Keeping up with the Metropolitans 3/12/17-3/18/17

METROPOLITAN	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
x - Washington	71	46	17	8	100	45	1	5	28-6-2	18-11-6	228	159	+69	5-4-1
Columbus	70	46	18	6	98	44	2	1	26-9-1	20-9-5	224	163	+61	7-2-1
Pittsburgh	70	44	17	9	97	41	3	3	28-4-3	16-13-6	245	198	+47	6-3-1
NY Rangers	72	45	24	3	93	42	3	3	19-15-3	26-9-0	231	189	+42	5-4-1
NY Islanders	71	33	26	12	78	32	1	4	20-10-7	13-16-5	210	218	-8	4-4-2
Carolina	69	30	27	12	72	28	2	5	21-10-4	9-17-8	179	199	-20	5-2-3
Philadelphia	70	32	30	8	72	26	6	4	20-11-4	12-19-4	182	210	-28	4-5-1
New Jersey	70	26	32	12	64	23	3	2	14-13-6	12-19-6	163	205	-42	1-7-2

As the 2016-17 season is finally coming to it's end, the first team in the NHL to clinch a post-season birth is the Washington Capitals with their victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night. As nice as that sounds for them, the Jackets and Penguins are still breathing down their neck. The Metropolitan Division has been simply remarkable this year, by the end of this week, there should be 3 teams all with 100+ points in this division alone. That's quite impressive. The Rangers only have a possible 6 points to gain this week, so it's gonna take at least one more week for the fans in New York City to get a taste of the Century Mark. What a wild ride this year has been, and there's still a dozen or so games for the top team in the league to win The President's Trophy. Will it belong to the Metro again, for the third year in a row?

Things are still very much undecided in the Wild Card race. The Rangers have all but locked up their position in the Atlantic Conference bracket. The Rangers almost certainly are going to be the #4 seed, but will have more points than the eventual Atlantic Division Champion. This is the NHL, why ask why anymore?

WILD CARD	GP	W	L	OTL	PTS	ROW	SOW	SOL	HOME	ROAD	GF	GA	DIFF	L10
NY Rangers	72	45	24	3	93	42	3	3	19-15-3	26-9-0	231	189	+42	5-4-1
Toronto	70	32	23	15	79	31	1	8	17-10-7	15-13-8	212	208	+4	4-3-3
NY Islanders	71	33	26	12	78	32	1	4	20-10-7	13-16-5	210	218	-8	4-4-2
Tampa Bay	71	34	28	9	77	30	4	3	19-13-3	15-15-6	194	197	-3	6-3-1
Florida	70	31	28	11	73	26	5	6	16-16-3	15-12-8	180	200	-20	3-6-1
Carolina	69	30	27	12	72	28	2	5	21-10-4	9-17-8	179	199	-20	5-2-3
Philadelphia	70	32	30	8	72	26	6	4	20-11-4	12-19-4	182	210	-28	4-5-1
Buffalo	72	29	31	12	70	27	2	6	17-12-6	12-19-6	180	210	-30	3-5-2
Detroit	70	28	31	11	67	20	8	0	14-15-5	14-16-6	177	210	-33	4-5-1
New Jersey	70	26	32	12	64	23	3	2	14-13-6	12-19-6	163	205	-42	1-7-2

Washington Capitals

46-17-8, 100 pts  /  228GF/159GA  /  2-1-1 record last week

3/12/17
WSH: 2
ANA: 5

Capitals vs. Ducks Recap: Anaheim’s Attack Defeats Washington

3/14/17
MIN: 2
WSH: 4

Caps vs. Wild Recap: Ovechkin Resurrected, Caps Win 4-2

3/16/17
NSH: 2 OT
WSH: 1

Caps vs. Predators Recap: Washington Falls Prey to Nashville 2-1 in OT

3/18/17
WSH: 5
TBL: 3

Capitals vs. Lightning Recap: Lightning Strikes Thrice for Oshie in 5-3 Caps Win

Week Ahead:

Tuesday March 21 - vs CGY

Thursday March 23 - vs CBJ***

Saturday Mach 25 - vs ARI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
B. Rust, RW	Feb 9, 2017	IR	Upper-body injury
O. Maatta, D	Feb 16, 2017	IR	Left hand surgery
T. Daley, D	Feb 21, 2017	IR	Knee surgery
K. Letang, D	Feb 22, 2017	IR	Upper-body injury
C. Hagelin, LW	Mar 10, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury
R. Hainsey, D	Mar 15, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
E. Malkin, C	Mar 16, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury

Whoops... How did that get there??? Of course there's no injuries to report in DC.

Columbus Blue Jackets

46-18-6, 98 pts  /  224GF/163GA  /  3-0 record last week

3/13/17
CBJ: 5
PHI: 3

Recap: Stumblin’, Bumblin’, Rumblin’

3/16/17
FLA: 1
CBJ: 2

Recap: Clawing Back Up

3/18/17
CBJ: 3 OT
NYI: 2

Game 70 Recap: Jackets 3 Islanders 2 (OT)

Week Ahead:

Sunday March 19 - @ NJD

Wednesday March 22 - vs TOR

Thursday March 23 - @ WSH***

Saturday March 25 - vs PHI

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
D. Clarkson, RW	Sep 20, 2016	IR	Back
L. Sedlak, C	Feb 17, 2017	day-to-day	Strained oblique
R. Murray, D	Mar 11, 2017	day-to-day	Broken hand

New York Rangers

45-24-3, 93 pts  / 231GF/189GA  /  2-1-1 record last week

3/12/17
NYR: 4
DET: 1

Rangers Defeat Red Wings 4-1 in Final Visit to Joe Louis Arena

3/13/17
TBL: 3
NYR: 2

Rangers Vs. Lightning: Last Minute Letdown

3/17/17
FLA: 4 SO
NYR: 3

Too much green beer and whiskey for a recap of this one. Who can blame them?

3/18/17
NYR: 3
MIN: 2

The Kids Are Alright: Rangers Wrangle the Wild, 3-2

Week Ahead:

Tuesday March 21- @ NJD

Wednesday March 22 - vs NYI

Saturday March 25 - @ LAK

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
K. Klein, D	Feb 22, 2017	day-to-day	Back spasms
D. Girardi, D	Feb 27, 2017	IR	Ankle
H. Lundqvist, G	Mar 8, 2017	day-to-day	Hip

New York Islanders

33-26-12, 78 pts  /  210GF/218GA  /  1-2-1 record last week

3/13/17
CAR: 8
NYI: 4

Hurricanes 8, Islanders 4: Double-double quick strike

3/14/17
NYI: 3 OT
CAR: 2

Islanders 3, Hurricanes 2 (OT): The Ho-Sang strikes back

3/16/17
WPG: 4
NYI: 2

Jets 4, Islanders 2: Dropping the ball

3/18/17
CBJ: 3 OT
NYI: 2

Blue Jackets 3, Islanders 2 (OT): Tavares goal saves a point, but Isles lose ground

Week Ahead:

Wednesday March 22 - @ NYR

Friday March 24 - @ PIT

Saturday March 25 - vs BOS

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Grabovski, C	Sep 25, 2016	IR	Concussion
J. Boychuk, D	Mar 3, 2017	day-to-day	Foot
S. Prince, LW	Mar 7, 2017	day-to-day	Leg

Carolina Hurricanes

30-27-12, 72 pts  /  179GF/199GA  /  3-0-1 record last week

3/13/17
CAR: 8
NYI: 4

Recap: Hurricanes Can’t Stop Scoring Against the Islanders — Wait, What?

3/14/17
NYI: 3 OT
CAR: 2

Recap and Rank ‘Em: ‘Canes Fall to Islanders, 3-2 in Overtime

3/16/17
MIN: 1
CAR: 3

Eddie Lack Steals the Show in Carolina Hurricanes’ Win Over Minnesota Wild

3/18/17
NSH: 2
CAR: 4

Recap and Rank ‘Em: Jeff Skinner and the Carolina Hurricanes Down the Nashville Predators 4-2

Week Ahead:

Sunday March 19 - @ PHI

Tuesday March 21 - @ FLA

Thursday March 23 - @ MTL

Saturday March 25 - @ NJD

****Weirdest road trip ever. Were the schedule makers drunk when they came up with this?

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
V. Zykov, LW	Mar 11, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
J. McClement, C	Mar 14, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

Philadelphia Flyers

32-30-8, 72 pts  /  182GF/210GA  /  1-2 record last week

3/13/17
CBJ: 5
PHI: 3

Flyers vs. Blue Jackets recap: Flyers do some fun stuff, still lose in very Flyers manner

3/15/17
PIT: 0
PHI: 4

Flyers vs. Penguins recap: For a night, hockey is fun again

BONUS! Pensburgh coverage:
Penguins vs. Flyers Recap: Philly blanks a flat Pittsburgh team

3/16/17
PHI: 2
NJD: 6

Flyers vs. Devils recap: Everything right is wrong again

Week Ahead:

Sunday March 19 - vs CAR

Tuesday March 21 - @ WPG

Thursday March 23 - @ MIN

Saturday March 25 - @ CBJ

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Raffl, LW	Feb 28, 2017	IR	Lower-body injury
B. Manning, D	Mar 12, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
N. Cousins, C	Mar 15, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury

New Jersey Devils

26-32-12, 64 pts  /  163GF/205GA  /  1-1 record last week

3/16/17
PHI: 2
NJD: 6

Woo! Devils end 10 game losing streak, beat Flyers 6-2.

3/17/17
NJD: 4
PIT: 6

New Jersey Devils Fall Short in High Scoring Game Against Pittsburgh Penguins

BONUS! Pensburgh coverage:
Penguins vs. Devils Recap: Crosby, Kessel get going in Pens win

Week Ahead:

Sunday March 19 - vs CBJ

Tuesday March 21 - vs NYR

Thursday March 23 - @ TOR

Saturday March 25 - vs CAR

Injuries:

PLAYER	DATE	STATUS	DESCRIPTION
M. Savard, C	Oct 9, 2016	IR	Post-concussion syndrome
J. Josefson, C	Feb 28, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
M. Cammalleri, LW	Mar 2, 2017	day-to-day	Upper-body injury
D. Smith-Pelly, RW	Mar 9, 2017	day-to-day	Lower-body injury

*Standings via ESPN as of 3/18/17
**Injuries via TSN as of 3/18/17
***Game of the week!!! Columbus takes it's game to the Verizon Center to take on the Capitals this Thursday. A lot may be riding on this game, as the Jackets are headed into this week on a three game win streak, while Washington has just rebounded from it's first bump in the road since New Years. There may be a new Divsion and NHL Leader by the end of this game.