Oilers, McDavid steal the show: Pacific Division roundup

There were no Pacific Division games on Thursday, but storylines kept piling up around the surging Edmonton Oilers, the reeling Vancouver Canucks and a Sharks team growing behind a teenage captain.

Oilers’ hot start, McDavid’s pace fuel early hype

Edmonton sits second in the Pacific with 15 points in nine games (7-1-1), and their start is already shifting the bigger picture. According to The Hockey News, BetMGM now has the Oilers alongside Carolina, Colorado and Florida as early Stanley Cup favourites.

Connor McDavid is at the centre of it all. Daily Faceoff and The Hockey Writers note that he is currently on a scoring pace that has people openly wondering if a 200-point season is possible, putting him in the conversation with one of the NHL’s rarest milestones.

Sportsnet, meanwhile, points to Vasily Podkolzin’s strong start riding on the top line with McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, describing the 25-year-old as an emerging power forward. The lineup in Edmonton is also set to get a boost: Daily Faceoff reports Ryan Nugent-Hopkins is expected to make his season debut against the Hurricanes after missing every game so far with a lower-body injury.

Canucks skid grows, but front office stays patient

Vancouver sits sixth in the Pacific with just 5 points in 11 games (2-8-1) and an active eight-game losing streak. Even so, Sportsnet reports that GM Ryan Johnson is not panicking, stressing patience for a rebuilding club he warned would have to go through a very difficult stretch before things improve.

On the ice, the latest setback was a 6-3 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes, who completed a regular-season sweep of the Canucks, as noted by The Hockey Writers. Other coverage from the same outlet frames Vancouver’s recent defeats as a mix of games where they look clearly out of their depth and nights that simply leave observers wondering how it slipped away again.

Celebrini leads Sharks’ next wave, Golden Knights tweak roster

San Jose holds fourth place in the division with 11 points from 10 games (5-4-1). La Presse argues the Sharks’ rebuild actually started later than many think, while both La Presse and Sportsnet highlight how first-year captain Macklin Celebrini is already standing out and being described as easy for teammates to follow.

Above them, the division-leading Golden Knights (16 points in 11 games, 8-3-0) made a cap and roster move, with Daily Faceoff reporting that Vegas placed defenceman Lukas Cormier on waivers and called up forward Alex Holtz from AHL Henderson to clear space.

Near the bottom, the Flames (2-6-0) and Kings (1-4-2) are under the microscope in The Hockey Writers’ “Concern-O-Meter,” with an additional piece arguing the Flames need to keep trusting their young players. Sportsnet also tees up Blake Coleman’s return to Calgary in a feature on how the city left its mark on him. The Ducks are likewise included in The Hockey Writers’ early-season worry rankings. As for Brady Tkachuk’s return to Ottawa, we’ve already broken down his comments in a separate piece earlier today.