Keeping up with the Metropolitans: Week 14

Your weekly dose of Metropolitan action!

By t.cann112 Jan 8, 2018, 9:00am EST

For the first time in what feels like forever, the Penguins have accomplished an impressive week in the W-L column. It may not have been the prettiest week after getting shut out at home by the Hurricanes, but the Penguins rebounded nicely with a sound 4-0 win of their own against a high powered New York Islanders offense. The Penguins looked to have completely fallen apart in a game against the Boston Bruins, but Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel were determined to come out of that contest with the win, and the Penguins did just that. 2018 started off on the right foot for Pittsburgh with a blowout victory over the much hated Philadelphia Flyers, who are trying to put their own troubles behind them in this first week of 2018 - aside from that Pens loss, they have won 3 in a row and scored 16 goals in those 3 games.

With the calendar turning to 2018, teams around the NHL are now getting one of the few breaks in the schedule and are starting their “bye” week with 5 or more days off. The Penguins are one of those teams, along with the Devils, Rangers, Flyers, and Islanders - all of whom won’t play another game until Saturday.

This week could see a lot of change in a very tight and competitive Metropolitan Division. The Capitals just finished up their bye week, and still remain in first place. The Capitals will have a golden opportunity to put some more distance between themselves and the rest of the Metro with 3 games this week, starting with the Canucks in DC on Tuesday followed by a home-and-home with Carolina. The Canucks couldn’t have imagined a worse time to face the Capitals in DC, as they have now won 9 consecutive home games at Capital One Arena.

The Hurricanes are also going to try and use this week to their advantage as they currently sit tied for 6th (or last) place in the Metro with the idle Flyers and Islanders. The Canes have 4 games to play this week. It will be anything but easy for them, however, starting with a tough test against a dominant Tampa Bay Lightning team in Tampa on Tuesday where the Lightning have a stellar 16-3-1 home record. They then play the home-and-home with Washington before welcoming the Calgary Flames to the Carolinas before starting their own bye week. They are going to need as many points as they can get this week if they want to be part of the conversation when they resume play again on January 20th in Detroit.

The Devils are still in 2nd place in the Metro, but are currently struggling to find ways to win games. A few weeks ago, I listed a flaw for each team in the Metro, and the Devils flaw was playing in many close games and whether they will be able to win in those games. The Devils are currently on a 5 game losing streak, losing 4 out of those 5 games by 1 goal. They have much to be proud of in New Jersey, considering where they were at this point last year, and are going to try and use their bye week to regroup and focus on what has made them the 2nd best team in the Metro this season and get back to those ways.

It’s going to hard for Pens fans to deal with this break in action, as it appears the team was just now starting to find it’s groove again. Hopefully this 5 day hiatus will give the coaching staff time to fix some glaring issues while giving the players some peace and quiet in the middle of this peculiar season so far for Pittsburgh.

Until next week, stay classy PensBurgh and don’t forget to vote for the Metro game of the week!