Pacific Power Rankings, Week 16: The Oilers are streaking their way into the NHL All-Star break

We are mere days away from the NHL All-Star festivities, where the stars of the league will converge on Toronto for what should be a fun week for viewers. With a break in the action until early February, let’s take a look at how the division is taking shape in this week’s Pacific Division Power Rankings.

Whether it’s the Edmonton Oilers historic stretch of winning they have been on of late, or the Los Angeles Kings trending in the opposite direction, there is no shortage of storylines heading into the break and what should be an awesome finish to the regular season.

(There are only a handful of games this coming week as most teams are already wrapped up until after the All-Star break, but we will be back the week following to get you caught back up on all the action from the Pacific Division.)

Let’s stop talking about it and get right into this week’s rankings:

All stats collected from Natural Stat Trick

1. Edmonton Oilers (29-15-1, 59 points)

Last week: 2 (+1)

Record this week: 3-0-0

Things can’t be much better for the Edmonton Oilers heading into the NHL All-Star break. Another perfect week for the club has put them right back in the mix, sitting third in the Pacific with five games in hand over second place Vegas. The only concern for Oilers fans should be whether the break will slow down some of the momentum over the historic run they are on.

Stick taps: On the verge of history

With the 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators, the Oilers extended their franchise record winning streak to 16. They currently sit just one game off of the NHL record, set by the Mario Lemieux led 1992-93 Pittsburgh Penguins. The opportunity to pull even with the record will come on Feb. 6 in Vegas for a date with familiar foe, the Golden Knights.

2. Vancouver Canucks (33-11-5, 71 points)

Last week: 1 (-1)

Record this week: 1-0-1

Coming off a week where both games were pushed to overtime, and a third period comeback on Saturday against the Blue Jackets the only thing preventing them from going winless, the Canucks slip out of first spot in the rankings for the first time since the holidays. Still sitting fairly comfortably in first in the division at 71 points, the Canucks will have to come out of the break swinging as they will endure a tough eastern road trip coming out of the All-Star break.

Stick taps: Boeser heads to Toronto with a new hat collection

It was a nice way to head into the break for one of the four Canucks All-Stars when Brock Boeser potted his third hat trick of the season in the above mentioned 5-4 comeback win over Columbus. Boeser enters the break reaching the 30 goal mark for the first time in his career and the eighth player in Canucks history to have at least three hat tricks in a season.

3. Vegas Golden Knights (29-15-6, 64 points)

Last week: 3 (-)

Record the week: 2-1-0

The Vegas Golden Knights wrapped up a four game road trip this week, finishing with a 2-1-1 record after a disappointing loss to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. Captain Mark Stone said it best in a post game interview: “It was a good trip, but we had a chance to make it great.” This Vegas team is slowly getting healthier with the return of Adin Hill this week, who has won both starts since coming off injury with a .950 save percentage.

Stick taps: Manhattan Marchy gets three in the big apple

There were a couple hat tricks around the division this week, with Jonathan Marchessault getting in on the action in a 5-2 win over the New York Rangers. His three goals on three shots were the difference in the game and now with five goals in his last four, is on track to set a new career high.

4. Los Angeles Kings  (22-15-10, 54 points)

Last week: 4 (-)

Record this week: 0-2-1

The Kings incredible slide continued this week, losing all three games and only securing a singular point. The Kings two wins in January has sunk the team from a leader of the division in point percentage to entering the All-Star break in a tie for a Wild Card spot with the St. Louis Blues. What’s worse for the Kings is that Cam Talbot, one of the big reasons the Kings started the season as strong as they did, has significantly slowed down. Since mid December, he has a measly .886 save percentage.

Stick taps: Doughty keeps his team accountable

Enough was enough for assistant captain Drew Doughty after blowing a 3-1 lead on Thursday. In his post game availability, he didn’t hold back on his teams effort over the past month stating, “we’ve got guys in this room who are too worried about themselves and too worried about their points.”

5. Seattle Kraken (21-18-10, 52 points)

Last week: 5 (-)

Record this week: 2-0-1

After a four game slide last week, the Seattle Kraken evened out a bit this week, collecting points in all three contests this week. The four line machine got back some significant pieces this past week, and anytime you have a reigning Calder Trophy winner on the fourth line, you know their is some depth in that lineup. With the win on Sunday, the Kraken are hanging around the final Wild Card spot, now sitting only two points out.

Stick taps: Eberle turns back the clock

In Sundays 4-2 win over the Blue Jackets, Jordan Eberle channeled his younger self in an impressive first period performance. In the opening frame, he recorded his franchise best third multi-goal period, both on the powerplay, and tacked on an assist, matching teammate Andre Burakovsky’s three point period achieved in January 2023.

6. Calgary Flames (22-22-5, 49 points)

Last week: 6 (-)

Record this week: 1-2-0

Despite snapping a four game losing streak on Saturday with a 1-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, the Calgary Flames are struggling to make up any sort of ground in the playoff race at the All-Star break. Currently sitting at 49 points, five back of the Blues and Kings, the Flames are going to need a big push coming out of the break to get themselves back in contention.

Stick taps: Markstrom holds down the fort

Flames fans can only imagine where the club would be without Jacob Markstrom holding down the net this year. After recording his second shutout of the season against Chicago, Markstrom’s goals saved above expected number rose to 13, good enough for sixth in the entire league.

7. Anaheim Ducks (17-30-2, 36 points)

Last week: 7 (-)

Record this week: 2-0-1

The Anaheim Ducks strung together a pretty impressive week with wins over the Buffalo Sabres and Minnesota Wild and a tight 4-3 loss in overtime to the Dallas Stars. Given all the injuries that this team has suffered recently, any positive momentum this team can gain is a step in the right direction. The Ducks are not quite into their break yet as they will have another shot at one of their state rivals on Wednesday when they host the San Jose Sharks.

Stick taps: Silfverberg hits a milestone

It hasn’t been the season that Jakob Silfverberg had dreamed about with only 12 points on the campaign, but the Swede got to a pretty impressive milestone this week when he picked up has 200th assist. Now in his 11th year with the Ducks, Silfverberg has 366 points in 787 games played.

8. San Jose Sharks (13-32-4, 30 points)

Last week: 8 (-)

Record this week: 1-1-0

Another team that still has some games left before the break, the San Jose Sharks had their three game win streak snapped against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday. Now tied with the Chicago Blackhawks for last place in the league, the battle in the basement could be an interesting one heading down the stretch for the best odds at the number one pick.

Stick taps: Jumbo Joe going to the rafters

While things aren’t going great on the ice for the Sharks, it’s fun to look back at some of those 2010 teams that always seemed to be contending for a Stanley Cup year in year out. Last week it was announced one of the cornerstones of those teams, Joe Thornton, will have his number 19 retired at SAP Center during the 2024-25 season.