Keeping up with the Metropolitans 2/12/17-2/18/17

METROPOLITAN	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
Washington	57	39	11	7	85	38	1	5	24-5-1	15-6-6	194	124	+70	7-2-1
Pittsburgh	57	36	13	8	80	34	2	2	24-3-3	12-10-5	202	160	+42	6-1-3
Columbus	57	37	15	5	79	35	2	1	21-8-1	16-7-4	184	139	+45	5-4-1
NY Rangers	57	37	19	1	75	35	2	1	18-11-1	19-8-0	194	151	+43	7-3-0
NY Islanders	57	26	21	10	62	25	1	3	19-8-6	7-13-4	168	170	-2	5-4-1
Philadelphia	58	27	24	7	61	22	5	4	17-9-4	10-15-3	151	177	-26	4-5-1
New Jersey	58	25	23	10	60	22	3	2	13-11-4	12-12-6	134	164	-30	5-4-1
Carolina	54	24	22	8	56	22	2	4	17-6-2	7-16-6	141	158	-17	3-6-1

I was just recently looking at the Metro recap from New Years Day, and something really caught my eye. The Capitals were in fourth place, only a couple points ahead of the fifth place Flyers. Since that recap hit the presses, the Capitals have gone a somewhat decent 18-2-2. I had to do the math about a dozen times to make sure that I read that correctly... Yep, that's correct. Of those four losses, one was that instant classic in Pittsburgh, the 8-7 overtime game, the other overtime loss came Saturday from the hands of the Detroit Red Wings. The Capitals were shutout 3-0 vs Ottawa Jan 24, and the other loss came via the New York Islanders, 3-2 on Jan 31. Needless to say, the Capitals are enjoying another banner year from the looks of it...

Speaking of the Red Wings, they will be in town this Sunday afternoon in Pittsburgh for Hockey Day in America! I shouldn't have to remind anyone, but this Saturday the Penguins will be taking their game back outdoors to the lovely confines of Heinz Field! The Pens new outdoor uniforms are going to look really good with the gold seats in the stadium. Not to mention the Flyers will be there too, you know it's gonna be a good one!

Since I freshened everyone's memory of how good the Caps have been in 2017, I'll give everyone an update on how all Metro teams have performed since January 1st, in order of where they ranked on Jan 1st.:

(Currently 3rd)CBJ: 11-10-1, 23 pts
(2)PIT: 11-5-3, 25 pts
(4)NYR: 11-7-0, 22 pts
(1)WSH: 18-2-2, 38 pts
(6)PHI: 7-10-3, 17 pts
(8)CAR: 8-9-1, 17 pts
(5)NYI: 11-6-4, 26 pts
(7)NJD: 11-7-3, 25 pts

"It's not how you start. It's how you finish."

-They

Washington Capitals

39-11-7, 85 pts  /  194GF/124GA  /  0-0-1 record last week

2/18/17
WSH: 3
DET: 4 SO

Capitals vs. Red Wings Recap: Extra Time Goes Detroit’s Way

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - @ NYR

Wednesday Feb 22 - @ PHI

Friday Feb 24 -  vs EDM

Saturday Feb 25 - @ NSH

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
A. Burakovsky, LW	Feb 9, 2017	day-to-day	Hand

Columbus Blue Jackets

37-15-5, 79 pts  /  184GF/139GA  /  2-1 record last week

2/13/17
NYR: 3
CBJ: 2

Recap: Feeling Blue

2/15/17
TOR: 2
CBJ: 5

Recap: Fallen Leaves

2/17/17
PIT: 1
CBJ: 2 OT

Game 57 Recap: Jackets 2 Penguins 1 (OT)

BONUS!!! Pensburgh coverage!
Penguins vs Blue Jackets: Tired Pittsburgh falls in OT

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - vs NSH

Saturday Feb 25 - vs NYI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
D. Clarkson, RW	Sep 20, 2016	IR	Back
S. Hartnell, LW	Feb 13, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
L. Sedlak, C	Feb 17, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

New York Rangers

37-19-1, 75 pts  / 194GF/151GA  /  1-1 record last week

2/13/17
NYR: 2
CBJ: 3

Rangers Defeat Blue Jackets For Sixth Straight Win

2/16/17
NYR: 2
NYI: 4

No rebuttal from Blueshirt Banter.

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - vs WSH

Tuesday Feb 21 - vs MTL

Thursday Feb 23 - @ TOR

Saturday Feb 25 - @ NJD

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
K. Klein, D	Feb 15, 2017	day-to-day	Illness

New York Islanders

26-21-10, 62 pts  /  168GF/170GA  /  2-2 record last week

2/12/17
COL: 1
NYI: 5

Islanders 5, Avalanche 1: Home streak continues

2/14/17
NYI: 1
TOR: 7

Maple Leafs 7, Islanders 1: A most unexpected blowout

2/16/17
NYR: 2
NYI: 4

Islanders 4,* Rangers 2 (*EN): How sweet it is

2/18/17
NYI: 2
NJD: 3

Devils 3, Islanders 2: Third period rally not enough

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - vs NJD

Tuesday Feb 21 - @ DET

Thursday Feb 23 - @ MTL

Saturday Feb 25 - @ CBJ

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Grabovski, C	Sep 25, 2016	IR	Concussion
T. Hamonic, D	Jan 8, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
C. Clutterbuck, RW	Feb 3, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
S. Prince, C	Feb 13, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury

Philadelphia Flyers

27-24-7, 61 pts  /  151GF/177GA  /  0-2 record last week

2/15/17
PHI: 1
CGY: 3

Flyers at Flames recap: Flyers score early goal, fall asleep around 11:00 like the rest of us wanted to, lose game

2/16/17
PHI: 3
EDM: 6

Flyers at Oilers recap: Can we not?

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - @ VAN

Wednesday Feb 22 - vs WSH

Saturday Feb 25 - @ PIT ***********************

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
T. Konecny, C	Feb 6, 2017	IR	Left knee/sprained ankle
J. Weal, C	Feb 16, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury

New Jersey Devils

25-23-10, 60 pts  /  134GF/164GA  /  2-2 record last week

2/12/17
SJS: 4
NJD: 1

No recap at All About The Jersey.

2/14/17
COL: 2
NJD: 3

-No recap , but worth reading. The Curious Case of Beau Bennett:
Devils Could Use Beau Bennett Back

2/16/17
OTT: 3
NJD: 0

Anemic performance by Devils leads to 3-0 loss to Senators

2/18/17
NYI: 2
NJD: 3

Devils survive late onslaught by Islanders, win 3-2 at home.

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - @ NYI

Tuesday Feb 21 - vs OTT

Saturday Feb 25 - vs NYR

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Savard, C	Oct 9, 2016	IR	Post-concussion syndrome
K. Quincey, D	Feb 5, 2017	IR	Upper-body injury

Carolina Hurricanes

24-22-8, 56 pts  /  141GF/158GA  /  0-0-1 record last week

2/17/17
COL: 2 OT
CAR: 1

Recap: Hurricanes falter in 2-1 overtime loss to Avalanche

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 19 - vs TOR

Tuesday Feb 21 - vs PIT

Friday Feb 24 - vs OTT

Injuries:

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

*Standings via ESPN as of 2/18/17
**Injuries via TSN as of 2/18/17
***********************Game of the week! The Penguins and Flyers get to take their rivalry to an unfamiliar territory. I'm talking about Heinz Field, when they face-off in the 2017 Stadium Series on Prime Time television this Saturday night. This game should have everything you want to see in a hockey game, so you better be tuned in.