Keeping up with the Metropolitans 2/19/17-2/25/17

METROPOLITAN	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
Washington	61	41	13	7	89	40	1	5	25-5-1	16-8-6	203	133	+70	7-2-1
Pittsburgh	60	38	14	8	84	36	2	2	25-4-3	13-10-5	211	168	+43	6-1-3
NY Rangers	61	40	19	2	82	37	3	2	19-11-2	21-8-0	204	159	+45	8-1-1
Columbus	59	38	16	5	81	36	2	1	22-9-1	16-7-4	194	143	+51	5-4-1
NY Islanders	61	29	22	10	68	28	1	3	20-8-6	9-14-4	180	182	-2	6-4-0
Philadelphia	61	28	26	7	63	23	5	4	17-10-4	11-16-3	157	187	-30	3-6-1
New Jersey	61	25	25	11	61	22	3	2	13-12-5	12-13-6	142	176	-34	4-4-2
Carolina	57	25	24	8	58	23	2	4	18-8-2	7-16-6	145	165	-20	4-5-1

Well I hoped everyone enjoyed that Prime-Time Stadium Series game for the Pens against Philly. That was quite a game and it was pulled off as flawlessly as any NHL production as you could ask for. It was nice to see the Penguins get another win in an outdoor game, especially in a "Battle of Pennsylvania" game. It only counts as two points, but it was another great memory for this season, and definitely the marquee game of the year.

The Metropolitan Division just keeps on chugging along, as now all four of the top teams have 80 or more points. The Penguins were the first team to make a trade, picking up Ron Hainsey from the Carolina Hurricanes. With the trade deadline this Wednesday at 3 PM, I'd be highly surprised if Ron Hainsey is the biggest name to be acquired by one of the Metropolitan Division teams.

The Wild Card race is an ever changing story with basically 3 teams battling for one spot right now. Currently, Toronto is 3rd in the Atlantic, with Boston currently in the Wild Card position. The Islanders are tied with Boston in points, with Boston ahead due to ROW wins. Who knows what this chart will look like next Sunday?

EASTERN CONFERENCE
WILD CARD	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
Columbus	59	38	16	5	81	36	2	1	22-9-1	16-7-4	194	143	+51	5-4-1
Boston	61	31	24	6	68	29	2	2	15-13-0	16-11-6	166	162	+4	7-3-0
NY Islanders	61	29	22	10	68	28	1	3	20-8-6	9-14-4	180	182	-2	6-4-0
Florida	60	28	22	10	66	25	3	5	14-12-3	14-10-7	154	170	-16	7-3-0
Philadelphia	61	28	26	7	63	23	5	4	17-10-4	11-16-3	157	187	-30	3-6-1
Tampa Bay	60	27	25	8	62	24	3	3	15-11-2	12-14-6	166	170	-4	5-3-2
Buffalo	61	26	25	10	62	25	1	5	15-11-4	11-14-6	150	173	-23	5-5-0
New Jersey	61	25	25	11	61	22	3	2	13-12-5	12-13-6	142	176	-34	4-4-2
Carolina	57	25	24	8	58	23	2	4	18-8-2	7-16-6	145	165	-20	4-5-1
Detroit	60	24	26	10	58	17	7	0	12-14-5	12-12-5	150	178	-28	4-5-1

Washington Capitals

41-13-7, 89 pts  /  203GF/133GA  /  2-2 record last week

2/19/17
WSH: 1
NYR: 2

Capitals vs. Rangers Recap: Lost Weekend

2/22/17
WSH: 4
PHI: 1

Caps vs. Flyers Recap: Russians Cheese Philly, Stake 4-1 Smashing

2/24/17
EDM: 1
WSH: 2

Caps vs. Oilers Recap: What Offense? Washington Wins a Tight Test 2-1

2/25/17
WSH: 2
NSH: 5

Capitals vs. Predators Recap: Nashville Rides Three-Goal Second To Win

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Feb 28 - @ NYR***

Thursday March 2 - vs NJD

Saturday March 4 - vs PHI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
A. Burakovsky, LW	Feb 9, 2017	IR	Hand
B. Orpik, D	Feb 22, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
M. Niskanen, D	Feb 22, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
T. Oshie, RW	Feb 23, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury

New York Rangers

40-19-2, 82 pts  /  204GF/159GA  /  3-0-1 record last week

2/19/17
WSH: 1
NYR: 2

Lundqvist, Zuccarello Lead Rangers Past Capitals

2/21/17
MTL: 3 SO
NYR: 2

Rangers Play Strong Game, But Fall to Montreal In Shootout

2/23/17
NYR: 2 SO
TOR: 1

Rangers Outlast Leafs In Goaltending Duel At ACC

2/25/17
NYR: 4 OT
NJD: 3

Zibanejad Nets OT Winner As Rangers Top Devils 4-3

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 26 - vs CBJ

Tuesday Feb 28 - vs WSH***

Thursday March 2 - @ BOS

Saturday March 4 - vs MON

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
K. Klein, D	Feb 22, 2017	day-to-day	Back spasms

Columbus Blue Jackets

38-16-5, 81 pts  /  194GF/143GA  /  1-1 record last week

2/19/17
NSH: 4
CBJ: 3

Recap: Face the Music

2/25/17
NYI: 0
CBJ: 7

No recap / Quick Takes: Jackets crush Islanders

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 26 - @ NYR

Tuesday Feb 28 - @ MTL

Thursday March 2 - vs MIN

Saturday March 4 - @ OTT

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
D. Clarkson, RW	Sep 20, 2016	IR	Back
L. Sedlak, C	Feb 17, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
M. Calvert, LW	Feb 23, 2017	day-to-day	Strained oblique

New York Islanders

29-22-10, 68 pts  /  180GF/182GA  /  3-1 record last week

2/19/17
NJD: 4
NYI: 6

Islanders 6, Devils 4: Isles return favor in backup goalie half of weekend

2/21/17
NYI: 3
DET: 1

Islanders 3, Red Wings 1: Pivotal road trip starts with costly win

2/23/17
NYI: 3
MTL: 0

Islanders 3, Canadiens 0 (EN): Beau scores as Greiss blanks Habs

2/25/17
NYI: 0
CBJ: 7

Blue Jackets 7, Islanders 0: Welp

Week Ahead:

Thursday March 2 - @ DAL

Friday March 3 - @ CHI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Grabovski, C	Sep 25, 2016	IR	Concussion
T. Hamonic, D	Jan 8, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
S. Prince, C	Feb 13, 2017	IR	Upper-body injury
C. Cizikas, C	Feb 21, 2017	IR	Hand
C. Clutterbuck, RW	Feb 21, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injur

Philadelphia Flyers

28-26-7, 63 pts  /  157GF/187GA  /  1-2 record last week

2/19/17
PHI: 3
VAN: 2

Flyers at Canucks recap: Flyers close out Western road swing with ... a win?

2/22/17
WSH: 4
PHI: 1

Flyers vs. Capitals recap: Good things do not happen

**NHL Stadium Series**

2/25/17
PHI: 2
PIT: 4

Flyers vs. Penguins recap: This team’s problems are the same in a football stadium, too

Pensburgh Coverage:
Stadium Series Recap: A Night They’ll Never Forget. Pens Defeat Flyers 4-2.

Week Ahead:

Tuesday Feb 28 - vs COL

Thursday March 2 - vs FLA

Saturday March 4 - @ WSH

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
T. Konecny, C	Feb 6, 2017	IR	Left knee/sprained ankle

New Jersey Devils

25-25-11, 61 pts  /  142GF/176GA  /  0-2-1 record last week

2/19/17
NJD: 4
NYI: 6

Frustrating Performance leads to 6-4 defeat for Devils at Barclays.

2/21/17
OTT: 2
NJD: 1

Devils swept by Senators, fall 2-1.

2/25/17
NYR: 4 OT
NJD: 3

Another Let Down by New Jersey Devils in Overtime Loss to New York Rangers

Week Ahead:

Monday Feb 27 - vs MTL

Thursday March 2 - @ WSH

Saturday March 4 - @ BOS

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Savard, C	Oct 9, 2016	IR	Post-concussion syndrome
P. Zacha, C	Feb 21, 2017	day-to-day	Concussion

Carolina Hurricanes

25-24-8, 58 pts  /  145GF/165GA  /  1-2 record last week

2/19/17
TOR: 4
CAR: 0

Recap: Offensively struggling Hurricanes shut out by McElhinney, Leafs

2/21/17
PIT: 3
CAR: 1

Recap: Hurricanes Struggle to Score Against the Penguins, Fall 3-1 (Rank ‘em)

BONUS!!! Pensburgh coverage!
Penguins vs. Hurricanes Recap: Top stars take penalties, score goals in Pittsburgh win

2/24/17
CAR: 3
OTT: 0

Recap: Lack, Hurricanes snap losing streak with 3-0 shutout over Senators

From the Canes side of things:

Trade: Hurricanes Send Hainsey to Penguins for Kristo, 2nd

The Ron Hainsey Trade Could Benefit Carolina’s Young Defensive Core

Week Ahead:

Sunday Feb 26 - vs CAL

Tuesday Feb 28 - @ FLA

Wednesday March 1 - @ TB

Friday March 3 - vs ARI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
B. McGinn, LW	Feb 24, 2017	day-to-day	Undisclosed injury

*Standings via ESPN as of 2/25/17
**Injuries via TSN as of 2/25/17
***The Metro game of the week this week is the tilt between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals this Tuesday at MSG. The Rangers will be playing the Blue Jackets in the game before, so the Rangers can make up some serious ground if they were to sweep those two games. We'll see what happens next Sunday.