand begins Tuesday with Buffalo coming in, followed by Vancouver on Thursday and Ottawa on Saturday.
Anaheim also went 1-1 over the last week. The Ducks dropped a 4-1 decision to the New Jersey Devils on Oct. 22, their fifth straight loss, but answered with a 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday in a game that featured a first period full of penalties.
At 5-6-0, Anaheim is two points out of a playoff spot. Vancouver comes to town Tuesday, Buffalo is next on Thursday, and Ottawa visits Sunday.
Vancouver remains stuck in the longest skid in the division. The Canucks opened the season 2-1-0, but haven’t won since their 4-1 victory over Calgary on Oct.
- Last week brought a 5-2 loss to Detroit and a 4-2 defeat to Minnesota, pushing the streak to 10.
They’ll try to end it this week with games at Anaheim on Tuesday and San Jose on Thursday, then a home matchup against Toronto on Saturday.
In Other News...
Wild Suddenly Looked Dangerous Again After Flames Sent Them Reeling
Minnesota had started to look like a team finding its footing again after a rough stretch, and it helped that the Wild handled back-to-back tests against Seattle and Vancouver with the kind of balanced effort that can change a room fast. Jesper Wallstedt and Calvin Pickard split the crease in the two games, and the offense came from a mix of familiar names and depth pieces, with Quinn Hughes playing a central role and a few bottom-six contributors adding timely goals.
The depth scoring mattered almost as much as the results, because it hinted at a lineup that can hurt teams in more than one way when the chances are there. Blake Coleman, Maxim Shabanov and Bobby Brink were among the players who chipped in during the two-game stretch, and for Calgary, the bigger takeaway is clear enough: a Wild team that had been waiting to wake up suddenly looked dangerous again. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Are Building Something Toronto Is About To Test
The Flames have spent this homestand looking more connected, more disciplined and a little harder to play against, and now they get a bigger measuring stick with the Toronto Maple Leafs coming to town. Calgary is trying to finish off a four-game home winning streak, and the 4-1 win over Detroit offered a useful snapshot of what has been working: contributions from throughout the lineup, an assist from Adam Klapka and steady goaltending from Devin Cooley.
Ryan Huska has made the same point after recent games, stressing how much the group has benefited from balanced ice time and a commitment to the defensive details. Calgary has also done a good job of taking away space from top opposing talent, which is exactly the sort of habit that gets tested when Toronto rolls in with its usual firepower and speed. [Read more 🡒]
Flames Fans Loved One Classy Gesture After A Game-Night Mishap
A small game-night mishap turned into one of those moments fans end up talking about long after the final horn. During a Calgary Flames game, a spectator had a beer spilled in the warmups, and the incident could have easily faded into the background as just another rinkside inconvenience.
Instead, the response drew plenty of attention on social media when the Wild forward involved made an effort to make things right. The gesture came off as simple and classy, the kind of unscripted arena moment that tends to resonate with Flames fans even when the player in question is wearing the other sweater. [Read more 🡒]