Media Super 16: West Coasters Ruin League

Quick Note: This Super 16 series is much closer to the original NHL.com articles. One bad week (usually) won't tank a team from the power rankings. The Super 16 will still be fluid, but not as much as the ones I've done in the past.

One More Thing: If @NINETY ElGHT trades me, I'd like you all to refrain from calling him a snake. Instead, I think we should all come together and rightly call him a serpent which is the King of Snakes.



Super 16: West Coasters Ruin League


1. San Jose Sharks (7-2-0)
Last Week: 4 (+3)
Hit: I guess the 3rd line (2nd line? 1st line? I don't know) has enough time to make podcasts and beat up on poor LGers. Remind me not to sign up against the Sharks.
Miss: @Lingross just hits a dagger on them in one of their two losses. Never seen a guy celebrate a goal more other than myself. As an official member of the Lingross fan club (Lingbros), almost put this in the "hit" category because man that goal was almost euphoric. Wow.



2. Chicago Blackhawks (7-2-0)
Last Week: 8 (+6)
Hit: Top two lines had some tough games and some easy games and just barreled through winning all 6. Who cares how your 3rd line plays at that point, really.
Miss: Honestly, almost had to put them at #1, but they just had so many close games it's hard to say they're just better than the Sharks at this moment in time. Score more goals, make us believe!



3. New Jersey Devils (6-1-2)
Last Week: 10 (+7)
Hit: Top line won't lose a game this season unless whatever stores are near @McFleuryyy run out of twisted teas. So good it's scary. Twisted, even.
Miss: You kind of want to see the reigning Selke winner win some of these close games. I think the chemistry isn't at 100%, but still he's a Selke winner.



4. Carolina Hurricanes (5-1-3)
Last Week: 9 (+5)
Hit: 4-1 versus the Metro this week, and they get points in 8 of their 9 games. If a couple of these close games get into the win column, then they could be on top of the Metro.
Miss: They have good center depth, solid d-corps, decent goalie duo, so I feel like they should be one of the teams that is routinely stingy in the goals against department. Not quite the case as they averaged 3 goals against this week.



5. Tampa Bay Lightning (5-3-1)
Last Week: 3 (-2)
Hit: Just to do well right out of the gate is great considering a lot of top teams had extremely slow starts. Yeah, I'm sure this week wasn't up to their own standards, but they should have a similar if not more staying power compared to the teams ahead of them in the standings.
Miss: McM chemistry wasted. @FtB x Sauce relegated to 3rd line.



6. Philadelphia Flyers (5-4-0)
Last Week: 1 (-5)
Hit: I thought this team would have a high-octane offense. Good to see that even when they aren't scoring 5 a game, they're still picking up plenty of wins.
Miss: I vouched for you guys! 5-4, really? 3rd line dropping all 3 is a bit ugly. It's probably due to the front office personnel not inspiring confidence. Maybe change up the haircut @Melvin x 94 , bowlcuts aren't in man this isn't the 80s.



7. Calgary Flames (5-1-3)
Last Week: 12 (+5)
Hit: @Lingross is back, baby.
Miss: I mean literally no way a team should be giving up 7 goals. They did win that game 8-7, but how did they give up 7? And, to an ECU no less. I don't get it. Please inspect this game for goal trading @LG McDonald .



8. Detroit Red Wings (7-2-0)
Last Week: 14 (+6)
Hit: @Focus TF is worth 7 million. Also, 5/11 on the powerplay. The last time I saw a powerplay that good, I was playing with @Sitful .
Miss: First overall pick goes 1-2. Too early to label @HNZ Prince a BUST right?! Just gotta put those losses behind them.



9. Vancouver Canucks (8-0-1)
Last Week: Not Ranked (+)
Hit: FORTY TWO GOALS. West line literally obliterating teams. 3rd line goes 3-0. Like sure, the top line ruined their teams perfect week, but according to @Pattelite that OTL isn't really even a loss. So, its like they did have a perfect week.
Miss: Why did the West line play an away game? Like they need to play home games to get their connection, don't they? Wait, they can get West regardless? omg



10. Washington Capitals (7-2-0)
Last Week: Not Ranked (+)
Hit: @Il VENOMx was literally out there absolutely demoralizing teams. Good stuff, sir.
Miss: 3rd least hits in the league. I guess that's one way to play hockey...



11. Arizona Coyotes (5-3-1)
Last Week: Not Ranked (+)
Hit: I think the "balanced" lines strategy doesn't usually work as well as people hope, but it usually means you are competitive every single night. That's basically what happened with the Coyotes and it worked. Even the trade they just made in @Eatchy and @Koho for @Stewkos seemed to bolster that strategy.
Miss: None



12. Ottawa Senators (7-2-0)
Last Week: Not Ranked (+)
Hit: These guys definitely weren't on my radar, but, to be fair, tag changes and PSN guys aren't my forte. Looked really good this week...
Miss: ...until Washington decided enough was enough and rolled out the big guns with @Il VENOMx 's line.



13. Anaheim Ducks (4-3-2)
Last Week: 5 (-8)
Hit: @Joorrdan proved he's the REAL sniper on the Ducks. https://clips.twitch.tv/BigNurturingHorseradishTwitchRPG
Miss: @Stifmeister x 7 has zero goals, also was taking faceoffs. I'm just not quite sure what's going on over there in Anaheim. Maybe the heat is getting to them.



14. Vegas Golden Knights (6-2-1)
Last Week: Not Ranked (+)
Hit: Beat a bunch of solid lineups. I'll be honest, I still am not sold on this team, but if they can keep winning close games, they may prove to be the real deal.
Miss: @Sumaaa x was unable to show up for a single game. From an insider in the team lockerroom, he was injured during a team ritual for rookies that is rumored to be called "The Lowkey OG" that involves a nylon rope, a jar of orange marmalade, and a wild animal.



15. Florida Panthers (2-6-1)
Last Week: 2 (-13)
Hit: Big win over the Lightning's top line. Hard to find any other positives after a rough first week. Speculation surrounding the team as some contract talks have been leaked concerning signing "Florida Man" to help out the teams scoring depth.
Miss: A roster player @JAMIE iz GOD didn't even see the ice during Week 1. Rumors abound that he tweaked his groin in an unfortunate Dance Dance Revolution incident.
Extra Miss: I've been told @iTz x Luigi x has been especially hard on the team. Reportedly after a loss he said "Weird how half my breakouts would be on Dilfer's Dimes, and yet you guys are making the neutral zone look like a line at Denny's."



16. Winnipeg (4-3-2)
Last Week: 11 (-5)
Hit: @aHuff21 got the monkey off his back after two scoreless games and puts up 4 goals against the Ducks in a 6-3 victory. The Jets are just going to be flat out better when @aHuff21 is flying on the ice. #roadto50
Miss: Hard to really pick a miss. The 3rd line gets some rough matchups and can only pull out a single victory. You'd hope one of the top two lines can pick up the slack if the 3rd line struggles, but that's sometimes a tall ask.



Biggest Surprise of the Week:
Vancouver Canucks win Stanley Cup in Week 1
A team who was unable to garner a preseason Super 16 slot captures 17 of 18 possible points in week 1. A couple good signs that this team is here to stay as well. 4-0-1 in one-goal games may mean they got a little lucky, or that they just have that composure that all champions (including week 1 champs) have. It's important to point out, though, that the offense is certainly there as they scored a whopping 42 goals this week. Even if you ignore two of the West Coast line blowouts, they still averaged 4 goals per game over the other 7 games. Maybe this shouldn't have been as surprising, but I barely played NHL 20 in LG so I'm out of the loop. Not sure. What I do know is that I definitely do not want to play a West Coast game in LG.



Hot Seat:
@Gabseh and @Mxtayer
An absolutely awful start for the Seattle Thunderbirds has them near the bottom of the Pacific Division and rumors that the management thought about rage quitting the season. Luckily, there are 8 weeks left to make up ground in what didn't seem to be a super deep division before this week. However, it's just hard to believe they could only muster a single win. In addition to that, the top line only got one point out of a possible 6. Usually that spells danger for any club who need their top line to average around 4 a week. Hard to say what the issue, but surely it's not time to hit the panic button? A trade or two may be in the works, but I think we all know an easy solution is to bump @Gerbe x 42 up to the top line. Kids got more heart than the rest of the lineup combined. Going to have to keep an eye on them through the coming week; another abysmal outing likely means many French curses in the team discord.



Upset of the Week:
Speaking of @Gerbe x 42 , his line is featured in this week's "Upset of the Week". Seattle 3rd line versus Anaheim top line, and somehow the Thunderbirds get it done for the team's lone win of the week. @Dradraaa pots all 4 goals for the Thunderbirds including 2 in the 3rd period in a come-from-behind victory beating the Ducks 4-3. At least this singular game is a bit of a bright spot for Seattle this week.

 

Thanks for doing this buddy!!

 

@Dradraaa

 

These Nucks!!

 

A dagger it was indeed. Gotta appreciate the goals while I can, they don’t come often

 

I LOVE IT

 

appreciate the kind words <3 @goondork , great write-up as always as well

 

Orange marmalade LOLLLL

These make weekly LG fun again. Thx

 

West coasters suck

 

Kinda harsh but I have to agree with you