Keeping up with the Metropolitans: Week 10

Your weekly dose of Metropolitan action!

By t.cann112 Dec 10, 2017, 2:30pm EST

NHL: New York Islanders at Pittsburgh Penguins

As you can see in the above standings, we’re quickly approaching the halfway point in this season and the Metropolitan Division is still a very tightly congested leader board. As of this morning, 5 points separate the 1st place Blue Jackets and 6th place Rangers. The Capitals and (surprise!) Flyers just showed you what a 3-game win streak can do for you in the Metro at the moment. The Flyers swept western Canada and bridged the gap from last place while the Capitals are on a 4 game win streak and are now challenging for the Metropolitan Crown that they have worn the last several years. This is another busy week in the division as every team plays at least 3 games with 4 teams playing in 4 matches this week as well.

The Devils and Jackets squared off this week to battle for 1st place and ended up splitting the home-and-home with the away team winning both games. Go figure. The Jackets then went on to shut out a sad Coyotes team 1-0 the next day, while the Rangers hosted the Devils and continued their gut punch to the tune of a 5-2 loss. The Devils are now in 3rd place behind the surging Capitals, while the Jackets are now 2 points ahead of all others in the Metro.

The Penguins are showing a lot of fight in their game, and won’t go away until it’s over. However, the Pens still have a lot of work to do on the defensive side of things. It’s not going to get much easier with the injuries starting to mount, and losing Justin Schultz for what looks to be an extended amount of time has danger written all over it. The good news is that tomorrow marks 2 weeks in the 2-4 week time-frame for Matt Murray’s return, and he’s began to hit the ice again, which is a very good sign.

No Malkin, Kessel, Letang or Crosby at #Pens morning skate. Murray taking shots -SK
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) December 9, 2017

The Pens have played the most games in the Metro, and would currently be in the 2nd Wild Card position. It looks like 5 teams are going to come out of the Metro again this year in the Playoffs, and today there’s 6 teams battling for those spots. I know it’s way too early to even think about that, and the Pens are only 4 points out of 1st place as well, but the Pens have a lot of figuring out to do before it becomes an uphill battle the rest of the way.

The Islanders have a very tough test this week. For a team that can’t stop letting the puck in, they’re still hanging in there until the end, very much like the Penguins this season. The Islanders just went 1-2-1 in their 4 game road trip this week, and have another 4 games this week, with only 1 on the road, however. In the 4 games this week, the Isles play the Capitals, Stars, Blue Jackets and LA Kings in that order. There isn’t an easy game for them on the schedule this week. The Isles are currently tied for the Penguins in points.

The Rangers had a winning week in three Metro match-ups, but somehow managed to remain in 6th place in the Division while all the other teams ahead of them juggled positioning. The Rangers have 4 games on the slate this week, and have been one of the better teams in the league the last few weeks. Don’t expect them to stay in 6th place much longer.

And there’s actually news regarding the bottom feeders of the Metro this week. The Flyers swept through western Canada, and did so in dominant fashion by a combined 13-5 score in the 3 games. Bad news for Flyers is that the Canes lost all three of their games and are still in front of them in the Metro. However, the Canes are in the middle of a 6 game road trip across Canada and the western US and the Canes are on a 5 game road losing streak. It’s definitely going to be a rough few weeks for Canes fans.

Don’t forget that the Pens will be facing the Golden Knights in Vegas on Thursday in the first game ever between the two teams. Will it be 3x SC Winning MAF vs 2x Rookie SC Champion Matt Murray? We can only hope as Pens fans!