Central Division
Colorado Avalanche
Reto Berra missed his teams 2-3 defeat on Monday in Montreal due to an injury. He returned on Tuesday for the home game against Florida. The Avalanche lost 3-4 in overtime, while Berra posted a .889 save percentage. When the Vancouver Canucks came to Denver on Friday, Berra backed up Semyon Varlamov, who returned from his groin injury and backstopped his team to a 7-3 win after a rough start (0-1 after 10 seconds in the first period). The Avs still remain at second to last place in their divison, now tied with last placed Winnipeg.
Minnesota Wild
After their game in Anaheim on Friday, the Wild visited the reigning champions in Los Angeles. In a low-scoring game, Nino Niederreiter and his team lost 1-2. Niederreiter remained scoreless in 13:59 TOI, despite getting three shots on goal. Later this week, Minnesota had a two-game homestand at Xcel Energy center, getting a win in both games. Niederreiter saw his TOI decline again to 13:28 in the Wild’s 2-0 against Arizona. He got his second point of the season, when he posted an assist on Eric Haula’s 3-1 midway through the first in a 7-2 rout against the Tampa Bay Lightning (even rating, 13:37 TOI). Minnesota has a 4-2-0 record and now sits at 4th place with two games in hand on the division leading Predators (12 points).
Nashville Predators
Nashville fought off the Arizona Coyotes in a shootout for a 4-3 home win on Monday. Roman Josi played a season-high 32:02 and had an even rating with two shots on goal. The game on Thursday was a clash of the last two teams without a regulation loss. Nashville beat the favorite Chicago Blackhawks 3-2 thanks to a hat trick by newly acquired James Neal. Josi didn’t register any points in 25:25 TOI. Top goalscorer Neal returned to his former team on Saturday night but remained scoreless like all his teammates in a 0-3 loss, a game where Josi once again couldn’t get on the scoresheet, leaving him with only one point in eight games. Despite losing their record of 0 regulation losses, the Preds still lead the Central Divison ahead of strong teams like Chicago, Dallas and Minnesota.
Pacific Division
Calgary Flames
On Monday, the Calgary Flames travelled to Manitoba, where they faced the Winnipeg Jets. Jonas Hiller got the start and stopped 34 of the 35 shots he faced in a convincing 4-1 win (.971 SV%). Back home in Calgary, the Flames started their five-game homestand with a 1-2 OT loss. Hiller sat out in this game, but returned between the pipes on Thursday when he shut out the Carolina Hurricanes (16 saves). He has three wins in his last three starts with 99 saves on 101 shots against, leaving him with an impressive save percentage of .98 over this period. Hiller backed up his fellow goaltender Karri Ramo on Sunday (1-3 loss to the Washington Capitals). Raphael Diaz only played on Monday in Winnipeg, where he saw 8:50 of ice time. He finished the game with one shot on goal and a -1 rating. The Flames currently are the third placed team in their divison behind LA and Anaheim.
San Jose Sharks
Swiss rookie D Mirco Mueller only played twice this week, on Sunday in New York, where he got 19:31 TOI and finished the game with a -2 rating in a 0-4 defeat and at home against Buffalo in a 1-2 loss (+1 rating, 18:10 TOI), the Sharks’ 8th consecutive loss against Buffalo. San Jose also lost their other two games this week on Tuesday in Boston (3-5 loss) and on Thursday, when they hosted the Blue Jackets (4-5 defeat). Their four losses in a row is currently the longest losing streak of all teams in the NHL. The Sharks fell behind the Calgary Flames and now sit 4th in the Pacific Division.
Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver played three games on the road this week and returned home with only one win out of these games. The Canucks played all three games with both Swiss defenders in their lineup. Luca Sbisa played 16:17 and had a +1 rating, while Yannick Weber saw 16:30 of ice time along with two shots on goal and a +2 rating. Despite those good stats, the Nucks lost 3-6 to Dallas. The next game in St. Louis went better than the one in Dallas, where Sbisa played 17:08 (no points, even rating) and Weber got 16:05 TOI (no points, +1) in a 4-1 win. Their last game of the week was a rough one: Luca Sbisa finished the game with a terrible -5(!) rating in only 16:20! Yannick Weber ended the game with a moderate -2 in 16:14. Vancouver is the 5th placed team in the Pacific Divison, one point ahead of both Arizona and Edmonton.
Metropolitan Division
New Jersey Devils
Damien Brunner registered his first points of the season in a 3-4 derby loss in the first Battle of Hudson of this season (12:40 TOI). His two assists both came on the power play. On Friday, the Dallas Stars visited the Prudential Center and left with two points after a 3-2 shootout win. Brunner saw his ice time increase to 19:14 and scored his first goal of the season, a tap-in to tie the game in the third. A day later, the Devils travelled to Ottawa and played their third consecutive overtime game. This time, they got a win out of it, thanks to Jaromir Jagr’s 19th career overtime winner, a league record. Brunner couldn’t get on the scoresheet in 18:03 of ice time and only had one shot on goal. The Devils are 3rd in the Metropolitan, two points behind the New York Islanders.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers got shut out on Tuesday in Chicago, when they dropped the game 0-4 and Mark Streit registered a -1 rating in 21:20 TOI. They travelled on to Pittsburgh on Wednesday for the first Penn State rivalry matchup of the season. Mark Streit tied the game in the first period with his second goal of the season and finished the game with a +2 rating in 21:07 in a 5-3 win. Philadelphia hosted the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday at Wells Fargo Center, but got horribly outshot and had only five shots on goal through 30 minutes. They still managed to win the game 4-2 and Streit got an assist on the game-winning power play goal in the third period, along with one shot on goal and a -2 rating in 21:06. Philadelphia is the 6th placed team in an eight-team Metropolitan division, tied with the New York Rangers.
AHL – Quick Look:
Sven Bärtschi finally got his first point of the season, but saw his rating drop to -9 in three games this week, a very disappointing start to the season. Sven Andrighetto had two goals and an assist in two games this week along with a combined +4 rating and five shots on goal. No points and only one shot on goal for Cody Almond in two games this week. Tanner Richard didn’t get on the scoresheet in this week’s two games, while Joel Vermin also remained scoreless in both games.
