The Western Conference has been doing a stellar job this season. They are on top of the league, and aren’t ready to slow down anytime soon. With the exception of a few teams, the Western Conference seems to be the ones who can’t be stopped. Let’s see how they ranked in the past week.
November 23, 2013; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Colorado Avalanche goalie Semyon Varlamov (1) celebrates the 1-0 victory against the Los Angeles Kings following the overtime period at Staples Center. Mandatory Credit: Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
1. The Colorado Avalanche are one of the best teams of the year. A team who wasn’t much the last few years has stepped up, and a lot of the thanks goes to coach Patrick Roy. His squad has stepped up into the NHL-quality style of play that he wants. The team went 3-0-0 this week, starting off with a big 5-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. They then hit the road to play the Phoenix Coyotes. It was close, but Ryan O’Reilly netted the overtime winner to secure their second win this week. They flew up to Los Angeles to play the Kings on Saturday. Another nail biter was upon them, and they won the game in overtime with a goal from Tye McGinn. They dethroned the Kings 1-0. The Avalanche snagged six points this week.
2. The St. Louis Blues decided that this was their week. They started off strong with a big 4-1 win in Buffalo against the Sabres on Tuesday. Brenden Morrow scored the game-winning goal. The Blues then went to Boston, where they won in the shootout over the Bruins. The 3-2 victory was sealed when Derek Roy scored his shootout goal. They ended the week on Saturday at home. They hosted the Dallas Stars, and they showed the hometown crowd what they could do. They lit the lamp six times with six different players. Vladimir Tarasenko was awarded the game winner. St. Louis also grabbed six points this week.
3. The Calgary Flames have woken up and brought in five points this week. Their first game was on Monday, where they faced the Winnipeg Jets at the MTS Centre. After a hard-fought battle, they won the game in a shootout 5-4. Their next game was another close one, where they hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. The Blue Jackets came out victorious with a 2-1 overtime win. Nikita Nikitin scored the overtime winner for the Jackets. Calgary’s final game this week was a home game against the Florida Panthers. Like the others, this game saw extra time. In the shootout, youngster Sean Monahan scored the winning shootout goal, helping the Flames win 5-4 over the Cats.
4. The Anaheim Ducks pulled out a decent week. Their first game was a 3-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Consol Energy Center. Brandon Sutter had the game winner for the Pens. The Ducks then flew back home to host Jaromir Jagr and the New Jersey Devils. They lost in overtime to the Devils 4-3, with Tyler Zajac scoring to end the game. Their first win this week came on Friday, when they hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning. They won 1-0 in overtime, just before the buzzer moved the game into a shootout. Ryan Getzlaf scored the overtime winner with 5.2 seconds left in the extra period. Their final game this week was Saturday in Phoenix, where the Ducks conquered the Coyotes 4-2. Corey Perry had the game winner in Saturday’s game. The Ducks squeezed out five points this week.
5. The San Jose Sharks only played two games this week, and they pulled together a pair of wins. Their first game was on Thursday, a home game against Martin St. Louis and the Lightning. After a good battle, the Sharks beat the Bolts by a score of 5-1. Brad Stuart was credited with the game-winning goal. Their second game was another home game. Saturday they hosted the Devils. San Jose scored two goals early and held off the Devils. They defeated the Devils 2-1, with Tyler Kennedy scoring the game winner. The Sharks came out with four points this week.
Nov 19, 2013; Edmonton, Alberta, CAN; Columbus Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) cannot make the save as Edmonton Oilers Ryan Smith (94) scores the third goal of the first period for the Oilers at Rexall Place. Mandatory Credit: Chris Austin-USA TODAY Sports
6. The Edmonton Oilers have exploded this week. Many people couldn’t believe the success they had this week, winning both of their games, something they seem to be having trouble doing. Their first game was Tuesday night at home. They hosted the Columbus Blue Jackets, and they dominated them. The Oilers scored 7 goals in the sixty minute game. David Perron had two goals and two assists in the win. Their second game was Thursday, another game to be played at Rexall Place. They hosted the Florida Panthers, and defeated them 4-1. Sam Gagner had scored the winning goal to send the Panthers out of the building. The Oilers grabbed every point possible in this week, totaling four points.
7. The Chicago Blackhawks played three games this week and all of them on the road. Their first matchup was against the Colorado Avalanche in the Pepsi Center. They lost a big matchup by a score of 5-1. Their second game was on Thursday, where they challenged the Winnipeg Jets. They handed the Jets another loss by a score of 6-3. Marian Hossa was awarded the game-winning goal. They then challenged the Vancouver Canucks, where they battled hard. They didn’t need an overtime period, but they held on to the win by a score of 2-1, with Marcus Kruger scoring the winning goal. The Blackhawks swiped four points this week.
8. The Nashville Predators went 2-1-0 this week against three Eastern Conference teams. Their first was a win over the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena. It was a good game, where they shut out the Red Wings 2-0, with Shea Weber’s goal proved to be the game winner. Their next game was a 4-2 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto. Craig Smith’s goal held on to be the game winner. Their final game this week came at home, where they were on the wrong end of a shutout from the New York Rangers. They played hard, but they were no match for the Rangers. Ryan McDonagh’s goal was the one that stood as the game winner. The Predators scored four points this week.
Nov 17, 2013; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Minnesota Wild forward Mikko Koivu (9) celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period against the Winnipeg Jets at Xcel Energy Center. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
9. The Minnesota Wild have played three games on the road this week. Their first game was a bad loss to the Montreal Canadiens, losing by a score of 6-2. Max Pacioretty led the Canadiens with his hat trick, one of his goals was the winning goal. The Wild’s second game came the next day, Wednesday, in Ottawa. They fought hard with the Senators and took the win 4-3. Captain Mikko Koivu notched the winning score. Their third game went down to the bone, where they grabbed a shootout win over the Winnipeg Jets. Craig Coyle’s filthy shootout goal gave them the 3-2 victory. The Wild skated away this week with four points.
10. The Los Angeles Kings had a tough week. They played three games, but only won one of them. Their first game was a home win over the Lightning. They won by a score of 5-2 with Justin Williams scoring the winning goal. Their second game was an overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. They fought hard at home, but Jaromir Jagr put the puck in the back of the net to secure the Devils’ overtime win. The Kings’ third game came at home again, losing another overtime game 1-0 to the Colorado Avalanche. Tye McGinn was the hero for the Avalanche in the overtime period. The Kings found four points this week.
11. The Vancouver Canucks mustered up three points this week in three games. Their first game was a home loss to the Florida Panthers. They lost it in the shootout, where Jonathan Huberdeau’s goal was enough to end the Canucks chances of winning. Their second game was won at Roger’s Arena against the Blue Jackets. They defeated Columbus 6-2, with Henrik Sedin getting the game-winning goal. The Canucks played their third game this week at home against the Chicago Blackhawks, who defeated the Canucks 2-1 with a game winner from Marcus Kruger. The Canucks were 1-1-1 this week.
12. The Winnipeg Jets couldn’t find a win this week, but did score two pints. They played three games, the first of which was a home loss in a shootout. They lost to the Calgary Flames thanks to Sean Monahan. Their second game was another home loss to the Chicago Blackhawks, who handed them a big 6-3 loss. Marian Hossa’s goal was the winner for Chicago. The Jets’ third game was another shootout loss, but this time to the Minnesota Wild. Craig Coyle’s goal in the shootout secured Minnesota’s 3-2 victory. The Jets nabbed two points this week.
Nov 23, 2013; Glendale, AZ, USA; Phoenix Coyotes right wing Shane Doan (19), Anaheim Ducks goalie Jonas Hiller (1), defenseman Mark Fistric (28) and defenseman Hampus Lindholm (47) look for the puck during the third period at Jobing.com Arena. Mandatory Credit: Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports
13. The Phoenix Coyotes had a rough week, losing both games they played. Their first was a close 4-3 loss to the Colorado Avalanche in overtime. Ryan O’Reilly grabbed the overtime winner for Colorado at Jobing.com Arena. The second game for the Coyotes was a 4-2 loss at home to the Anaheim Ducks. They couldn’t pull a win out this week, but they did manage to scramble up a point.
14. Jamie Benn and the Dallas Stars couldn’t win a game this week. Thursday night was their first game of the week at home. They hosted the New York Rangers, where they lost 3-2. Sadly they couldn’t push it into extra time to grab at least a point, but they looked hopeful for their game Saturday, where they traveled to St. Louis to take on the Blues. They lost hope though, giving the Blues another win by a score of 6-1. Although Tarasenko scored the game winner, there were six different goal scorers for the Blues. The Dallas Stars couldn’t find a point this week.