Keeping up with the Metropolitans: Week 6

The Capitals are rolling. The Islanders are, too. The Penguins continue to impress and there’s some shuffling in the Metro this week! Recap it all here!

By t.cann112 Nov 10, 2019, 1:00pm EST

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Islanders

The Penguins return to full health lasted less than 60 minutes as the Pens had no injuries to report last recap for the first time since the 2004-05 lockout. The Penguins brought a fully stocked team to Boston to begin the week with a tough test against one of the league’s best teams. The Bruins proved they were an elite team when they rattled off three goals in a row to begin the game. The Penguins looked down and out, but a goal from Dominik Kahun started an assault by the Penguins that saw them score four in a row with Nick Bjugstad getting his first of the year followed by Bryan Rust with his second of year and capped off by John Marino’s first career goal in the NHL on a breakaway coming out of the box with two seconds left in the period to give the Penguins the 4-3 lead going into the 3rd period.

The Bruins turned that momentum upside down in the 3rd period, however, with three unanswered goals from Torey Krug, Brad Marchand with his second of the game, and then Patrice Bergeron’s empty net goal wrapping up the scoring in Boston’s 6-4 victory over the Pens.

The Penguins then had to rebound from that bitter loss to face the team that swept them out of the playoffs last season in Brooklyn. The game felt eerily similar to last spring with the Islanders bottling up the Penguins and seemingly scoring whenever the Isles had an opportunity. The Islanders took a 3-0 lead into the 3rd period, which all but guaranteed a victory based off their statistics heading into the final frame.

However, the Penguins came out in the 3rd with a chip on their shoulder and Jared McCann gave the Penguins some life less than two minutes into the 3rd. Minutes later, Matt Murray made the save of his life which sprung Bryan Rust the other way who buries his shot to make it a 3-2 game and giving the Penguins all the momentum. Evgeni Malkin would cash in on that momentum minutes later with a great individual effort to bury a rebound and tie the game at three and force overtime.

Yooooo. pic.twitter.com/BevtCIwc43
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) November 8, 2019

Bryan Rust would get his second goal of the game with less than two minutes left in overtime, ending the Islanders 10 game win streak and sparking one of the most memorable comebacks in recent Penguins history.

The Penguins returned home to Pittsburgh on Saturday night to face another team that has haunted the Penguins when the Blackhawks were at PPG Paints Arena. For the third time in as many games, the Penguins fell into a deep hole that looked almost too big to get out of as the Hawks scored two goals minutes apart in the 2nd period and took all the air out of the building.

But Jake Guentzel would get on the board when he crashed the net and Evgeni Malkin set him up with a perfect pass that Guentzel buried to cut the lead in half going into the 3rd period. Bryan Rust continued his amazing start to his injury shortened season when he finished a great feed from John Marino to tie the game with less than ten minutes remaining in the game.

Neither team would score in regulation and both teams came up empty in overtime and Matt Murray made one final save on Alex DeBrincat in the shootout to complete another come from behind victory for the Penguins, and ending a second straight 10 game win streak for the opponent. It wasn’t the best way to win hockey games, but the comebacks and effort the Penguins played with last week were very nice to see from the Penguins.

With the return of Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust, the new lines for the Penguins have been performing well. However, with Kris Letang and Patric Hornqvist on the shelf and Sidney Crosby injured in the Blackhawk game and did not return, it’s another tough test for the Penguins this week. The Penguins will play Metro opponents in five out of the next six games starting on the road in NYC against the Rangers on Tuesday night. The Devils will host the Penguins on Friday night in the first game of a back-to-back with the Penguins taking on the Maple Leafs in Pittsburgh on Saturday night to wrap up the week for the Penguins.

Vegas Golden Knights v Washington Capitals

The Washington Capitals are off to one of the best starts of the Ovechkin era. They are winners of six in a row and have gone 10-0-1 in their last 11 games. The Islanders just won 10 games in a row and have points in 12 straight but have made up almost no ground over the Capitals. John Carlson is putting together one of the most impressive seasons from a defender since... Mike Green in 2009 when he scored 31 goals and had 73 points in only 68 games. Green is only the most recent, but John Carlson is on pace to have one of the greatest seasons ever by a defenseman. There’s plenty more nice things to say about individuals and the Capitals as a team, but I’ve said too much already.

The Capitals began last week on Sunday against the Calgary Flames. Jakub Vrana continued his hot start with his first career hat trick and the Capitals pulled away with goals in the 2nd and 3rd period to douse the Flames by a 4-2 final score, the Capitals’ fourth win in a row.

John Carlson began the festivities only 25 seconds into the Capitals next game at the Florida Panthers on Thursday, and the goals kept coming for both teams. Aleksander Barkov capped off three in a row by the Panthers 27 seconds into the 2nd period, but the Caps responded with two goals from Ovechkin to tie it at three before the Panthers scored with one minute remaining on the power play to lead 4-3 going into the 3rd period.

2019 Nobel Peace Prize candidate for his decrease in brain injuries across the NHL, Tom Wilson, scored 44 seconds into the 3rd period to tie the game at four and then would score 17 seconds into overtime to give the Capitals their fifth consecutive win, and Wilson’s seventh goal of the year. It was also Wilson’s third straight multi-point performance. He’s just one of many Capital players who appear to be on their way to career years.

The Capitals returned home on Saturday to face off against Vegas for a rematch of the 2018 Cup Final, and the Capitals got going early and often in this one. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored less than a minute into the game, and Wilson stretched his point streak to four games with a goal minutes later to give the Caps the 2-1 advantage after one period. Jonas Siegenthaler scored his first career goal for Washigton in the 2nd period and Reilly Smith scored on the power play for Vegas to bring it to 3-2 after two periods.

Nicklas Backstrom would double his goal total for the year with his third and fourth goal in the 3rd period, and John Carlson assisted on both Backstrom goals to give him 8 goals and 20 assists in 18 games as the Capitals won their sixth in a row and extended their point streak to 11 games in the 5-2 victory over the Golden Knights.

The Capitals are leading the league with 29 points. The Cup winning Blues are two points behind followed by the Islanders sitting two points behind St. Louis. The Capitals return to action with four games this week starting at home against Phil Kessel and the Coyotes on Monday night. The Flyers and Capitals meet on Wednesday Night Hockey in Philadelhpia before the Capitals return home for a back-to-back against Montreal and take on Boston in Beantown on Saturday night to finish up the week with a big test for both teams.

The Islanders began last week as the hottest team in the NHL, winners of nine straight games heading into their matchup against the Ottawa Senators. Needless to say, the Islanders made it ten straight against one of the worst teams in the NHL. Ottawa would score first, on the penalty kill, when Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored less than eight minutes into the game. Cal Clutterbuck answered 30 seconds later, after the penalty had ended, to tie the game back up at one apiece.

Something pretty interesting happened in the 2nd period. Cole Bardreau was tripped on a breakaway and awarded a penalty shot. He scored on the opportunity, which happened to be his first career goal. According to NHL.com, it was the seventh time it happened in NHL history, and first since Andrew Miller on March 27, 2015 with Edmonton. His PS goal ended up being the game winner as Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots and the Islanders won 4-1.

The Islanders were going for eleven in a row, but had to get through the Pittsburgh Penguins in order to make it happen. The Islanders scored on the first shift of the game and then added two more in the 2nd period, including a short handed goal by Cal Clutterbuck for his second goal in as many games, leading 3-0 heading into the 3rd period and appearing to be well on their way to win number eleven.

However, the wheels fell off for Barry Trotz’s team, and the Penguins scored three goals in the first 10 minutes of the 3rd period before Bryan Rust added his second goal of the game to end the Islanders 10 game win streak, however their point streak reached 11 in a row.

The Islanders looked to begin a new win streak on Saturday at Barclays against the Panthers. Barry Trotz’s troops did what they do best, which is win tight, low-scoring games. Mathew Barzal continued his increased goal scoring pace over last year with his seventh goal this season in the 1st period and neither team would score until Aleksander Barkov scored a power play goal for Panthers 6:12 into the 3rd period to tie the game. The tie wouldn’t last long, as Scott Mayfield scored 38 seconds later for the Islanders, and Greiss stopped another 37 shots as the Islanders held off the Panthers by a 2-1 final score, making it 12 straight games with a point for the Isles.

Despite the said 12 game point streak for the Islanders, they still remain four points behind the Capitals for the Metro lead, but the Islanders have played two less games than Washington. The Islanders have a pretty slow week this week, but the competition should give them a nice test. The Islanders wrap up a four game home stand on Wednesday night against the Maple Leafs and begin a Pennsylvania trip on Saturday in Philadelphia before playing in Pittsburgh the following week in a home-and-home with the Penguins.

Montreal Canadiens v Philadelphia Flyers

The Philadelphia Flyers 2019-20 roller coaster ride is currently gaining lots of speed in the November section of the ride. The Flyers went undefeated last week and have now gone 4-0-1 in the month of November. The train began to pick up speed on Tuesday after a slight bump last Saturday when the Flyers hosted the Hurricanes. Carter Hart stopped 33 shots and the Flyers got goals and points from key contributors as they scored three 3rd period goals to knock down the Canes 4-1 in Philly to begin last week.

Philippe Myers scored his first goal of the year to begin the scoring against Montreal on Thursday and James van Riemsdyk continued to his hot streak with a goal a minute into the 2nd period to give the Flyers a 2-0 lead for their home fans. However, Montreal would score one in the 2nd period and add another in the 3rd to force overtime. Sean Couturier brought the Well Fargo Center fans to their feet less than a minutes into overtime with his fifth goal of the year to send the Flyers fans home feeling quite happy.

The Flyers were in Toronto on Saturday to wrap up their week, and once again Philippe Myers got the Flyers on the board first with his second goal in two games. Oskar Lindblom scored his eighth(!) goal on the power play late in the 1st period to extend the Flyers lead to 2-0 after the 1st period. Toronto would then score midway through the 2nd and four minutes into the 3rd period to even things up and once again head to overtime. Neither team would score in OT, and Brian Elliott turned into a hero when he saved 8 shots he faced in the extra period before stopping two out of three shooters in the shoot out to secure the 3-2 shootout win for the Flyers and finish the week undefeated.

Philadelphia has a tough test this evening when they are in Boston less than 24 hours after going to a shootout in Toronto. It doesn’t get any easier for Philly as the Capitals will be next in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The Flyers wrap up the week with a back-to-back in Ottawa on Saturday and back home against the Islanders on Saturday night. The Flyers’ five game point streak has brought them up to fourth in the Metro as of this morning, one point behind the Penguins for third place in the division.

The month of November has not been kind to the Carolina Hurricanes. Carolina was 8-3-1 heading into October, but have fallen to 9-7-1 in the last two weeks. Carolina was looking to avenge their 5-3 loss against New Jersey last week against another Metro rival when the Canes were in Philadelphia on Tuesday to begin last week. Philly would strike first in the 1st period and the Hurricanes answered in the 2nd to bring a 1-1 tie into the final period. The Flyers scored 72 seconds into the 3rd period and never looked back as Carter Hart shut the door with 33 saves as the Flyers ran away with a 4-1 final score.

The Hurricanes returned back to Carolina on Thursday in their third straight game against a Metropolitan opponent. The Hurricanes seemed to have taken out some anger out on Henrik Lundqvist to the tune of 47 shots, but things only got worse for Carolina as he stopped 45 of them while Petr Mrazek only managed to stop 15 out of the 18 shots he faced. The Rangers added an empty net late in the game as the Hurricanes continued to pressure the Rangers, but fell by a 4-2 final score.

The Hurricanes looked to end their three game losing streak and get a win this week when the lowly Ottawa Senators played host to Carolina on Saturday. The Senators showed that they are a much more organized group this year as the Sens jumped out to a 3-0 lead by the end of the 1st period, including two goals in only four seconds by Vladislav Namestnikov and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Andrei Svechnikov would score a PPG midway through the 2nd period to give the Hurricanes some life, but they failed to score again and Ottawa defeated the Hurricanes 4-1 in the end, making it a winless week for the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Hurricanes will get a chance for revenge on Monday, when the Senators complete the home-and-home with Carolina at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes then hit the road through the midwest starting in Buffalo on Thursday before heading to Minnesota on Saturday afternoon and ending in Chicago next week. Their recent slide hasn’t affected the Canes too much in the standings as they are still only two points out of third place, but the Canes slide back two spots this week to fifth in the Metro.

The Rangers moved up one spot in the standings with a winning week last week. It didn’t begin well, however, as the Rangers were playing a bad Ottawa team that hasn’t been playing that bad as of late. Kaapo Kakko got the Rangers on the board first with his third goal of the year, but the Senators completely dominated New York after that with two goals in the 1st before adding the next three in the 2nd period before the Rangers stopped the bleeding with a PPG by Artemi Panarin. The Sens added one more in the 3rd period to destroy the Rangers 6-2 in a very feisty game that had 58 combined PIM and several fights to go along with a check to the head and a boarding penalty. Not a very good game from the Rangers perspective.

King Hank has been relegated to back up duties for the first time in his career, and got his first start in three games against Detroit on Wednesday. He proved that he’s still got it despite his games played this season, as the 37 year old netminder made 35 saves and the Rangers won a laugher over the Red Wings by a 5-1 final score in front of their home fans.

David Quinn proved that King Hank isn’t a backup when he started the 37 year old 24 hours later against the Hurricanes in Raleigh. He proved once again that there’s still plenty left in the tank as the Hurricanes fired 47 shots on the man, and he turned aside 45 of them, making it 80 saves on 83 shots in less than 24 hours. King Hank, ladies and gentlemen.

Panarin got the first of the game with less than 30 seconds remaining in the 1st period. The Rangers were outshot 22-6 in the 1st period, but Lundqvist stood on his head and turned aside all of them. The Rangers were outshot 12-8 in the 2nd period, but both teams would get one on the board. The assault continued in the 3rd period as the Rangers were outshot again 13-5, but added two goals and only conceding one. The Hurricanes threw everything they could at the Rangers, but the Rangers managed to escape with the 4-2 victory and some momentum heading into next week.

The Rangers sit four points behind the Hurricanes in fourth place, but New York has played the fewest games in the Metro as of today. They have a busy week this week and return to action at MSG this afternoon against the Florida Panthers. The Penguins will be at MSG next on Tuesday night before the Rangers hit the road to the Sunshine State in Tampa on Thursday and in Sunrise on Saturday night to end their week.

Most people expected the Blue Jackets to struggle some more this season with the talent that departed from last year, but things have been going worse than expected with Columbus so far this season. They currently sit 28th in goals for and 24th in goals against in the NHL. That’s not going to win you a lot of games, and unsurprisingly, that’s exactly what’s happening in Columbus. They now sit in seventh in the Metro and are 3-6-2 in their last 10 games.

The Blue Jackets were looking to end a four game skid to begin last week at home against Vegas on Tuesday night. Reilly Smith would score in the final minute of the 1st period before Boone Jenner tied it back up five minutes into the 2nd period. Reilly Smith then scored his second goal of the game two minutes later, while shorthanded, to put the Knights back ahead. That would be the rest of the scoring in the game as Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 29/30 shots he faced, including all 10 he faced in the 3rd period as Columbus tried their hardest to come back, but could not get one past Fleury.

Columbus then began an odd road trip two nights later that takes them through Arizona, Colorado and then Montreal. The Blue Jackets got off to a great start in Arizona when Gustav Nyqust scored only 14 seconds into the game. Arizona would answer before the period ended, and then added another goal midway through the 2nd period to jump ahead by one goal.

The Blue Jackets were playing one of their best periods in a while before Arizona scored, and the Jackets responded positively. Twenty year old Emil Bemstrom would score the first goal of his career on the power play minutes later to even the score heading into the 3rd period. Columbus would finally break through again midway through the 3rd period when Oliver Bjorkstrand put one past Darcy Kuemper and Columbus would hold on for the victory, ending their five game losing streak.

Emil Bemstrom made it two straight games with a power play goal five minutes into their next game in Colorado. But the Avs answered with a PPG of their own with five minutes left in the 1st period and Zach Werenski scored late to give the Blue Jackets a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.

Cale Makar then took over the game in the 2nd period. He scored two goals six minutes apart to give the Avalanche the lead and Nazem Kadri would score with just over two minutes remaining in the game to crush the Jackets’ hope of coming back in this game, and the Avalanche defeated the Jackets by a 4-2 final score to end the week with another L for Columbus.

The Blue Jackets are tied with the Rangers with 15 points, but have played three more games than the Rangers, which leaves them in 7th place in the Metro this week. The Jackets wrap up their road trip in Montreal on Tuesday night before returning home for a three game home stand beginning with St. Louis on Friday night to end this week for Columbus.

The Devils have been trying to get themselves to the better times that their offseason spending spree promised, but last week was not the turning point they needed after finishing the previous week with a road victory. The Devils began the week on Tuesday in Winnipeg where Nico Hischier scored his second goal of the season five minutes into the game and Andrew Copp did likewise for the Jets midway through the second period, which turned out to be all the scoring during regulation. Neither goalie would surrender a goal during overtime and New Jersey scored on their first two shots while the Jets missed both of theirs, giving the Devils their second straight road victory to begin their five game road trip.

New Jersey had one day off before partaking in a back to back starting in Calgary on Thursday. Jack Hughes got the scoring started late in the first period, but Calgary took over the scoring in the second period with four goals in the frame to lead 4-2 after 40 minutes. Dave Rittich stopped all 10 Devil shots in the 3rd period and the Devils fell to the Flames by a 5-2 final score.

The Devils were in Edmonton the next night, and never really got going against the Oilers. The Devils outshot the Oilers 8-5 in the 1st period, but it was all downhill after that as the Oilers got 16 shots in the 2nd period resulting in three goals before adding one more in the 3rd period and Mikko Koskinen stopped all 29 shots that came his way as the Devils concluded last week with a 4-0 loss in Edmonton.

The Devils remain in last place in the Metro by a three point margin this week. New Jersey resumes play this afternoon in Vancouver and will then return home to The Rock to play their fifth consecutive Canadian team when the Ottawa Senators are in Newark on Wednesday night. The Penguins and Devils will meet for the first time in Jersey on Friday, and will then meet in Pittsburgh the following Friday. The Devils will wrap up the week for the Metro on Saturday night in Montreal against the Canadiens.