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Flip the script! Rangers now are the top dawgs atop the league standings; the Kraken and Flames turn a gear in the Pacific; and the Wild take the Blue Jackets spot as the league's current glacier. Even more wild than that (no pun), the three big monsters in the Canucks; Knights; and Bruins have lost their ferocity and bark in the past ten games.
Las Vegas is a rough 4-5-1 in the last ten games with Boston (5-3-2) and Vancouver (5-5) droppin' a few feet behind them. It has been a full on flip of the script across the standings in many ways. Only being a quarter the way in (roughly), we didn't expect to see a complete mold atop the standings, but as we are seeing the Knights; Bruins; and Canucks ride the slopes a tad, it is obvious that mold formation may be a ways out. Especially with the likes of the Kings; Stars; and Jets makin' headway. A wild ride is exactly how hockey fans hope a season will be. The slate on this banter (might change chatter to banter eh) has some good and bad. Name of the game.
The Wild and Ducks are completely on the wrong side of things right now. Both squads are glaciers ridin' the two worst losing streaks in Chel. Minnesota has lost seven in a row; the Ducks have lost six in row. What the hell happened to the Ducks!? They quack off winnin' 8 of 10 after starting 1-4 and now have lost six in a row being outscored 30-11 across the losing skid.
I raised the question on if Anaheim's 6 game-win streak was a fluke... they are answering that with a resounding yes. Ducks are a nasty 4-8-0 at home and have been giving up goals at will. They are missing center Trevor Zegras badly, who has been on IR due to lower-body injury. However, that's not an excuse for the defense being abysmal. Starting defensive pairing Cam Fowler and Jackson LaCombe have been awful in the full scheme of things, being outworked and outplayed. LaCombe has been dreadful, posting a -16 plus/minus on the season. Those two have to step up if the Ducks want to find some consistency in winning. Ducks have a very sharp thorn of comp' coming up on the schedj. Time to buckle up.
Unlike the Ducks, the Wild haven't had any smell of winning this season. It's just been a matter of things getting worse and worse in Minnesota- now they ride a nasty seven game losing skid and have canned head coach Dean Evason and assistant Bob Woods in a stunner. Evason is canned after going 147-77-27 in 4 1/4 seasons behind the bench. Wild have lost 11 of 13 while having the third worst point differential in the league. They have been outscored 28-13 on the losing streak. Front office had enough. With this start, following a first round playoff exit- I can't blame them on forcin' quick action in efforts to salvage some of the season. They replace Evason with former Devils and Predators head coach John Hynes. Quite a job for him to take & his first order of business is the defense and scoring given up. Goodluck to him, as it's quite a dumpster fire. The defense has been abysmal; Marc-Andre Fleury and Filip Gustavsson have been down bad in the net; and the team in whole refuses to get things clicking in a positive direction.
Minnesota has the second worst goals/against per game (3.95) behind the Sharks & third worst save percentage (.878) in the league. Not sure if all the blame is on Fleury and Gustavsson, with how bad the defense and penalty kill has been. Blame can sure be all around. Fact of the matter: the goalies NEED to be better and so does the PK units. The PK has been embarrasing. Not only do the Wild rank dead last with a 66.7% penalty kill, but they rank dead last by a margin with the Islanders behind them with a 70.3% PK. You can't be a winning team with that bad of a PK; especially being in the bottom eight in PIM. Lets see how the club responds to the coaching change & if Hynes can be the man behind the wheel to get the Wild back on the winnin' side.
The Flames and Kraken may not be red hot, but they are winnin' some games to go with their losin'; thats a good note with how both squads started their seasons. The climb out of the basement may be conquered (they hope), now can the teams win more than they lose to climb into the playoff hunt?
Calgary has been solid in their last ten games going 5-3-2 with two big time dubs over the Canucks (5-2) and the Stars (7-4). They still have the monkey on their back of not winnin' close games, but they have an OT win over the Kraken and a close win over the Habs to use for growth. This is a good spurt of action for a team that lost six in a row and started the season 2-7-1. They haven't won more than two in a row, but at least they are talling some wins.
Flames are getting solid center work from Elias Lindholm; Blake Coleman; and Mikael Backlund. Well Coleman is playin' RW on the second line, nonetheless. The center work has been solid, good thing too with the poor play of wingers Jonathan Huberdeau and Yegor Sharangovich. Lindholm has scored a goal in each of the last three Flames' wins with a collection of three assists collectively. He's been a spark to the top line and power-play unit. It's been a much better month for Lindholm after a rocky October. Same can be said for captain Mikael Backlund as he has been sharper in November and looks to gain some real steam going into December. I am not quick on givin' up on this Calgary team. Flames are a team that can catch a groove if they can find a winning consistency. Livin' up to their name. A must watch set of games coming up for the Flames. They see the Canucks; Knights; another big one with the Stars; and the Hurricanes. If they can win some to most in that handful... look out for this team to keep climbin' up and out of the twenties.
Seattle enjoys ridin' rocky waters, but they still find themselves on the climb despite facing a second sizeable losing skid. Kraken have won 3 of 5 since losin' 3 in a row, scoring 19 goals across the last five games. The problem? They have given up 16 goals on the other side. Just a tsunami of inconsistency on the defensive end. Most of the Kraken's wins are against top tier teams. They show they are still of caliber... just not every night. They have a four game road trip before havin' five consecutive games in Seattle. Time for them to fight their demons.
Kraken have played solid on the road; they just can't win close games. The play at Climate Pledge... has been abundantly bad. Kraken are 4-6-1 at home this season, being outscored 30-38. I was kind by including the 7-1 win over the Sharks. Outside of the OT loss to the Flames, every loss at home has been a whoopin' on the final scoreboard. Gotta be better. Especially the top two lines; the top two lines need to take notes on line three and repeat.
I like the trio of Eeli Tolvanen; Oliver Bjorkstrand; and Yanni Gourde. Bjork has been great manning the second power-play unit and leads the team in plus/minus and points. Won't get the credit he is earned, but I for one see it and praise it. The whole third line has a poistive plus/minus, a big difference of production compared to the top lines. Kraken need more positive production from Jared McCann and Jaden Schwartz if they want to find some winnin' ways. McCann looks to have lost a step from last season, if he can kick it into a gear then this squad can find those ways. Seattle has a light slate of comp' on the schedule for the next two weeks- they MUST take advantage. I feel they could easily win 7 of their next 9 games if they play good puck. Turning things around at home could go a long way in elevating this team into the teens and the hunt for the playoffs along with the Flames.
Power Rankings:
Record since last drop: 3-0
Notable wins: vs BOS, @ PHI
Rangers take the top spot as they continue to be the hottest team in the league. They may still have the same amount of points as the Bruins, but the Rangers are playing much better hockey in the last ten games. New York is scorchin' with an 8-1-1 record in the past ten and have won 7 of their last 8 games. The loss against the Stars didn't turn into a speed bump as the Rangers responded with three consecutive dubs including big Eastern Conference points earned against the Bruins (7-4) & Flyers (3-1).
Next up: vs BUF, vs DET, @ NSH, vs SJ, @ OTT
Record since last drop: 3-0
Notable wins: @ ANA, @ ARI
Kings just keep on rollin'. They jump three spots to number two as they have been the hottest team not named the Rangers & are still undefeated on the road at 9-0-0. Kings have won five in a row and nine of their last eleven games. They may be 4th in points, but they are red-hot in the past weeks, which has elevated them to the number two spot over the Knights and Bruins. They won't budge atop the PRs if they stay undefeated on the road.
Next up: vs WAS, vs COL, @ CBJ, @ MTL
Record since last drop: 1-2
Notable wins: vs FLA
Bruins are starting to look human, again. They got a big dub over the Panthers (3-1) following a tough loss in OT versus the Lightning, but then go and lose two straight to the Red Wings and Rangers. Two hot teams, so not too demoralizing, but they lost by a combined 12-6 score collectively between the two Ls. Not very characteristic and a pair of games that will help a club climb downwards, not upwards. Lets see how the Bruins respond as they are hit a tour of travel coming up.
Next up: vs SJ, @ TOR, vs CBJ
Record since last drop: 1-1
Notable wins: @ DAL (OTW)
After starting the campaign an outstanding 11-0-1, the Golden Knights have lost some steam. Vegas has lost 6 of their last 9 games with three of the Ls being shutouts. They haven't been the dominating team in November that they were in October. Which side of the equation will they be on in December? The more they lose, the more they'll fall.
Next up: @ CGY, @ EDM, @ VAN, vs WAS, vs STL
Record since last drop: 2-1
Notable wins: @ TB (OTW), @ FLA
A nail-biting loss to the Predators (2-3) saw the Jets' five-game winning streak be snapped, but they remain one of the hottest clubs in Chel. With dubs in 8 of their last 10 games, the Jets have made themselves a legitimate contender in the Western Conference as they sit in second with the Stars atop the Central division. Winnipeg lost a close game heartbreaker against those Stars on November 11th- they have a big time rematch with Dallas on Tuesday. A big time matchup to tune in on.
Next up: vs DAL, vs EDM, vs CHI, vs CAR
Record since last drop: 1-2
Notable wins: @ SEA
Canucks drop three spots as they have lost 4 of their last 6 games. They have hit a speed bump on the road, losing three of the last four road games including losses by the hands of the Flames and Sharks. They will be happy to know that they have some time to spend in Vancouver in the coming week and a half. We will see if the Canucks can use their homestand to get back on the rise, and not stay on the decline.
Next up: vs ANA, vs LV, @ CGY, vs NJ
Record since last drop: 3-0
Notable wins: vs VAN
Avalanche are back to winnin' ways and back inside the top ten of the Power Rankings. Avs have now won 6 of their last 7 games after a nasty seven game stretch that saw them drop to the late 'teens of my PRs. Colorado is back to playin' to their potential as a team. Can they avoid another bad stretch and win their way up the ladder? I won't bet against it.
Next up: @ ARI, @ ANA, @ LA, vs ANA
Record since last drop: 0-1-1 (0-2)
Notable wins: n/a
The Stars are on the decline in the rankings as they continue to ride a small wave of inconsistency. Dallas has lost three of four after ridin' a four-game winning streak. They have given up 6 plus goals in losses to both the Flames and Golden Knights. They just can't seem to find a way to stay consistently hot. Still not super alarming, as they remain in the top ten of the PRs. A long road-trip ahead on their schedule can tell us a lot in the coming week.
Next up: @ WPG, @ CGY, vs TB, @ TB
Record since last drop: 1-2
Notable wins: @ OTT
Panthers aren't far from a stretch that saw them win 7 of 9 games. They don't fall much despite now losing 2 of 3, because of that stretch, but they don't climb either. They dropped two big opportunities against the Jets and Bruins that forced the Panthers to lose some steam. They look to get that steam back with a road trip in Canada & then a three-game homestand.
Next up: @ TOR, @ MTL, vs NYI, vs DAL
Record since last drop: 0-1-1 (0-2)
Notable wins: n/a
Toronto drops two in a row after winnin' five of six, but remains in the top ten as both games were one goal losses. Not demoralizing enough to bump them out of my top ten. They are back at home for another trio of games, expect them to get back to winnin' ways as they love playin' at home as of late.
Next up: vs FLA, vs SEA, vs BOS
11-32:
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