Week Ending 03/17/23 Western

Anaheim Ducks

Wins 2 (Wild, Stars)

Losses 1 (Blues OT)

The Ducks have had a good week picking up 5 points out of a possible 6, all on the road. Barring a catastrophic collapse, the Ducks have the Pacific Division in the bag, sitting 12 points clear of closest Pacific rivals the LA Kings.

Calgary Flames

Wins 2 (Red Wings, Predators)

Losses 1 (Kings)

Coming back from 3 road losses in a row, the Flames fought back with convincing wins against the Red Wings and Predators. The Flames have one of the worst road records this month having lost every road game so far. However they’ve won every home game. Still not enough to lift them any higher than 14th in the Western.

Chicago Blackhawks

Wins 2 (Blue Jackets, Stars)

Losses 0

Chicago’s domination of the NHL continues, only two games were played this week. In the first game, the Blackhawk’s took the Blue Jackets to a shootout. Toews and Hossa each scored twice in the second game in a brutal 8-1 road win over the Stars.

Colorado Avalanche

Wins 0

Losses 3 (Oilers, Wild x2)

The Avs currently sit bottom of the Western. This week didn’t help and as for tonight’s game against Chicago, well let’s just say the bookmakers don’t fancy the Avs.

Columbus Blue Jackets

Wins 1 (Coyotes)

Losses 2 (Canucks OT, Blackhawks OT)

3 games, 3 shootouts for Columbus. After 5 wins in a row, the Blue Jackets form has dropped this week with two shootout losses. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky is having a storming week though, making it into the NHL’s three stars (again). Currently sitting in 12th in a very tight conference, good results against the Predators and Flames could see the Blue Jackets back in a playoff place.

Dallas Stars

Wins 0

Losses 3 (Predators, Ducks OT, Blackhawks)

Poor week for the Stars but playing  games against league leaders Anaheim and Chicago is always going to be a tough one. Dallas are currently is a similar position to Columbus in that a good run could see them back in the playoff places. Hopefully for Stars fans, the team can recover from the 8-1 schooling at the hands of Chicago.

Detroit Red Wings

Wins 2 (Oilers, Canucks)

Losses 1 (Flames)

Positive week for the Wings, still finding their feet in the post-Lidstrom era. Keeper Jimmy Howard missed a game with sickness but came back to help the Wings to 2 wins and maintain a good playoff position. Injury woes still affect the Wings and next week brings some tough games.

Edmonton Oilers

Wins 2 (Avalanche, Predators)

Losses 0 (Red Wings OT)

The Oilers continue to sit tantalisingly close to the playoff positions. 5 points from a possible 6 is respectable.

Los Angeles Kings

Wins 2 (Flames, Sharks)

Losses 2 (Coyotes, Sharks)

Kings are still sitting pretty in the Western in 6th and are clearly looking to retain their Stanley Cup title. The Kings have some tough games coming up in the next week though.

Minnesota Wild

Wins 2 (Avalanche x2)

Losses 1 (Ducks)

The Wild currently have the edge over division rivals Vancouver but the lead is slim and the fight for the automatic top 3 conference spot is very close.

Nashville Predators

Wins 1(Stars)

Losses 3 (Canucks, Flames, Oilers)

The Preds are still involved in the tight battle for playoff places. Stalwart Patric Hornqvist is still on the injured list. Convincing wins against the Canucks and Flames are positive news for Preds fans and goalie Chris Mason is playing very well.

Phoenix Coyotes

Wins 1 (Kings)

Losses 2 (Blues, Blue Jackets OT)

The Coyotes took a big scalp by beating the current Stanley Cup holders but still sit on the wrong side of top 8. Good news is only 1 player is out injured. In other news, defenseman Oliver Eckman-Larsson has just signed a new 6 year deal. Keeping him at the Jobing.Com Arena.

San Jose Sharks

Wins 1 (Blues, Kings)

Losses 2 (Kings)

Mixed week for Sharks with a win and loss against their local rivals. Kennedy and Greiss are out injured. The Sharks have lost more than they’ve won this month and with several teams knocking on the door, the next few weeks are going to be very tough.

St. Louis Blues

Wins 2 (Coyotes, Sharks)

Losses 2 (Kings, Ducks)

4 points out of 4 road games this week. The Blues are still sitting comfortably in the Western with a slight points advantage over their rivals fighting it out below. T.J. Oshie and Jamie Langenbrunner are out injured.

Vancouver Canucks

Wins 2 (Blue Jackets, Predators)

Losses 1 (Red Wings)

The Canucks slump seems to be over with two convincing wins and a brutal thrashing at the hands of the mighty Red Wings (biased). Booth, Kessel and Malhotra are all sidelined and the bonkers goalie situation continues. See Alex’s piece for more on that!