Keeping up with the Metropolitans 1/15/17-1/21/17

What a wild week for the Metro division. The Jackets and Capitals were both jockeying back and forth all week for the Metro lead, but when the dust all settled Saturday night, it was the Capitals who remained atop of the best division in the NHL. The Penguins-Capitals 8-7 overtime thriller will go down as one of the craziest games in quite some time. That game may have been the turning point in this season where the games will now have more of a playoff atmosphere to them as the points will become harder to attain. Don't look now, but even the Islanders are starting to make a push for the second Wild Card position after Jack Capuano was relieved of his duties. They are holding down last place in the Eastern Conference, but are only 5 points out of the Wild Card. This year is going to be one hell of a roller coaster by the time all is said and done.

METROPOLITAN	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
Washington	46	31	9	6	68	30	1	4	18-5-1	13-4-5	149	100	+49	9-0-1
Columbus	45	31	10	4	66	29	2	1	18-5-1	13-5-3	148	100	+48	5-5-0
Pittsburgh	45	29	11	5	63	27	2	1	19-2-2	10-9-3	164	133	+31	7-3-0
NY Rangers	46	29	16	1	59	27	2	1	13-9-1	16-7-0	163	125	+38	6-4-0
Philadelphia	47	22	19	6	50	17	5	4	14-7-3	8-12-3	133	152	-19	2-6-2
Carolina	46	21	18	7	49	19	2	4	15-5-1	6-13-6	125	131	-6	5-5-0
New Jersey	48	20	19	9	49	17	3	2	10-7-3	10-12-6	110	136	-26	5-3-2
NY Islanders	44	19	17	8	46	18	1	3	13-8-4	6-9-4	127	130	-3	5-3-2

Washington Capitals

31-9-6, 68 pts  /  149GF/100GA  /  3-0-1 record last week

1/15/17
PHI: 0
WSH: 5

Caps Top Flyers, Win Ninth Straight

1/17/17
WSH: 7
PIT: 8

Caps Lose in OT on "1980’s Night" in Pittsburgh, 8-7

BONUS! Pensburgh Converage:
Penguins/Capitals Recap: Goals a million, Pens win 8-7 in OT

1/19/17
WSH: 7
STL: 3

Capitals vs. Blues Recap: Caps Keep Offense Clicking in 7 to 3 Win

1/21/17
WSH: 4 OT
DAL: 3

Capitals vs. Stars Recap: Washington Overcomes Two-Goal Deficit, Wins in OT

Week Ahead:

Monday Jan 23 - vs CAR

Tuesday Jan 24 - @ OTT

Thursday Jan 26 - @ NJD

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
J. Carlson, D	Jan 15, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

Columbus Blue Jackets

31-10-4, 66 pts  /  148GF/100GA  /  2-1 record last week

1/17/17
CAR: 1
CBJ: 4

Recap: Goals in Dub-licate

1/19/17
OTT: 2
CBJ: 0

Game Recap: Senators at Blue Jackets

1/21/17 
CAR: 2
CBJ: 3

Game 45 Recap: Jackets 3 Hurricanes 2

Week Ahead:

Sunday Jan 22 - @ OTT

Tuesday Jan 24- @ NYI

Thurday Jan 26 - @ NSH

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
D. Clarkson, RW	Sep 20, 2016	IR	Back
M. Nutivaara, D	Jan 15, 2017	day-to-day	Undisclosed injury
D. Savard, D	Jan 19, 2017	day-to-day	Undisclosed injury

New York Rangers

29-16-1, 59 pts  / 163GF/125GA  /  1-1 record last week

1/17/17
DAL: 7
NYR: 6

Rangers Fall To Stars 7-6 In Wild Game At MSG

1/19/17
NYR: 5
TOR: 2

Rangers Rebound With 5-2 Victory Over Maple Leafs

Week Ahead:

Sunday Jan 22 - @ DET

Monday Jan 23 - vs LAK

Wednesday Jan 25 - vs PHI***

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Puempel, LW	Jan 2, 2017	IR	Concussion
M. Staal, D	Jan 3, 2017	day-to-day	Concussion
A. Raanta, G	Jan 14, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
J. Fast, RW	Jan 17, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injur

Philadelphia Flyers

22-19-6, 50 pts  /  133GF/152GA  /  1-2-1 record last week

1/15/17
PHI: 0
WSH: 5

Flyers at Capitals recap: Hockey team tumbles into bye week

1/21/17
NJD: 4
PHI: 1

Devils at Flyers recap: Those stinking Devils

Week Ahead:

Sunday Jan 22 - @ NYI

Wednesday Jan 25 - @ NYR***

Thursday Jan 26 - vs TOR

Injuries:

None.

Carolina Hurricanes

21-18-7, 49 pts  /  125GF/131GA  /  0-3 record last week

1/17/17
CAR: 1
CBJ: 4

Recap and Rank ‘Em: Blue Jackets End Hurricanes’ Streak with 4-1 Win

1/20/17
PIT: 7
CAR: 1

Recap: Penguins easily trample toothless Hurricanes in 7-1 laugher (Rank ‘em)

BONUS! Pensburgh Coverage:
Recap: Pens Demolish Canes 7-1, Win 3rd Straight

1/21/17
CAR: 2
CBJ: 3

Recap: Hurricanes Comeback Falls Short, Losing Streak Hits 3 in 3-2 Loss to Blue Jackets (Rank ‘em)

Week Ahead:

Monday Jan 23 - @ WSH

Thursday Jan 26 - vs LAK

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
B. Bickell, LW	Nov 9, 2016	IR	Multiple sclerosis
E. Lack, G	Dec 30, 2016	IR	Concussion

New Jersey Devils

20-19-9, 49 pts  /  110GF/136GA  /  3-1 record last week

1/15/17
NJD: 2 OT
VAN: 1

Game Recap: Devils win 2-1 in Vancouver in OT

1/17/17
NJD: 4
MIN: 3

Game Recap: Devils beat the odds, come back to beat Wild 4-3

1/20/17
MTL: 3
NJD: 1

Poor Play & Poor Calls in New Jersey Devils 1-3 Loss to Montreal Canadiens

1/21/17
NJD: 4
PHI: 1

With Special Teams & Wood, New Jersey Devils Struck Down Philadelphia Flyers 4-1

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 24 - vs LAK

Thursday Jan 26 - vs WSH

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Savard, C	Oct 9, 2016	IR	Post-concussion syndrome
J. Moore, D	Dec 31, 2016	IR	Concussion
A. Greene, D	Jan 3, 2017	IR	Wrist
Y. Auvitu, D	Jan 8, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury

New York Islanders

19-17-8, 46 pts  /  127GF/130GA  /  3-0 record last week

1/16/17
NYI: 4
BOS: 0

Islanders 4, Bruins 0: Isles, Greiss rebound for franchise’s first shutout in Boston

In other news:
New York Islanders Coach Jack Capuano Fired; Doug Weight Named Interim

1/19/17
NYI: 3
DAL: 0

New York Islanders 3 (EN), Dallas Stars 0: In coaching debut, Doug Weight helped by old tenant

1/21/17
LAK: 2
NYI: 4

Islanders 4*, Kings 2 (EN): Lee scores twice and Berube beats his old team

Week Ahead:

Sunday Jan 22 - vs PHI

Tuesday Jan 24- vs CBJ

Thursday Jan 26 - vs MTL

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Grabovski, C	Sep 25, 2016	IR	Concussion
T. Hamonic, D	Jan 8, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
A. Ladd, LW	Jan 15, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
C. Clutterbuck, RW	Jan 15, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
J. Boychuk, D	Jan 18, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury

*Standings via ESPN as of 1/21/17
**Injuries via TSN as of 1/21/17
***Game of the week! The Flyers will be taking a short road trip into the Big Apple on Wednesday for NBCSN's "Wednesday Night Rivalry". This one is actually going to be one of the better rivalry games, as Philly is fighting for its playoff life right now, and the Rangers still want to prove to everyone that they're still in the thick of things in the Metro division. This rivalry is always worth watching, that's why it's my game of the week!