/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53093187/GettyImages-640964464.0.jpg)
METROPOLITAN | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | ROW | SOW | SOL | HOME | ROAD | GF | GA | DIFF | L10 | |
Washington | 52 | 35 | 11 | 6 | 76 | 34 | 1 | 4 | 20-5-1 | 15-6-5 | 170 | 114 | +56 | 7-2-1 | |
Columbus | 51 | 33 | 13 | 5 | 71 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 18-6-1 | 15-7-4 | 170 | 127 | +43 | 4-5-1 | |
Pittsburgh | 51 | 33 | 13 | 5 | 71 | 31 | 2 | 1 | 22-3-2 | 11-10-3 | 184 | 147 | +37 | 7-3-0 | |
NY Rangers | 51 | 32 | 18 | 1 | 65 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 14-11-1 | 18-7-0 | 173 | 136 | +37 | 5-5-0 | |
Philadelphia | 53 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 59 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 16-7-4 | 10-13-3 | 144 | 162 | -18 | 5-4-1 | |
Carolina | 51 | 24 | 20 | 7 | 55 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 17-6-1 | 7-14-6 | 138 | 146 | -8 | 5-5-0 | |
NY Islanders | 50 | 22 | 18 | 10 | 54 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 16-8-6 | 6-10-4 | 147 | 148 | -1 | 6-2-2 | |
New Jersey | 53 | 22 | 21 | 10 | 54 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 10-9-4 | 12-12-6 | 125 | 152 | -27 | 6-3-1 |
Now that the All Star Game is done and over with, and the calendar has flipped over to February, it's starting to get down to the nitty gritty. The schedule makers sure had their hands full with the Metropolitan for the month of February. There are many different ways this can play out, but for the top teams, and the bottom teams in the Metro, lots of ground can be made or lost in what is the shortest month of the year.
The Capitals are kicking off a four game home stand this week and then will have their bye week. When they come back, the Caps will only play one more game at the Verizon Center for the remainder of this month. The rest of the division will have lots of time to make up ground, and the Caps will then have to deal with playing an extended amount of time on the road after their break - lots of opportunities for the Pens, or maybe another team, to overtake their lead in the division.
While the Caps kick off a four game home stand, the Rangers will be doing the very same thing - their next four games will all take place at MSG this week. The Rangers are in the middle of a long stretch of games with very few breaks in between. They will play 8 home games 4 road games in 23 days to wrap up a busy February.
Not to be outdone by the Rangers and Capitals, Columbus will play in Detroit Tuesday and then will begin 7 game home stand of their own, with a 5 day break scheduled in the middle. The Blue Jackets only have 3 road games remaining this month including the Detroit game this week, and won't be traveling again until February 26.
In what could be considered bad news for them, Carolina has only two total road games in the next 12 days. That means they can only gain 4 total points in that time. For a team that is holding on for dear life, that stretch may be the proverbial nail in the coffin as they may be watching the division pass them by. Did I mention both of those games are on the road, where the Canes have a 7-14-6 record on the year? February may be a killer month for Carolina.
While I'm at it, it's also worth mentioning that New Jersey has 9 games left in February, and the only road game is February 19th in Brooklyn, which will be the second half of a home and home with the Islanders. They need a lot of things to go their way if they want to make the dance, and it starts with this stretch of games. It's make or break time for the Devils in February.
As for the Penguins in February, the schedule makers didn't give them much of a favorable schedule as some of the other teams in the division. The Penguins can gain ground of the Capitals during their bye week, but the Penguins schedule is split the rest of the month with 5 home games and 5 road games remaining. The Penguins control their own destiny, so to say.
EASTERN CONFERENCE | |||||||||||||||
WILD CARD | GP | W | L | OTL | PTS | ROW | SOW | SOL | HOME | ROAD | GF | GA | DIFF | L10 | |
NY Rangers | 51 | 32 | 18 | 1 | 65 | 30 | 2 | 1 | 14-11-1 | 18-7-0 | 173 | 136 | +37 | 5-5-0 | |
Philadelphia | 53 | 26 | 20 | 7 | 59 | 21 | 5 | 4 | 16-7-4 | 10-13-3 | 144 | 162 | -18 | 5-4-1 | |
![]() |
|||||||||||||||
Toronto | 50 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 57 | 23 | 1 | 6 | 12-8-3 | 12-9-6 | 155 | 149 | +6 | 5-4-1 | |
Florida | 52 | 23 | 19 | 10 | 56 | 20 | 3 | 5 | 14-9-3 | 9-10-7 | 124 | 143 | -19 | 5-3-2 | |
Carolina | 51 | 24 | 20 | 7 | 55 | 22 | 2 | 4 | 17-6-1 | 7-14-6 | 138 | 146 | -8 | 5-5-0 | |
NY Islanders | 50 | 22 | 18 | 10 | 54 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 16-8-6 | 6-10-4 | 147 | 148 | -1 | 6-2-2 | |
New Jersey | 53 | 22 | 21 | 10 | 54 | 19 | 3 | 2 | 10-9-4 | 12-12-6 | 125 | 152 | -27 | 6-3-1 | |
Detroit | 52 | 22 | 21 | 9 | 53 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 11-12-4 | 11-9-5 | 132 | 152 | -20 | 5-2-3 | |
Buffalo | 51 | 21 | 20 | 10 | 52 | 20 | 1 | 5 | 12-8-4 | 9-12-6 | 125 | 143 | -18 | 5-4-1 | |
Tampa Bay | 53 | 23 | 24 | 6 | 52 | 20 | 3 | 2 | 13-10-2 | 10-14-4 | 144 | 157 | -13 | 3-5-2 |
Washington Capitals
35-11-6, 76 pts / 170GF/114GA / 2-1 record last week
1/31/17
WSH: 2
NYI: 3
Caps vs. Isles Recap: Islanders Stop Caps 3-2
2/1/17
BOS: 2
WSH: 5
Caps vs. Bruins Recap: Boston Be Ruined, Caps Win 5-3
2/4/17
WSH: 3
MTL: 2
Capitals vs. Canadiens Recap: Beagle, Burakovsky, Backstrom Goals Lift Washington
Week Ahead:
Sunday Feb 5 - vs LAK
Tuesday Feb 7 - vs CAR
Thursday Feb 9 - vs DET
Saturday Feb 11 - vs ANA
Injuries:
Nada.
Columbus Blue Jackets
33-13-5, 73 pts / 170GF/127GA / 1-1-1 record last week
1/31/17
CBJ: 6
NYR: 4
Recap: Grit Your Teeth And Take The Win
2/3/17
CBJ: 3
PIT: 4 OT
Game 50 Recap: Penguins 4 Jackets 3 (OT)
BONUS! Pensburgh Coverage:
Penguins vs. Blue Jackets: PHIL PHIL PHIL OT winner!
2/4/17
NJD: 5
CBJ: 1
Week Ahead:
Tuesday Feb 7 - @ DET
Thursday Feb 9 - vs VAN
Saturday Feb 11 - vs DET
Injuries:
COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS
PLAYER | DATE | STATUS | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|
D. Clarkson, RW | Sep 20, 2016 | IR | Back |
D. Savard, D | Jan 30, 2017 | day-to-day | Undisclosed injury |
New York Rangers
32-18-1, 65 pts / 173GF/136GA / 1-1 record last week
1/31/17
CBJ: 6
NYR: 4
Rangers Fall To Blue Jackets 6-4 In Return
2/2/17
NYR: 2 OT
BUF: 1
Rangers Bounce Back With 2-1 Win Over Sabres
Week Ahead:
Sunday Feb 5 - vs CAL
Tuesday Feb 7 - vs ANA
Thursday Feb 9 - vs NSH
Saturday Feb 11 - vs COL
Injuries:
NEW YORK RANGERS
PLAYER | DATE | STATUS | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|
K. Hayes, C | Jan 22, 2017 | IR | Lower-body injury |
A. Raanta, G | Feb 1, 2017 | day-to-day | Personal reasons |
Philadelphia Flyers
26-20-7, 59 pts / 144GF/162GA / 1-1-1 record last week
1/31/17
PHI: 1
CAR: 5
Flyers at Hurricanes recap: Worst performance of the season gives Flyers a loss out of the break
2/2/17
MTL: 1
PHI: 3
Flyers vs. Canadiens recap: Of course the Flyers won that game
2/4/17
LAK: 1 OT
PHI: 0
Flyers vs. Kings recap: Shutout loss in overtime puts the Flyers at a crossroads
Week Ahead:
Monday Feb 6 - vs STL
Thursday Feb 9 - vs NYI***
Saturday Feb 11 - vs SJS
Injuries:
PHILADELPHIA FLYERS
PLAYER | DATE | STATUS | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|
M. Del Zotto, D | Jan 24, 2017 | day-to-day | Lower-body injury |
Carolina Hurricanes
24-20-7, 55 pts / 138GF/146GA / 3-0 record last week
1/31/17
PHI: 1
CAR: 5
Recap: Aho’s Hat Trick Powers Hurricanes to 5-1 Win over Flyers (Rank ‘em)
2/3/17
EDM: 1
CAR: 2
Recap and Rank ‘Em: Carolina Hurricanes Outlast Edmonton Oilers in 2-1 Victory
2/4/17
CAR: 5 OT
NYI: 4
Recap: ‘Canes Outduel Islanders in OT, 5-4
Week Ahead:
Tuesday Feb 7 - @ WSH
Saturday Feb 11 - @ DAL
Injuries:
CAROLINA HURRICANES
PLAYER | DATE | STATUS | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|
B. Bickell, LW | Nov 9, 2016 | IR | Multiple sclerosis |
New York Islanders
22-18-10, 54 pts / 147GF/148GA / 1-1-1 record last week
1/31/17
WSH: 2
NYI: 3
Islanders 3 (EN), Capitals 2: 7-game point streak
2/3/17
NYI: 4
DET: 5
Red Wings 5, Islanders 4: Last-minute double-tip ends Isles point streak
2/4/17
CAR: 5 OT
NYI: 4
Hurricanes 5, Islanders 4 (OT): Defense need not apply
Week Ahead:
Monday Feb 6 - vs TOR
Thursday Feb 9 - @ PHI***
Saturday Feb 11 - @ OTT
Injuries:
NEW YORK ISLANDERS
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 |
New Jersey Devils
22-21-10, 54 pts / 125GF/152GA / 2-0-1 record last week
1/31/17
NJD: 4
DET: 3
New Jersey Devils Hold On to Edge Detroit Red Wings 4-3
2/3/17
CAL: 4 OT
NJD: 3
Flames beat Devils 4-3 in OT; TJ Brodie kills Devils with four assists.
2/4/17
NJD: 5
CBJ: 1
Perfect Night For The Devils Ends in 5-1 Victory Over Columbus
Week Ahead:
Monday Feb 6 - vs BUF
Injuries:
NEW JERSEY DEVILS
PLAYER | DATE | STATUS | DESCRIPTION |
---|---|---|---|
M. Savard, C | Oct 9, 2016 | IR | Post-concussion syndrome |
J. Moore, D | Dec 31, 2016 | IR | Concussion |
B. Bennett, RW | Jan 20, 2017 | IR | Lower-body injury |
J. Merrill, D | Feb 1, 2017 | IR | Upper-body injury |