From first to fifth the Metro Division looks like it’s not going to be easily won by anybody. Washington, New York Rangers, New York Islanders and Pittsburgh are neck and neck for the top three spots while under-the-radar Devils are off to a better start than predicted. Let’s get into it…
Washington began their week with back to back wins against the slightly resurgent Columbus Blue Jackets and Florida Panthers.
While both Blue Jackets and Panthers have been struggling, Capitals showed great shut down defense and goaltending which is what they haven’t been known for in the past. On Friday the Caps beat the Blue Jackets 2-1 in regulation. Though the Jackets started off 0-8-0, they have gone 3-2 since their new hire of coach John Tortorella. They have been better, but thanks to Justin Williams and newly acquired T.J Oshie, Washington would give their home fans a victory. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby played brilliant with 29 saves while Columbus goalie Bobrovsky stayed strong, making 26 saves in a loss. 
Playing just 24-hours later, Capitals forward Evgeni Kuznetsov would score in overtime to give the Capitals their 2nd win in two nights, this time over the Florida Panthers. This victory would make the Caps 12-0-2 against the Panthers in the past 14 games. With another tight game, Kuznetsov would give post game remarks emphasizing, “It wasn’t our best game, but we got the two points,” he told Monumental Networks. “We have to play better.” Giving Holtby the night off was Phillip Grubbier who made 26 saves in a win, to Panthers goalie Al Montoya who made 25 saves on 26 shots.
Washington would then play the New York Rangers on Tuesday night at MSG. This was their first meeting since Game 7 of the 2nd round playoffs last year when Derek Stepan scored in OT to give the Rangers a 2-1 victory. Washington would have the majority of the scoring chances, shots on net and shot attempts, though it wouldn’t be enough to get past Henrik Lundqvist who made 32 saves on 34 shots. Capitals net-minder Braden Holtby with a rare off night saved 17 of 22 shots on net. The Rangers only had two shots on net in the second period but would score on both. Washington plays New York again on December 20th at MSG.
Their most recent game was a home match against the Boston Bruins who are 6-5-1 this year, but are perfect on the road. After the thrashing from the Rangers, the Capitals promised to never lose two games in a row this year. They kept that promise. After giving up the first goal to Bruins forward Jimmy Hayes on the power-play, Capitals scored three straight goals and one more on an empty net to win 4-1. Alex Ovechkin recorded his 7th goal of the year while Brooks Laich, John Carlson and Karl Alzner (empty net) would net a goal of their own. Holtby would be right back in net after a lack luster performance against NYR and make 28 saves on 29 shots. The victory gave Washington 18 points and the lead for first in the Metropolitan division (beating the tie breaker with NYR with more wins). Their next game is Saturday night against a lowly Toronto squad that is 2-8-2, sitting 16th in the Eastern Conference.
The Blueshirts had a slow week, only playing three games (including one tonight) since last Friday. Both games they played so far have been at home with their third in Colorado tonight at 9pm eastern.
They started off with a 3-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at MSG. Mats Zuccarello recorded his first career hat-trick with an empty net at 19:11 of the third period. Leafs goalie Jonathan Bernier stopped 23 of 25 shots while Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist stopped 24 of 25.
Next match was against the Metropolitan leading red-hot Capitals. Though the Rangers didn’t have much puck possession that night, they capitalized on turnovers and made Washington suffer with a 5-2 win, having five different players scoring. Lindberg, Hayes, Klein, Brassard and Stoll managed to all find the back of the net for NYR while Ovechkin and Johansson each net their own. Rangers took sole possession of first place with their win, but are now tied with the Capitals after Washington’s 4-1 win over Boston. They are now 5-0-2 in their last 7.
Biggest news for the Rangers this week was that their star player Rick Nash left practice with an upper body injury and is day-to-day. Nash currently has 1 goal and 6 points in 12 games. Though his point production has been anything but stellar, Nash is a player the blue-shirts know can break out at any moment, having recorded a record high 42 goals last season. His on-ice presence and defensive skills are something the Rangers look forward to having back soon.
Tonight the Rangers face off in Colorado to face Nathan McKinnon and the Avalanche to start their two game road trip. Avalanche are currently 4-7-1 and only 2-4-1 at home this year. With the team playing back to back nights it is likely back-up goalie Antti Raanta (2-0-0, .978 SV%) will start one of the two.
Islanders started the week off with an in division matinee game against the New Jersey Devils. With Tavares a late scratch due to illness, the Isles failed to defeat their cross-state rivals and lost 3-2 in a shootout. In addition to Tavares, goaltender Jaroslav Halak and forward Ryan Strome were scratched from Thursday’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes from a sickness. Jersey’s team took a 2-goal lead early in the first period but a pair of power-play and short-handed goals from Brooklyn’s newest hockey team tied the game in the middle of the second period. The game would ultimately go to a shootout and Devils Mike Cammalleri would get the game winning goal.
Islanders were right back at it, facing the Buffalo Sabres the next day, this time back in their new arena. Though the Islanders would put up 30 shots, they faced yet another loss, losing 2-1. Calvin de Haan got the lone goal for New York in the second period which caused Buffalo to score 2 third period goals, one by Matt Moulson and the tie breaker from rookie Sam Reinhart. Islanders goalie Thomas Griess finished the night with 20 saves while Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark finished with 29.
After losing 3-2 in a shootout to the Devils, Islanders would face them again, this time in New York at 7pm. Just like last game it was played close to the vest and NYI would win 2-1 in regulation. Brock Nelson got his third goal of the year for the Islanders in the first period and a tight game ensued for the better part until Travis Zajac scored a power-play goal for the Devils 4:03 into the third period. With only 2:12 remaining in regulation, Casey Cizikas scored to give his team the late win. Devils tendy Cory Schneider had another great game, stopping 32 shots on net while Halak would get the win with 23 saves on 24 shots.
On Thursday, the Islanders would become the next team to run into the Canadians war-path that is the 2014-2015 season. Though the Canadians have been playing the past couple of games without All-Star goalie Carey Price, their backup Mike Condon has done more than a superb job handling the work load. Going into the third period tied up at 1 apiece, Montreal scored 3 goals in the third period to win 4-1. Making 20 saves on 23 shots, Halak (4-2-1) would get the loss while Condon (5-0-1) would get the win making 17 saves. Islanders are 1-2-2 in their last five games, but sit alone in 3rd in the Metro.
Their next game is against the Bruins on Sunday the 8th at 5pm.
Other Metropolitan Notes…
Pittsburgh Penguins continue to stay hot and climb up the standings after a bleak and slow start. They have 8 wins in the last 9 games. After much anticipation, newest acquisition Phil Kessel had a real slow start along with the rest of the team, but has since picked it up, racking up 8 points (4G, 4A) in 12 games.
New Jersey Devils, a team that most people picked to be bottom of the barrel, have thoroughly impressed thus far, backed with great goaltending from Cory Schneider. They are 6-2 in their last 8 after starting 0-3-1. They get tested tonight against the Blackhawks in NJ at 7pm.
Carolina Hurricanes have had a couple impressive wins (@Detroit twice, 1-0 win in Colorado) and put together a 3-game win streak, but have yet to be a concern to anyone in the league. They play a scorching hot Dallas Stars team tonight at 7pm in Carolina.
After a mediocre start to the season, the Philadelphia Flyers have found themselves in quite a rut. With impressive wins over the Stanley Cup defending Blackhawks and the New York Rangers, Flyers managed to lose to Buffalo twice, Devils and Oilers.
After being picked by many to be a team to finish in the top-3 in the Metro, the Columbus Blue Jackets erased all confidence by starting out the season 0-8-0. After firing coach Todd Richard, Columbus picked up former Rangers coach John Tortorella, who has brought the Rangers to the ECF in 2012 and won the Stanley cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004. Since the pickup they are 4-3 with their most recent win over the Kings in LA.
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