Keeping up with the Metropolitans: Week 19

The Metro is still far ahead the best division in the NHL. Could the Blue Jackets be this years Blues? Find out how the Metro fared with this week’s recap here!

By t.cann112 Feb 9, 2020, 1:00pm EST

When the Penguins players first saw the schedule released, I’m guessing last week was one that stuck out to most of the players as they played the Capitals on the Super Bowl per usual but then got to travel to sunny Florida in February to play the Lightning and Panthers.

The Penguins and Capitals squared off on the Super Bowl for another chapter in their long history. Matt Murray got the start for the Penguins as a show of confidence from head coach Mike Sullivan. It was the Capitals that started the scoring, however, when they scored 10:38 into the 1st period. The Penguins answered just over a minute later by Sam Lafferty with his fifth of the season before Patric Hornqvist scored his 12th less than a minute later after that goal to put the Pens up 2-1 after the first period.

Dominik Simon scored his seventh goal this year 11:59 into the 2nd period to give the Penguins a 3-1 lead heading into the 3rd. The Capitals struck at the six minute mark but Brandon Tanev scored on a shot that got deflected and sailed past Ilya Samsonov in net for the Capitals to double the Penguins’ lead 4-2. But Lars Eller scored his second of the game only 15 seconds later to bring it back to within one.

Matt Murray then rewarded Sullivan’s decision to play him when he shut the door on the Capitals and the Penguins held on for the 4-3 regulation victory over the Metro leading Capitals.

The Penguins then took off to The Sunshine State to take on the red hot Lightning in Tampa on Thursday night. The Lightning got off to a great start with two goals in the first 12:55 but the Penguins played better in the 2nd period and were rewarded with their first goal by Evgeni Malkin as he crashed the net and a shot deflected off him and past Andrei Vasilevskiy in net. But the Lightning quickly answered that 30 seconds later to go back ahead by two goals.

John Marino scored his fifth goal of the year off a great feed from Malkin early in the 3rd period, but Marino suffered an ugly looking injury later in the 3rd period when a Steven Stamkos slap shot was deflected and made contact with his cheek bone and fractured it in three spots. As if that wasn’t bad enough for the Penguins, Nikita Kucherov scored an empty net goal with just over 30 seconds left to put the nail in the coffin as the Lightning took down the Pens 4-2 in Tampa.

The Penguins were in Sunrise two nights later and came out much stronger in this game. Kris Letang scored his 12th goal on a breakaway coming out of the box and Teddy Blueger scored his eighth goal to put the Penguins up 2-0 only 10 minutes into the 1st period. The Panthers would score late in the 1st period to bring it to 2-1 after 20 minutes.

Sidney Crosby scored his 10th goal this season on the power play 3:50 into the 2nd period but that was quickly answered by the Panthers a minute later to cut the lead to 3-2 after 40 minutes. Tristan Jarry played well in the 3rd period and turned aside all 11 shots he faced as the Panthers were tilting the ice in their direction as the Penguins were outshot 35-22 but held on for the 3-2 regulation victory to close out their week.

Pittsburgh returns to action this week at home with a rematch against the Lightning on Tuesday night and their only game this week will be on Friday night when Montreal comes to town.

The Capitals had three home games last week and they started out with one of the biggest games of the year for the NHL when the Penguins and Capitals met last Sunday afternoon. Lars Eller got the scoring started 10:38 into the 1st period, but it was the Penguins leading after 20 minutes with two goals in just under a minute to gain the lead.

The Penguins got the only goal in the 2nd and led 3-1 heading into the 3rd period. Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 18th goal six minutes into the 3rd to give the Capitals some life and all the momentum. That momentum came to a screeching halt when the Penguins scored a deflating goal but that was quickly answered only 15 seconds later to bring it back to 4-3. Despite a furious attempt to tie it again, the Capitals fell just short and lost 4-3 in regulation.

The Kings were in DC on Tuesday night. It was another milestone night for Ovechkin as he scored a third period hat trick to bring his goal total to 40 for the 11th time in his storied career. Those three goals also brought his goal total to 698 for his career.

Jeff Carter scored the only goal of the 1st period and John Carlson continued his incredible year with his 14th goal to tie the game at one in the 2nd period where it would stay until the 3rd when Jeff Carter scored his second of the game to put the Kings back ahead by a goal.

But then the Kings were hit with a thrashing via the stick of Ovechkin when he scored two goals in 1:10 to put the Capitals back ahead before adding another goal three minutes later to complete the hat trick and seal the deal for the Capitals as they held on for the 4-2 victory.

The Capitals closed out their week against the Flyers at Capital One Arena on Friday night. It seemed like a normal game for the Capitals after the 1st period as both teams traded power play goals and were tied at one after 20 minutes. But then the Capitals played possibly their worst two periods of the year.

The Flyers jumped out to a 4-1 lead after only 4:30 of the 2nd period with three goals in 1:45 to lead 4-1 after two periods. The Flyers then scored three more in the 3rd to lead 7-1 before Kuznetsov scored his 19th of the year to make it a 7-2 final score to close out the week with a disappointing loss for the Capitals who dropped two of three games to teams from Pennsylvania.

Washington resumes play this week with another matchup against Barry Trotz when the Caps host the Islanders on Monday night before hitting the road the remainder of the week. They’ll be in Denve on Thursday night and close out the week in Arizona on Saturday night.

NHL: Florida Panthers at Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets can seemingly do no wrong right now. The Blue Jackets were all but written off at the beginning of the year and when they lost Joonas Korpisalo to an injury around New Years, most people expected the Jackets to implode. Instead, Columbus has been almost unbeatable and impossible to score against since Elvis Merzlikins took over. Could they be this year’s St. Louis Blues? The script sure seems to be aligning.

The Blue Jackets began last week on the back end of a road back-to-back in Montreal after losing in Buffalo in overtime the night before. The offense came to life in this game and gave Merzlikins a little wiggle room for once. The Jackets scored once in the 1st period and added two goals from Pierre-Luc Dubois in the 2nd period to lead 3-1 after 40 minutes.

The Canadiens finally got another one past Merzlikins with less than five minutes in the 3rd to make it 3-2, but Gustav Nyquist scored his 12 of the season into an empty net with just under two minutes left to give the Jackets a two goal lead once more.

That goal was massive as the Habs pulled their goalie again but struck this time with just over a minute left and the score 4-3. Merzlikins and the Jackets stayed strong and held on for the 4-3 regulation victory and securing points in eight straight games.

Sergei Bobrovsky made another appearance in Columbus two nights later when he returned again to face the Jackets with the Panthers. Merzlikins probably went to bed that night feeling as confident in himself as ever as neither Bob or Elvis would allow a puck past them in regulation. Bob stopped 31 shots in regulation but he was outclassed at the other end by Elvis who stopped 43 shots in regulation.

Merzlikins stopped both shots he faced in the overtime but Bobrovsky was beaten on the only shot he faced by Zach Werenski and the Jackets came out on top of the goalie duel against one of their franchise’s greatest players.

The Blue Jackets faced off against a former bitter rival in Detroit on Friday night at Nationwide Arena. After facing so much rubber the game before, it must have been hard for Merzlikins to not fall asleep in this game as the Wings only managed 16 shots on goal and Merzlikins turned aside each of them for his second straight shutout and fifth in eight games which is simply incredible and the Jackets came away with a 2-0 victory.

The next night featured a team heading in a much different direction than Detroit when the high-flying Avalanche were at Nationwide on Saturday night. Seth Jones got the first goal of the game 9:30 into the 2nd period on the power play and Merzlikins was cruising along attempting his third straight shutout.

The Avs showed that they can win tight games, too, when Nazem Kadri and Nate MacKinnon combined for two goals in five minutes with the go ahead goal coming with just over four minutes remaining. The Blue Jackets offense couldn’t get the equalizer and Merzlikins’ eight game win streak was snapped as the Avs defeated the Jackets 2-1 in regulation.

The Blue Jackets will have a tough matchup to begin next week when the Lightning return to Columbus for the first time since being swept out of the first round last season. The Jackets then close out the week with a back-to-back in Buffalo on Thursday and back home against the Rangers on Friday night.

NHL: Los Angeles Kings at New York Islanders

The Islanders are still chugging along, but the results haven’t been as impressive for Barry Trotz and his crew. The Islanders are hanging in still and are only point behind the red hot Blue Jackets for third in the Metro and a guaranteed playoff position. The Islanders had a winning week last week, but not the way that Trotz would like to see his team play.

The Isles hosted the Stars on Tuesday night to begin their week. It was a very entertaining game that saw many different swings in momentum as both teams scored one goal in each period with Mathew Barzal scoring the tying goal on the power play with just under four minutes left to force overtime. Anthony Beavillier is having another solid under-the-radar season and he scored his 15th goal, and second of the game, in overtime to give the Islanders the 4-3 win after he opened the scoring 1:30 into the 1st period.

The Los Angeles Kings were next at Barclays Center two days later. The Kings were the better team for the first half of the game as they scored the only two goals in the 1st period and went up 3-1 seven minutes into the 2nd period before the Islanders flipped the script.

Rookie Kieffer Bellows scored his first career goal just past the midway point in the 2nd period to make it 3-2 in favor of the Kings heading into the 3rd period. Matt Martin scored 23 seconds into the 3rd to tie it and Bellows scored his second career goal in his second career game to put the Islanders on top 4-3 and that was the difference in the game as Anders Lee scored into an empty net to give the Islanders a 5-3 victory and points in five straight games.

New York then hit the road to Tampa for a quick two game road trip against the Lightning on Saturday and the Capitals on Monday night. The Lightning have been on a roll since Christmas and the Islanders were just the latest victim to Andrei Vasilevskiy’s string of dominance lately. The Lightning scored 14 seconds into the 2nd period to open the scoring and added another goal six minutes into the 3rd period before Derick Brassard scored his 10th goal of the season on the power play to cut the lead in half.

The Islanders did their best to make the most of the few chances they were given, but the Islanders only managed 18 shots on goal and Vasilevskiy stopped 17 of them and the Lightning added an empty net goal to hang on for the 3-1 victory. That victory improved Vasilevskiy’s record to 16-0-2 in his last 18 starts.

The Isles return to action on Monday night in DC before returning home the following night to face off against the Flyers on Tuesday. They’ll immediately head back on the road for a trip out west against Nashville on Thursday and Vegas on Saturday night.

Carolina Hurricanes v Vegas Golden Knights

The Hurricanes logged a ton of miles in their four games last week going from Raleigh to Las Vegas with stops in St. Louis and Arizona along the way. They began against the Canucks last Sunday with the Canucks looking for their sixth win a row.

The Hurricanes denied the Canucks that victory, but it wasn’t easy. Vancouver scored the only goal of the 1st period but the Canes struck twice in the first five minutes of the 2nd to lead 2-1. The Canucks would even the game again at two with five minutes left in the period where it would stay until the 3rd.

Andrei Svechnikov got his 20th goal of the season to put the Canes ahead early in the 3rd, but Elias Pettersson scored his second of the game for Vancouver to once again tie it where it would remain until a shootout took place. Pettersson scored for the Canucks, but the Canes would strike twice and come out on top with a 4-3 shootout victory to head off on a long road trip.

Carolina was in St. Louis two days later and this game was not good to the Canes. It didn’t start off terribly, but the Blues scored the only goal of the 1st period only 2:44 in. The floodgates opened in the 2nd period, however, as the Blues scored four goals sandwiched around a Sebastian Aho goal and then added another in the 3rd period before the Hurricanes added two late goals to make it a much closer 6-3 final score.

Svechnikov and Aho continued to do their heavy lifting two days later in Arizona. They each scored two goals and added an assist to defeat the Coyotes 5-3 as the Coyotes continue their free fall and dropped to 2-6-3 in their last 11 games after this loss to Carolina.

The Hurricanes closed out last week in Las Vegas on Saturday night. The Golden Knights looked to be in control heading into the 3rd period with a 3-1 lead, but the Canes had different plans. Aho scored his 30th goal 1:19 in but that was quickly answered by Vegas to go back ahead 4-2 via a shorthanded goal.

But fortunately for Carolina, it was a double minor and the Canes struck on the second half of the penalty to bring it to within one goal when Erik Haula scored one past his former team. Haydn Fleury and Martin Necas teamed up with two goals in three minutes as the Canes completed the comeback and found themselves ahead with a four goal explosion in the 3rd period to lead 5-4 with just over six minutes left in the game.

The Golden Knights then performed their own comeback and tied the game at five a few minutes later and the two teams traded chances the rest of the way but neither team would break the tie until Svechnikov scored the only goal of the shooutout as the Canes came away victorious with a come from behind 6-5 shootout win.

Carolina has a short week with only two games when they wrap up the road trip in Dallas on Tuesday night and return home to face the Devils on Friday night.

Philadelphia Flyers v Washington Capitals

The Flyers are currently sixth in the Metro, but are only two points away from third place. It was another week in Flyers history that had amazing highs and lows all within days of each other. It always seems like the roller coaster metaphor is the perfect comparison for the Flyers, and it works again to describe last week for Philadelphia.

It started off with one of their easiest wins of the year against a lifeless Red Wings team. The Wings were coming off a shutout their game before and only managed 16 shots on goal, which were all turned aside with relative ease from Brian Elliott.

Scott Laughton scored 9:21 into the 2nd period and the Flyers scored two short handed goals in the 3rd period to completely run away with this one as the Flyers knocked down the Wings 3-0 to begin their week.

Playing the Wings apparently takes it toll on you as the Flyers came out as the lifeless team two nights later in Philadelphia against the Metro’s worst Devils. It wasn’t due to lack of effort as the Flyers fired off 46 shots, but the execution was severely lacking as the Flyers were shutout and allowed five Devils goals on only 19 shots for New Jersey. This game was over 13 seconds in when the Devils scored and they didn’t stop until the game was far out of reach and the Flyers sent their fans home with one of the most disappointing losses at home this year.

They rebounded in a big way two days later against the Metro’s best Capitals. Sean Couturier and T.J. Oshie traded power play goals in the 1st period before the Flyers completely ran away with the game.

Michael Raffl, Couturier and James van Riemsdyk scored three goals in 1:45 early in the 2nd period and Nicolas Aube-Kubel, Travis Konecny and Claude Giroux scored three more in a five minute span in the 3rd period to decimate the Capitals and their home fans and deny Ovechkin his attempt at 700 goals for at least one more game. The Capitals would score a garbage goal later in the 3rd but the damage was already done and the Flyers came away with a 7-2 smack down over the Capitals.

The Flyers play four games this week and they’re all tough matches. They begin a back-to-back at home against the Panthers on Monday and will be in Brooklyn the following night to play the Islanders. The Panthers will then host the Flyers on Thursday in Sunrise before the Flyers are in Tampa on Saturday afternoon to take on the Lightning to close out their week.

The Rangers had three games this week and they all took place in the confines of Madison Square Garden. Dallas was first on Monday night and this game was quite the show.

Pavel Buchnevich got the party started for the Rangers on the power play 2:29 into the 1st but that was answered with two power play goals from Joe Pavelski in a 16 second span later in the 1st after the Rangers challenged his 1st goal and were unsuccessful and watched as he struck again only 16 seconds later. Brett Howden scored his seventh of the year, the fourth power play goal of the 1st period, as the teams combined for four power play goals on four power play chances in the first 20 minutes.

The 2nd period saw just as many penalties, but none that resulted in an power play goals. The Stars would strike twice, however, including western PA native Stephen John’s first goal in two years as he recovered from a head injury.

Dallas scored their third straight goal five minutes into the 3rd to lead 5-2 and the Rangers did not have enough left in the tank despite a power play goal from Brendan Lemieux with plenty of time left to make it interesting and the Rangers fell 5-3 to begin last week.

Toronto was next in another classic matchup between the two legendary teams. This game turned into another thriller. John Tavares scored to open the scoring for Toronto, but the Rangers ripped off three goals in the 1st period including two goals in eight seconds from Mika ZIbanejad and Chris Kreider to lead 3-1 after 20 minutes.

Auston Matthews cut the lead to 3-2 in the 2nd period but Pavel Buchnevich would get that goal back 34 seconds later and the Rangers led 4-2 going into the 3rd period. Auston Matthews once again made it a one goal game with his 39th goal of the year but Greg McKegg scored the dagger for the Rangers into an empty net as a fight broke out and the Rangers held on for an intense 5-3 win in front of their home fans.

The cross-state rivals closed out the week for the Rangers on Friday night and this game was a much tighter game defensively than the last two. The Sabres scored one goal int he 1st period, one in the 2nd and the first goal in the 3rd period 11:56 in before the Rangers would finally get one on the board from Zibanejad with just under three minutes left in the game. Chris Kreider scored on the power play just over a minute later to bring the remaining fans to the edge of their seats as the Rangers suddenly had a prayer.

But Carter Hutton denied those prayers as he stopped 21/23 Ranger shots in the 3rd period and the Sabres held on desperately but came away with the 3-2 victory in regulation.

The Rangers have a busy week this week starting this evening when the Kings and Rangers meet to wrap up the Rangers’ four game home stand. The Rangers will then have a rough stretch that will see them go from Winnipeg to Minnesota and Columbus in a four day span on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. That’s one way to get good use of a three goalie rotation at least.

The New Jersey Devils are still showing signs of progress the last several weeks and now have points in every game since the All-Star break, going 3-0-3, which is a vast improvement from the way the season was going for New Jersey the first half of the year. Mackenzie Blackwood is keeping them in games in net and he had a big week last week.

New Jersey began at home against Montreal last Tuesday night. Miles Wood opened the scoring with the only goal in the 1st period before the Devils added two more in the first seven minutes of the 2nd period with goals from Kyle Palmieri and Jesper Bratt.

But the Canadiens would show that despite the Devils uptick in play recently, they’re still last in the Metro for a reason as Montreal scored a shorthanded goal midway through the 2nd period for their first goal of the game and then kept scoring with four straight goals to lead 4-3 with just over 10 minutes left.

Kyle Palmieri would be the hero when he scored his second of the game on the power play with their net empty to tie the game at four with only 20 seconds remaining in the 3rd period.

Neither team scored in the overtime and none other than the former Devil who defected back to Russia who came back to haunt the Devils when Ilya Kovalchuk scored the only goal of the shootout and his Canadiens came away with the 5-4 shootout victory.

Mackenzie Blackwood had quite a game when the Flyers hosted the Devils on Thursday night. He stood on his head and stopped 46 shots, including 17 in the 2nd and 20 in the 3rd, as he threw up a blank sheet against the Flyers.

The Devils offense had their way with the Flyers as New Jersey completely dominated the scoreboard despite being outshot 46-19. Blake Coleman padded his trade value with his 20th goal this season only 13 seconds into the game that turned out to be the game winner. Damon Severson scored on the power play in the 2nd period and Pavel Zacha scored a shorthanded goal 70 seconds into the 3rd to put the game out of reach despite the Flyers dominating play. Miles Wood added two more insurance goals and the Devils came away with the 5-0 beat down in Philly.

Blackwood had so much fun stopping the puck against the Flyers that he stopped 37 more against the Kings two nights later for his second straight shutout. New Jersey had to work much more for this game but the Devils tilted the ice in the 2nd and scored three goals in a five minute span from Nikita Gusev, Blake Coleman and Kyle Palmieri which would be all the scoring they needed and the Devils won 3-0 and stretched their point streak to six games.

The Devils have two days off but remain at home when they battle the Panthers on Tuesday and then the bottom feeding Red Wings on Thursday before immediately hitting the road for a back-to-back in Raleigh on Friday night to wrap up the week for New Jersey.