Keeping up with the Metropolitans: All Star Edition!

METROPOLITAN	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
Washington	49	33	10	6	72	32	1	4	19-5-1	14-5-5	160	106	+54	8-1-1
Columbus	48	32	12	4	68	30	2	1	18-5-1	14-7-3	160	114	+46	5-5-0
Pittsburgh	48	30	13	5	65	28	2	1	20-3-2	10-10-3	172	141	+31	5-5-0
NY Rangers	49	31	17	1	63	29	2	1	14-10-1	17-7-0	167	129	+38	5-5-0
Philadelphia	50	25	19	6	56	20	5	4	15-7-3	10-12-3	140	155	-15	5-4-1
NY Islanders	47	21	17	9	51	20	1	3	15-8-5	6-9-4	136	136	0	6-2-2
Carolina	48	21	20	7	49	19	2	4	15-6-1	6-14-6	126	140	-14	4-6-0
New Jersey	50	20	21	9	49	17	3	2	10-9-3	10-12-6	113	144	-31	4-4-2

We have finally arrived at the All Star Game Weekend! The Washington Capitals continued right where they left off last season, putting up some pretty gaudy numbers and taking control of the Metro at the moment. The Columbus Blue Jackets are one of the most surprising teams in the NHL with their success, and are still very much in the thick of things in the division. The Penguins are boasting the league's best offense, but are 23rd in team defense. There's room for improvement, but the Pens are still very much capable of taking this division. The Rangers are not out of it, but it's been a roller coaster for the Rangers this season. They're still sitting comfortably in a playoff position, but the Rangers have gone through some highs and lows already this season. They do have the best road record in the NHL, and being comfortable away from home could go a long way in the playoffs.

After the top four is where things get very interesting in the Metropolitan. As of right now, the Rangers and Flyers would be the two Wild Card teams, with the Rangers sitting pretty in the first position. A three game win streak has propelled the Flyers to 56 points, one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final spot. It seems that all it take to get you into a playoff position this year would be a three game win streak. A three game losing streak will make you question whether or not your team even deserves to be in the NHL this year. Also worth noting is that the Islanders seemed to have quickly turned all their dismay into good fortune by the firing of coach Jack Capuano, going 4-0-1 since his departure and 5-0-1 going into the break. It's gearing up to be one hell of a ride the rest of the way, hold onto your butts!

EASTERN CONFERENCE
WILD CARD	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
NY Rangers	49	31	17	1	63	29	2	1	14-10-1	17-7-0	167	129	+38	5-5-0
Philadelphia	50	25	19	6	56	20	5	4	15-7-3	10-12-3	140	155	-15	5-4-1
Toronto	47	23	15	9	55	22	1	6	12-8-3	11-7-6	145	133	+12	6-3-1
Florida	50	21	19	10	52	18	3	5	12-9-3	9-10-7	116	137	-21	4-4-2
NY Islanders	47	21	17	9	51	20	1	3	15-8-5	6-9-4	136	136	0	6-2-2
Tampa Bay	50	22	22	6	50	20	2	2	12-8-2	10-14-4	136	146	-10	3-5-2
Carolina	48	21	20	7	49	19	2	4	15-6-1	6-14-6	126	140	-14	4-6-0

As you can see from these standings, there's nobody completely out of it - even the last place Carolina Hurricanes could still make a run for a spot. With the tightness of the standings, it's going to be tough for teams to decide whether or not to be buyers or sellers at this year's trade deadline.

Washington Capitals

33-10-6, 72 pts  /  160GF/106GA  /  2-1 record last week

1/23/17
CAR: 1
WSH: 6

Caps vs. Canes Recap: Stormed Warning - Caps Win 6-1

1/24/17
WSH: 0
OTT: 3

Caps vs. Senators Recap: Sens Slay Caps 3-0

1/26/17
WSH: 5
NJD: 2

Capitals vs. Devils Recap: Washington Out-Skills New Jersey, 5-2

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - @ NYI

Wednesday Feb 1 - vs BOS

Saturday Feb 4 - @ MTL

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
J. Carlson, D	Jan 15, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
T. Oshie, RW	Jan 25, 2017	day-to-day	Personal reasons

Columbus Blue Jackets

32-12-4, 68 pts  /  160GF/114GA  /  1-2 record last week

1/22/17
CBJ: 7 OT
OTT: 6

Recap: Stealing Points is Fun

1/24/17
CBJ: 4
NYI: 2

Recap: Wake Up Call

1/26/17
CBJ: 3
NSH: 4

Recap: Thank God for the All Star Break

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - @ NYR

Friday Feb 3 - @ PIT***

Saturday Feb 4 - vs NJD

Injuries:

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

New York Rangers

31-17-1, 59 pts  / 167GF/129GA  /  2-1 record last week

1/22/17
NYR: 1 OT
DET: 0

J.T. Miller Scores Lone Goal To Defeat Wings In Overtime

1/23/17
LAK: 2
NYR: 3

Lundqvist Shines In 3-2 Win Over Los Angeles

1/25/17
PHI: 2
NYR: 0

Rangers Vs. Flyers: Trust The Process Not The Result III

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - vs CBJ

Thursday Feb 2 - @ BUF

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Staal, D	Jan 3, 2017	day-to-day	Concussion
J. Fast, RW	Jan 17, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
K. Hayes, C	Jan 22, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

Philadelphia Flyers

25-19-6, 50 pts  /  140GF/155GA  /  3-0 record last week

1/22/17
PHI: 3 OT
NYI: 2

Flyers vs. Islanders recap: A ... win? A what now?

1/25/17
PHI: 2
NYR: 0

Flyers vs Rangers recap: Flyers somehow win because hockey is weird sometimes

1/26/17
TOR: 1
PHI: 2

Flyers vs Leafs recap: Late goal gives Flyers the edge, 2-1

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - @ CAR

Thursday Feb 2 - vs MTL

Saturday Feb 4 - vs LAK

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Del Zotto, D	Jan 24, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

New York Islanders

21-17-9, 51 pts  /  136GF/136GA  /  2-0-1 record last week

1/22/17
PHI: 3 OT
NYI: 2

Flyers 3, Islanders 2 (OT): Weight’s first loss comes via 3-on-3

1/24/17
CBJ: 2
NYI: 4

Islanders 4, Blue Jackets 2: Kulemin, Nelson score in Isles 4th win in 5

1/26/17
MTL: 1
NYI: 3

Islanders 3, Canadiens 1: Ladd pots two, Isles crush Habs

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - vs WSH

Friday Feb 3 - @ DET

Saturday Feb 4 - vs CAR

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Grabovski, C	Sep 25, 2016	IR	Concussion
T. Hamonic, D	Jan 8, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
T. Hickey, D	Jan 25, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

Carolina Hurricanes

21-20-7, 49 pts  /  126GF/140GA  /  0-2 record last week

1/23/17
CAR: 1
WSH: 6

Carolina Hurricanes Drop Fourth Straight in 6-1 Loss to Capitals (Rank ‘em)

1/26/17
LAK: 3
CAR: 0

Recap: Hurricanes Shut Out 3-0 by Kings; Assign Lack, Leighton to Charlotte (Rank ‘em)

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - vs PHI

Friday Feb 3 - vs EDM

Saturday Feb 4 - @ NYI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
B. Bickell, LW	Nov 9, 2016	IR	Multiple sclerosis

New Jersey Devils

20-21-9, 49 pts  /  113GF/144GA  /  0-2 record last week

1/24/17
LAK: 3
NJD: 1

New Jersey Devils Crushed by Los Angeles Kings, 3-1

1/26/17
WSH: 5
NJD: 2

Defensive Errors Dragged New Jersey Devils Down in Defeat to Washington Capitals

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Jan 31 - @ DET

Friday Feb 3 - vs CAL

Saturday Feb 4 - @ CBJ

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
B. Bennett, RW	Jan 20, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury

*Standings via ESPN as of 1/29/17
**Injuries via TSN as of 1/29/17
***Game of the week! Columbus will be visiting the Steel City again this Friday in what should be a great match-up. No need to remind you, but these two teams do not like each other and both are battling for the Metro Division crown. It should be a wild one in Pittsburgh this Friday night!