What’s Going On In The Pacific Division: The Oilers control their own destiny, the exciting race for third in the division, and more!

Lukáš Dostál has emerged as someone who’ll likely be their number one netminder next season, as he has a 3.40 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage in 42 games this season. What will happen with John Gibson? No idea, but he has an .890 save percentage and a 3.48 goals-against average in 45 games played.

Calgary Flames

At this point in the season, the Calgary Flames are mathematically eliminated, which means that losing is good (in some ways) as they’ll be able to draft higher with more losses. This past week, they lost two games to the Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers, before defeating the San Jose Sharks in overtime.

Nazem Kadri all but has the team lead in points wrapped up, as he has 26 goals and 68 points, 11 more than Yegor Sharangovich’s 30 goals and 57 points. Blake Coleman is on the precipice of also scoring 30 goals, as he has 29 goals and 52 points. Jonathan Huberdeau, MacKenzie Weegar, Andrew Mangiapane, Mikael Backlund, Rasmus Andersson, and Connor Zary all have 30 or more points.

In net, Jacob Markström’s play has taken a dive after the trade deadline, as he now has a .906 save percentage and a 2.74 goals-against average in 46 games played. He’s been sharing the crease with Dustin Wolf as of late, who has an .896 save percentage and a 3.19 goals-against average in 14 games played.

Edmonton Oilers

The Edmonton Oilers are in control of their own destiny when it comes to winning the Pacific Division, as they lost big against the Dallas Stars, but rebounded with wins against the Colorado Avalanche and the Calgary Flames. They have two games in hand on the Vancouver Canucks while being behind them by five points. However, the two teams will meet on Saturday.

Connor McDavid is now nine points back of Nikita Kucherov for the Art Ross trophy and it’s looking increasingly unlikely he’ll win his fifth-straight. However, he’s just one assist shy of becoming the fourth player in history with 100 assists. Leon Draisaitl has 40 goals and 102 points, Evan Bouchard has 17 goals and 79 points and will surely get some Norris consideration, while Zach Hyman has 52 goals and 73 points.

Between the pipes, Stuart Skinner has a .906 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in 55 games, along with a 34-14-5 record. Backup netminder Calvin Pickard has a .913 save percentage and a 2.38 goals-against average in 20 games played.

Los Angeles Kings

The Los Angeles sit third in the Pacific Division with 93 points, just one ahead of the Vegas Golden Knights who are currently in the third Wild Card spot. Since the last What’s Going On In The Pacific Division article, the Kings had a three-game win streak by beating the Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Vancouver Canucks, before falling to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday.

Adrian Kempe leads the team in points with 27 goals and 71 points, just one point ahead of Kevin Fiala who also has 27 goals but 70 points. Captain Anže Kopitar has 26 goals and 68 points, while they’re getting depth scoring from Trevor Moore (who’s 30 goals leads the team), Quinton Byfield, Drew Doughty, and Phillip Danault.

The Kings also have two former Flames between the pipes. Cam Talbot has a .915 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average in 51 games, along with a 25-19-6 record. David Rittich has a .919 save percentage and a 2.21 goals-against average in 23 games played, along with a 12-6-3 record.

San Jose Sharks

With just a single loss or three points from the Chicago Blackhawks, the San Jose Sharks will officially finish last in the National Hockey League standings, giving them a 25.5% chance of winning the Slackin’ for Macklin sweepstakes. Over the past week, they went 1-2-1, with a win against the St. Louis Blues, two regulation losses at the hands of the Los Angeles Kings and Arizona Coyotes, and an overtime loss to the Calgary Flames.

Mikael Granlund leads the team with 55 points and 12 goals, while rookie William Eklund has 16 goals and 41 points, including a hat trick in their only win of the week. Fabian Zetterlund has as many points as Eklund, but leads the team with 21 goals.

Mackenzie Blackwood has been impressive this season, posting a .900 save percentage and a 3.38 goals-against average in 43 games played, along with a 10-24-4 record and two shutouts. Devin Cooley is their new backup, and he has an .887 save percentage and a 3.65 goals-against average in three games.

Seattle Kraken

Like the Calgary Flames, the Seattle Kraken are in the same boat where they aren’t a playoff team, but aren’t nearly as bad as the Anaheim Ducks or the San Jose Sharks. This past week, they lost to the Los Angeles Kings, but defeated the Ducks and the Arizona Coyotes.

Jared McCann leads the team with 28 goals and 60 points, followed by Oliver Bjorkstrand’s 20 goals and 57 points. Vince Dunn has 11 goals and 46 points, quite impressive numbers for a defenceman, while Jordan Eberle has 17 goals and 43 points after a slow start. Eeli Tolvanen has 16 goals and 41 points.

Between the pipes, Joey Daccord has a .918 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average in 47 games played, along with an 18-16-11 record. Philipp Grubauer acts as a “1B”, and he has a .901 save percentage with a 2.81 goals-against average in 34 games played.

Vancouver Canucks

As it stands, the Vancouver Canucks lead the Pacific Division with 104 points, five ahead of the Edmonton Oilers. This past week, they defeated the Arizona Coyotes and the Vegas Golden Knights, but fell 6-3 to the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.

For the first time in his career, J.T. Miller hit the 100-point marker with 35 goals, also a career-high. Defenceman Quinn Hughes leads defenceman in points with 88, while Elias Pettersson has 33 goals and 87 points. Brock Boeser set a career-high in goals with 40 while also scoring 73 points.  There are five additional players with 30 or more points, and even more with 20 or more points.

In net, Casey DeSmith has filled in for the injured Thatcher Demko and has an .893 save percentage and a 2.92 goals-against average in 28 games. Backing him up is Arturs Silovs, who has a .909 save percentage and a 2 goals-against average in three games. They are really missing Demko, who has a .917 save percentage and a 2.47 goals-against average in 49 games played.

Vegas Golden Knights

There is a dogfight for the third spot in the Pacific Division between the Los Angeles Kings and the Vegas Golden Knights, with the latter just one point behind the former. The Knights only played two games this past week, losing 7-4 to the Arizona Coyotes and 4-3 to the Vancouver Canucks.

Jonathan Marchessault leads the way with 41 goals and 67 points, while Jack Eichel has 29 goals and 63 points in 58 games, the only player with a point-per game average. William Karlsson has 27 goals and 55 points, and they have a ton of depth options like Chandler Stephenson, Ivan Barbashev, and Nicolas Roy.

In net, Adin Hill has struggled mightily since returning from injury, but still has a .914 save percentage and a 2.62 goals-against average in 32 games played this season. Logan Thompson has played the majority of the games so far for the Knights and has a .907 save percentage and a 2.76 goals-against average in 44 games played.