Keeping up with the Metropolitans: Week 7

The Pens are adjusting to life without Crosby, the Canes rebound, and the Caps and Islanders continue to roll. Check out how it went down last week here!

By t.cann112 Nov 17, 2019, 12:00pm EST

Toronto Maple Leafs v Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins began life without Sidney Crosby again, as he was injured the previous week and elected to get surgery and is expected to be out 4-6 weeks. It’s been a rough start for the Penguins players as nearly every key player has missed time for the Penguins and the season is barely 20 games deep yet.

It was a mixed bag for the Penguins in their first games without their captain. It began on the road against the Rangers on Tuesday night. The Penguins again allowed the opposing team an early multi goal lead that the Pens had to claw their way back from, as the Rangers scored two unanswered goals in the first period. The Penguins had the answer, however, as Justin Schultz and Jared McCann scored in the 2nd period to even the score that would stand until the game went to overtime.

The Penguins controlled the puck in overtime for what seemed like forever with the same tired Rangers on the ice. However, one unforced turnover gave the Rangers the chance to get fresh legs on the ice, and a second turnover by the Pens sprung the Rangers with an odd man break going the other way, and Kaapo Kakko would deposit a perfect feed from Adam Fox into an empty net, Kakko’s second of the game, to give the Rangers the 3-2 overtime victory.

The Penguins then played the Devils in Newark on Thursday. For the umpteenth time, the Penguins allowed the other team to score the first several goals of the game as the Devils scored one in the first period and then another with less than five seconds remaining in the second period. The Penguins would get on the scoreboard 8 minutes into the third period when Jack Johnson hammered a shot past Mackenzie Blackwood, but Blackwood would stop all the other 38 Penguin shots he faced, giving the Devils the 2-1 victory in regulation.

Pittsburgh would then return home to take on Toronto on Saturday night. The Maple Leafs have been struggling mightily as of late, and for the first time in a long time, the Penguins jumped out to a large multi goal lead before conceding a goal. Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin scored in the first period and Dominik Kahun would score two early in the 2nd period as the Penguins dominated the Maple Leafs the entire game and would finish the game with a 6-1 final score to end the week on a positive note for the Penguins.

The Penguins dropped to fourth with an up and down week combined with a win streak from Carolina leaping over the Penguins in the Metro. The Penguins began action next week with a home and home against the New York Islanders beginning in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and then heading to Brooklyn on Thursday. The Penguins finish up the week with a quick rematch against the Devils back in Pittsburgh on Friday.

The Capitals have been the best team in the NHL this season, and last week was another good one from the Capitals’ perspective. They began last week at home against the Arizona Coyotes. The Capitals came out flat while the Coyotes took it to them and raced out to a 3-0 lead with two goals in the first minute of the 2nd period. Evgeny Kuznetsov started the comeback bid from the Caps midway through the 2nd period before adding another goal two minutes into the 3rd period to cut the lead to 3-2. T.J. Oshie would complete the comeback with his 9th goal of the year with just over a minute remaining to tie the game at three.

Both goalies turned aside the shots they saw in overtime and the game headed to a shootout. Oshie and Kuznetsov were turned aside by Antii Raanta and the Coyotes scored on both of their attempts, cutting the comeback just short for Washington and ending their six game win streak, but the Caps still came away with the loser point in the game after trailing 3-0.

The Capitals then took on the Flyers in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The Capitals got on the board in the first period and held the Flyers scoreless until Claude Giroux scored a power play goal with 13 minutes remaining in the game, and the game headed to overtime for the second time in a row for the Capitals.

Just like the Coyotes game, neither team would score in overtime and the game needed a shootout to break the deadlock. Oshie and Kuznetsov would both score in this shootout, and Holtby stopped two out of three Flyers shooters to give the Caps the hard fought 2-1 shootout victory.

The Capitals were looking to extend their point streak to 14 games when they returned home two nights later to play the Montreal Canadiens. Neither team scored in the first period, but the Canadiens exploded for four goals in the 2nd period. Alex Ovechkin and Kuznetsov scored in the 3rd period to cut the lead in half, but Tomas Tatar scored into an empty net to put the nail in the coffin for the Capitals 13 game point streak and giving Montreal the 5-2 victory.

The Caps were in Boston the next night in an early matchup of two of the top teams in the NHL. It was a back and forth game as the Bruins broke the ice first, but the Capitals answered minutes later. The Bruins added one more in the 2nd period and T.J. Oshie scored in the last minute of regulation to tie the game at two and force overtime for the third time this week for the Capitals.

And for the third time this week, neither team scored in overtime and the game would again head to a shootout. It took five rounds, and Jakub Vrana gave his team the advantage and Holtby stopped a Chris Wagner shot to secure the 3-2 shootout victory for the Capitals.

The Capitals remain in first place in the NHL and Metro, with a five point cushion of the rest of the league. The Caps return to action Monday night against the Anaheim Ducks before heading to the Big Apple to take on the Rangers on Wednesday Night Hockey before wrapping up the week against the Canucks on Saturday afternoon.

New York Islanders v Philadelphia Flyers

The Islanders only had two games on the schedule last week, but they made the most out of them. The Islanders wrapped up a four game home stand against Toronto on Wednesday night in Brooklyn. The Islanders entered the game with points in 12 straight games. The Isles got all the scoring in the first frame with two goals from Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier, but the Leafs answered with two straight goals to tie it in the 2nd period before Beauvillier added one more to give the Islanders the 3-2 lead after two periods.

Derick Brassard continued his comeback season with his sixth goal of the year and Casey Cizikas padded the lead to 5-2 with two and a half minutes remaining in the game. The Leafs went all out after that goal and managed to get two goals to make things very interesting in the end, but the Isles held off the Leafs rally to hold on to the 5-4 victory.

The Islanders were looking to make it 14 straight games with a point against the Flyers on Saturday. Things looked quite grim as it was all Flyers the first two periods as they raced out to the 3-0 lead after 40 minutes. But Beauvillier and Barzal would team up in the 3rd period with a goal from Barzal and two from Beauvillier to tie the game at three and force overtime. Neither team would score in the extra period and Jordan Eberle and Barzal each scored for the Islanders in the shootout while Thomas Greiss stopped both Flyer attempts to complete the comeback and make it 14 straight games without a loss in regulation for the Islanders.

The Islanders will look to make it 15 straight, but will have to face the team that ended their 10 game win streak when the Penguins and Islanders play a home and home starting in Pittsburgh on Tuesday before playing in Brooklyn on Thursday. The Islanders then began their California trip on Saturday night in San Jose.

The Canes rebounded quite nicely last week after their rough start to November. They began the week the same way they ended the previous week against the Senators, this time in Raleigh. The Hurricanes played one of their best games of the year against the Senators. They scored the first five goals of the game and continued scoring throughout the entire game, with Joel Edmundson’s first as a Hurricane wrapping up the scoring with two minutes left and the Hurricanes up 8-2, the most the Hurricanes have scored this season.

The Hurricanes then began a road trip through the midwest, starting in Buffalo on Thursday night. The game had many momentum shifts, as the Sabres got on the board first, but the Canes scored the next three goals before the Sabres scored two to tie the game at three with less than ten minutes remaining in the game. Andrei Svechnikov would put the Hurricanes ahead with four minutes remaining, but the Sabres would tie it with their goalie pulled and 40 seconds remaining, sending the game to overtime. Dougie Hamilton would then record his 9th goal of the season 2:28 into overtime to give the Hurricanes the 5-4 victory.

Carolina was then in Minnesota on Saturday looking to complete the undefeated week. Carolina scored the first two goals in the first period, but the Wild outscored the Canes 3-1 in the 2nd period to even the game out where it would stay until overtime. Andrei Svechnikov would give his team the victory with his 9th goal of the year 1:33 into overtime, completing the undefeated week for the Hurricanes and catapulting them back into the top three in the Metro.

Carolina will wrap up their three game road trip in Chicago on Tuesday night before returning home to face the Flyers on Thursday and Panthers at home on Saturday in the first of back-to-back with the Hurricanes traveling to Detroit next Sunday.

The roller coaster ride for the Flyers was approaching full speed heading into last week, and the Boston Bruins were first in line to end Philadelphia's win streak. It was the second of a back-to-back for the Flyers after taking on the Maple Leafs in Toronto the night before. The Flyers would get two goals in the first period and the Bruins would answer with two in the third to bring the game to overtime. Neither goalie would be tested much in overtime and the game needed a shootout to declare the winner. Carter Hart would stay strong and Joel Farabee scored the only goal in the shootout for the Flyers, giving them the 3-2 victory which was the fourth in a row for the Flyers.

The Capitals came to the City of Brotherly Love on Wednesday, with both teams on extended points streaks. The Caps got on the board early in the 1st period, and it took almost the entire game for the Flyers to get one past Braden Holtby on the power play in the 3rd period. That would be the end of scoring in regulation and OT as both goalies did their part to stop the other team. Claude Giroux scored in the shootout for the Flyers, but the Capitals scored two goals before Holtby shut the door on Sean Couturier to hand the Flyers their first loss in five games.

Philly then took off to Ottawa to play the Senators in the first of back-to-back. Tyler Pitlick scored his first goal for the Flyers two minutes into the game, but that would be all the scoring for the Flyers. Ottawa would chip in two goals in the 2nd period, and Anders NIlsson stopped 26/27 shots to hold off the Flyers by a 2-1 score in regulation, ending the Flyers five game point streak.

There was another point streak on the line the following night in Philadelphia as the Islanders brought their 13 game point streak to the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers scored 1:38 into the game and extended their lead to 3-0 midway through the 2nd period to lead 3-0 after two periods. However, the Islanders proved their 13 game point streak was no fluke as they scored three goals in the 3rd period to stun the Flyers and force overtime.

Neither team would score in the overtime, and the game headed to a shootout. The Islanders scored on their first two chances, and the Flyers were turned aside both times by Thomas Greiss as the Flyers fall in the shootout and complete their collapse.

Philadelphia picks things back up on the road against the Panthers on Tuesday before heading to Raleigh to take on the Hurricanes on Thursday. The Flyers wrap up the week on Saturday afternoon against the Calgary Flames.

It was a rough week for the Rangers defensively last week. They have a young defense and are in a rebuild phase as a franchise right now, and their weaknesses were exposed last week after surrendering 21 goals in four games. Their troubles began last Sunday when the Rangers hosted the Florida Panthers at MSG. Ryan Lindgren would score his first career NHL goal to get the scoring started, and it was quite an offensive display from both teams. The Panthers would score two goals 30 seconds apart late in the 1st period to give the Panthers the lead heading into the 2nd period.

The two teams would combine for six goals in the 2nd frame, with the Rangers scoring four of them to give them the 5-4 lead heading into the 3rd period. Unfortunately for the Rangers, the scoring dried up for them and Brian Boyle would get his third goal for the Panthers to tie the game at five where it would stay for the rest of regulation and overtime. Kaapo Kakko scored in the third round to even the score, but Vincent Trocheck would score on his chance in round to give the Panthers the come from behind 6-5 shootout victory.

The Rangers were then host to the Penguins in NYC on Tuesday night. Youngins Kaapo Kakko and Adam Fox would score goals in the 1st period but the Penguins would answer with two goals in the 2nd period and the game would remain tied at two until overtime. Kakko would then go on to record his first multi goal game on a great feed from Fox as the two teamed up to score the game winning goal in overtime for the Rangers first win of the week.

The Rangers then headed to the Sunshine State to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena on Thursday night. The Lightning were returning home for their first game back from Sweden last week, and the Lightning came out of the gates on fire. The Bolts scored four goals in the first 6:42, with the last three coming in a 61 second span. The Rangers still hadn’t even recorded a shot on goal at that point. Chris Kreider would score for the Rangers in the period to stop the bleeding, but the damage had already been done.

The Lightning continued their assault with four more goals in the 2nd period to give them an 8-1 lead after two periods. The Rangers showed some fight in the 3rd period, on the scoreboad and on the ice, but it was far too little, too late as the Lightning added one more on the power play, going 5/8 in the game, and bringing the final score to 9-3.

The Rangers and Panthers faced off for the second time last week at the BB&T Center on Saturday. The scoring picked up right where their last game ended with both teams scoring twice in the 1st period, including Artemi Panarin to extend his point streak to 11 games. The Rangers scored in the 2nd period to go ahead 3-2, but the Panthers answered with two in a row to go ahead 4-3. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 12 shots he faced in the 3rd period and the Panthers held on for the victory.

The Rangers will have three days off before playing the first place Washington Capitals at MSG on Wednesday night, which will be a nationally televised game. The Rangers then close out the week with a back-to-back on the road in Ottawa on Saturday and Montreal on Sunday.

New Jersey finally has something to be happy about after winning three out of their four games last week. The Devils began last week by wrapping up a game in Vancouver to complete a four game Canadian trip. Wayne Simmonds and Jesper Bratt would score goals 22 seconds apart in the 1st period for New Jersey, and the Canucks would only score one goal in the 2nd period as Mackenzie Blackwood turned aside 30 shots and put in one of his best performances of the season carrying the Devils to a much needed 2-1 victory to finish their extended road trip.

New Jersey would then return home to face the Ottawa Senators, who have surprisingly not been a train wreck this season. The Devils would get on the board twice in the first period, but it was all Ottawa in the third period - Jean-Gabriel Pageau in particular. Mark Borowiecki would tie the game at two with less than seven minutes before Pageau would get his second of the game to give Ottawa the 3-2 lead with two minutes left. He would add the hat trick goal into an empty net to seal the deal and give the Sens the 4-2 victory as the Devils fans witnessed another 3rd period collapse and boo’d their team off the ice once again at The Rock.

The Penguins were next in New Jersey on Friday night. Travis Zajac and Blake Coleman would score in the 1st and 2nd period giving the Devils a 2-0 lead heading into the 3rd period. Jack Johnson would score with 12 minutes left in the game, putting the home fans on edge as the Devils have been victimized in the 3rd period this year. However, Mackenzie Blackwood wouldn’t allow another shot past him and the Devils held off the Pens for another much needed 2-1 victory.

The Devils were in Montreal 24 hours later. The Canadiens would get on the board first and added a late goal in the 2nd period to go up 3-1 with the two man advantage and looked to be in firm control of the game at that point. However, Nico Hischier scored his first career short handed goal with only 1 second remaining in the period to cut the lead in half.

Wayne Simmonds scored his third goal in four games on the Devils power play with under five minutes remaining and the game would head to overtime. Montreal would get called for hooking 44 seconds into the extra period, and Kyle Palmieri made them pay on the power play 45 seconds later to give the Devils their third victory of the week, and moving them out of the basement in the Metro where they’ve been the entire season.

New Jersey has two days to rest before taking on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday in Newark. The Bruins have hit a bit of a rough patch but are still one of the elite teams in the NHL so far this season. The Devils have another two day break before heading to the 412 to take on the Penguins for consecutive Friday night games between the two teams. New Jersey then returns home on Saturday night to take on the Detroit Red Wings.

The Blue Jackets only had four possible points with two games this week, and Columbus did manage to gain three points but still fell to last place this week with the recent surge of the New Jersey Devils, although the Rangers, Devils and Jackets are tied in points. However, the tiebreaker has the Blue Jackets in last place in the Metro as of today’s recap.

Columbus kicked off last week wrapping up a three game road trip in Montreal on Tuesday night. Eric Robinson got a sweater for the first time this season, and he scored his first career NHL goal in the 1st period to get the scoring started in the game. Neither team would score again until the 3rd period when Montreal evened up the score 3:27 into the period. Zach Werenski scored his fifth goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining, but Montreal would answer just over a minute later with their goalie pulled to even the score and force overtime.

Columbus would get all the shots in overtime in large part to a penalty on Montreal in overtime, but the Blue Jackets failed to score with the man advantage and the game would head to a shootout. Jonathan Drouin would get the only goal of the skills display, and the Blue Jackets would end their road trip with a tough shootout loss.

The Jackets would return home two nights later to face the St. Louis Blues at Nationwide Arena. Blue Jackets defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov would score his first career goal to get the Blue Jackets on the board first, but the Blues would answer with less than a minute remaining in the 1st period to tie it at one. Brayden Schenn scored on the power play in the 2nd period and Pierre-Luc Dubois would even things again early into the 3rd period and the game would need extra time to declare the winner.

Columbus took a penalty early in overtime, but the Blue would then get called for too many men to cancel out the man advantage for the Blues. Zach Werenski would score on the ensuing power play for Columbus for the second straight game to give the Blue Jackets the 3-2 overtime victory.

The Blue Jackets continue their three game home stand on Tuesday against Montreal to begin this week. The Detroit Red Wings will then bring their club to Columbus to square off on Thursday night before the Jackets head to Winnipeg for a quick one game road trip on Saturday night to close out the week for the Blue Jackets.