In the fourteenth weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot, the division had a combined four regulation losses. The Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Islanders even got hot. All this and more in this week’s snapshot.
We are now went past the midpoint of the 2024-25 NHL regular season for most of the league. The New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins hit the midpoint about a week ago, they were exceptions. Even so, the middle of January shows that there is enough hockey left for those near the bottom to still have some hope for their season. There is more than enough for the teams already at the top to sort things out. There is also more than enough reason for almost the entire division to feel good. The eight teams combined for just four regulation losses last week. Sorry, Philadelphia Flyers.
NHL.com
This coming week is heavy for three days: Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Saturday in particular will be a big night for the division as there are three games within the division alone. Such games are highlighted in bold as is tradition:
Schedules via NHL.com
Here is the week that was and week that will be for all eight teams.
Washington Capitals
What Happened Last Week: The Washington Capitals opened the week in Buffalo. This was not as easy as it would have looked on paper. Alex Tuch saw to that with a tip-in goal early on. The Caps responded with a power play goal from Tom Wilson to tie it up. But the score held. In the second period, Tuch scored again to make it 2-1. It took over ten minutes but the Caps did tie that up with another goal from Wilson. Only this time, Buffalo responded to that. Shortly after Wilson’s goal, Dylan Strom took a roughing penalty and Tage Thompson punished it to make it 3-2. The score held until the third period and the doubt was setting in. Could the Caps lose to Buffalo in regulation? Fortunately for Washington, Aliaksei Protas was in a position to tip-in a John Carlson shot. He did to tie it up with less than five minutes left. The game was forced into overtime where nothing was solved. A shootout was needed. After the first three rounds, John-Jason Peterka put Buffalo up and Jakob Chychrun was denied. Yes, the Capitals lost 4-3 through a shootout to Buffalo. Yes, they got a point but they lost in a shootout to Buffalo. Oof.
Washington returned home to host Vancouver on Wednesday night. This was a tough one for the Capitals, who mustered a mere 18 shots in this one. They would get the game’s first goal. Late in the period, Pierre-Luc Dubois beat Kevin Lankinen with a backhander to make it 1-0. Late in the second period, Vancouver got an equalizer. A hooking call on Jakob Chychrun was punished by Conor Garland for a PPG and a 1-1 game. The Canucks put up 21 shots in the second period alone. The two teams combined for eight in the third. Logan Thompson had to hold it down and he did. Overtime was needed. This time, though, Washington would avoid the shootout. Dubois would get a killer pass from Protas to be one-on-one with Lankinen. He beat him high for a 2-1 OT win. It was not pretty but a win is a win.
In one of the two Friday night games within the division, the Capitals hosted Montreal. The Capitals came out and, well not attacked very much. They did score first. Jakob Chychryn punished a Michael Pezzetta tripping call early in the first to go up 1-0. Then the Capitals would take fewer than 10 shots until the third period. Montreal got back into the game. Cole Caufield tied it up in the second period. While Kirby Dach tripped Tom Wilson past midway through the second, the situation yielded a shorthanded breakaway goal for Josh Anderson to put Montreal up 2-1. Washington woke up a bit more for the third. Lars Eller tied it up early. But the score held at 2-2. In overtime, the Caps had a 2-on-1 rush but the trailing leg of Lane Hutson denied the pass. Montreal responded with its own 2-on-1 where Nick Suzuki’s pass was blocked but he got a second chance so he chipped the puck in past Logan Thompson. The Capitals got a point in a 17-shot affair in a 3-2 overtime loss to Montreal.
Washington’s busy week ended in Nashville. They came out cold once more. Thompson had to be in form early as the Caps were outshot in each period. After a scoreless first period and about nine minutes in, Tom Wilson scored a power play goal on the Capitals’ first shot of the second period. Harsh. Nashville would tie it up later in the second period. Filip Forsberg punished a Taylor Raddysh holding call to make it 1-1. But the Caps managed to ull it out in the third period. Ethen Frank got behind the defense and scored his first NHL goal on Washington’s 11th shot of the game in the third period. With over five minutes left, Andrew Mangiapane provided an insurance goal. Alex Ovechkin blocked a puck and then sailed in an empty net goal to secure a 4-1 win despite a 16-shot performance. Nashville fans were probably gnashing their teeth at Thompson goalie’ing them. The Caps fans will be happy with the wins despite the performances and dropping a win to Buffalo. The team went 2-0-2 to further lock up first place.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Capitals will get a lighter week with two days off before three games in five nights. They will host Anaheim on Tuesday in a game they probably should do well in. A trip to Ottawa on Thursday night could be trickier given whatever form the Senators show that evening. On Saturday, Washington will host Pittsburgh in a game that could impact both ends of the division.
New Jersey Devils
What Happened Last Week: The New Jersey Devils limped into Seattle on Monday night with a four-game losing streak. They left Seattle with a victory. The game was an up-tempo affair with the teams trading rushes. The Devils broke through first when Dawson Mercer picked up a loose puck in front of Phillip Grubauer and rounded him. Seattle responded later when Adam Larsson beat Jacob Markstrom through a screen. In the second period, the Devils gave the Kraken a late goal when Paul Cotter took a puck off the endboards and slid it in five-hole for a 2-1 lead right before intermission. Seattle would tie it up early in the third with a power play goal by Shane Wright. Only for Ondrej Palat to finish Jack Hughes’ pass less than a minute later to make it 3-2. From then on (and before then too), Markstrom was in form. He made at least two save of the year candidates in this game alone to maintain the lead. Which he did and the Devils won 3-2. Not pretty but anything to get a win.
New Jersey ended their six-game trip in Manhattan on Thursday night. This would be a tough one given the Devils’ recent slumping ways and the Rangers, well, everything. After failing to beat Igor Shesterkin early on, it took just four seconds for Adam Fox to punish a Kurtis MacDermid penalty for the game’s first goal. Fortunately for the Devils, they got back into the game in the second period. Jack Hughes tipped in a Brett Pesce goal to tie it up. Minutes later, Jesper Bratt torched Shesterkin shortside for a 2-1 lead. Alas, a Nico Hischier penalty was called late in the second. A big rebound to Artemi Panarin was enough to punish the call and the score was 2-2. The Devils came out flat for the first ten minutes of the third period, survived, and dragged the game into overtime. There, a bad giveaway by Jack Hughes led a two-on-one finished by Sam Carrick. The Devils lost to their hated rivals, 3-2. The slump was not quite so over.
The Devils returned home to the Rock for their first home game of 2024 on Saturday night. They hosted Tampa Bay, a team who has bodied them in their previous two meetings. The Devils started off well and were rewarded for it when Ondrej Palat tipped in a long shot by Dougie Hamilton for the game’s first goal. Unfortunately, the Lightning answered back shortly thereafter. An icing by the Devils led to Nick Paul winning a faceoff that led to Victor Hedman firing a shot that found its way in through traffic. The Devils did well to keep the Lightning in check compared with their post-Christmas defensive efforts in the second period. They were rewarded when Jack Hughes fired a shot that the Lightning partially blocked that entirely went past Andrei Vasilevskiy for a 2-1 lead. The Devils played with fire with two penalties in a row and Jacob Markstrom robbed Brayden Point on the goalline for what should have been an equalizer. But the Devils’ offense died in the third period and the Lightning would get that equalizer. An official blocking a zone entry led to Brandon Hagel to firing up a pass to Nikita Kucherov for a breakaway goal. The score held for overtime. The Devils handled the puck better and Paul tripped Hughes. On the resulting 4-on-3 power play, the one bad pass attempt by Jack Hughes (a seam pass through the penalty killers) was blocked and the puck dropped to Stefan Noesen. Noesen hammered the loose puck past Vasilevskiy for a power play goal, his first goal since December 23, and a 3-2 overtime win. The Devils may not be entirely out of their slump, so going 2-0-1 and staying in second place is a really good result.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Devils have a tough stretch of games coming up in this week. They will get two needed days off before they host Florida on Tuesday. While the Devils beat them twice back in November, sweeping Florida in the season series would be a tall task indeed. On Thursday, the Devils head up to Toronto for their final season game against the Leafs. The Devils are still searching for a win against them. Saturday afternoon will featured the Devils’ first game against Philadelphia this season to start a weekend back-to-back. The Flyers are pushovers to no one so it will not be a simple matchup. If the Devils want to fully end their slump, getting some results in this week will get them there.
Carolina Hurricanes
What Happened Last Week: Carolina hosted Pittsburgh on Sunday to begin their week. The start did not go so well. They conceded two goals within the first six minutes, one each to Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting. The Hurricanes needed a period to sort it out. They did so in the second period. They owned the shot count. They controlled play. They got a brace from Seth Jarvis that sandwiched a Jalen Chatfield goal to make it 3-2 going into the third period. Only for the Canes to blow that early in the third due to a one-timer from Erik Karlsson. The game was dragged into overtime. Fortunately for the Canes, Sebastian Aho set up Dmitry Orlov for a shot. Alex Nedeljkovic stopped that but Aho jumped on the rebound to hammer it in for the 4-3 win. Another fine result even if they conceded a point in the process.
On Tuesday, the Hurricanes visited Tampa Bay. This was a game that had a lot going on in it and someone just had to lose. And that would be Carolina. Brandon Hagel opened the scoring late in the first period to put the Canes down one. Andrei Svechnikov tied it up in the second period. Only for a Brent Burns hooking penalty to be punished by Nick Paul. That put Carolina back down a goal in the second. Just before midway through the third, Jordan Staal scored an equalizer. It seemed like overtime was going to happen. Then, with 52 seconds left in regulation, Tampa Bay took the points thanks to Brayden Point burying a turnaround shot from the slot. The Hurricanes lost 3-2 to their former Southeast Division rivals.
The Hurricanes began a back-to-back set at home on Thursday night against Toronto. It first appeared to be a decisive start for Toronto. Nick Robertson scored early and William Nylander put the Canes down 2-0 before eight minutes into the game. The Canes just went to work. Eric Robinson got the Canes on the board and Jordan Staal scored on the next shift to tie it up. Early in the second period, Brent Burns high-sticked Matthew Knies. This first led to a shorthanded goal for Staal to put Carolina up 3-2. Matthews would convert the power play to punish Burns’ crime for a 3-3 score. Over three minutes after that goal, Jackson Blake put the Canes back up one. In the third period, Staal tipped in a Burns shot 20 seconds into the period for a 5-3 lead and to complete his hat trick. The Leafs tried to rally but they failed. Seth Jarvis ended the game with an empty net goal for a 6-3 win.
Carolina finished up that set on Friday night against Vancouver. The game was light on shots with the two teams combining for 34 shots. To be fair, Vancouver were blocked 30 times and missed the net 20 times whereas the Hurricanes were stuffed 14 times and missed the target 18 times. It was not a night of accuracy. Or many goals. Jordan Staal continued his form with a first period goal to put the Canes up. Andrei Svechnikov added a second goal early in the second period. That would be enough for the win. Dustin Tokarski stopped all 14 shots that he actually saw. The Hurricanes won 2-0. They went 3-1-0 in the week and remain breathing down the Devils’ necks in third place. They are also probably annoyed at the Lightning, whom beat the Canes on Tuesday and conceded a point to the Devils that secured this positioning for the snapshot. Onwards and upwards, Carolina.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Hurricanes will get three games coming up. First, they have one of the few games on Sunday as they host Anaheim. On Wednesday, the Hurricanes will visit Buffalo and hope to avoid falling into that potential trap game. Carolina’s final game of the week will be much tougher on paper. Carolina will be at home to take on a potential contender in the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The Canes are playing as expected so expect more results out of this week.
Columbus Blue Jackets
What Happened Last Week: Columbus opened their week on Tuesday when they visited Pittsburgh. They got off to a good start. Karlsson took an interference call and Dmitri Voronkov cashed in early with a power play goal for a 1-0 lead for Columbus. Alas, Voronkov took a hooking call in the final minute of the first period. The carried over power play was punished by Michael Bunting for 1-1. The third period seemingly saw Pittsburgh take the game away from the Jackets. Rickard Rakell scored a brace to put the Pens up 3-1 with less than ten minutes remaining in regulation. Once again, Columbus’ offense emerged. Voronkov put the Jackets within a goal. Then Blake Lizotte got caught slashing Zach Werenski. Adam Fantilli one-touched a shot-pass by Kent Johnson to tie it up to punish that penalty. Overtime was needed – and it did not solve anything. In the shootout, Columbus 2-0’ed Pittsburgh with goals by Johnson and Kirill Marchenko. This meant the Blue Jackets won 4-3 through a shootout. Not great to give up a point to Pittsburgh but two is always better than one.
On Thursday, the Blue Jackets returned to Ohio to host Seattle. The first period was even. Sean Kuraly opened the scoring with a tip in of an Ivan Provorov shot. Eeli Tolvanen tied it up ten seconds later. All even. Then Columbus blew up the game in the second period. Luca Del Bel Belluz scored his first NHL goal to make it 2-1 early in the second. Zach Werenski made it 3-1 past the halfway mark. Denton Mateychuk scored his first NHL goal to make it 4-1 minutes later. Kent Johnson made it 5-1 with just over four minutes left in the second. Grubauer was yanked for Joey Daccord. From then on, Columbus just cruised. Tolvanen added a consolation goal in the third period. Seattle pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, I guess, to prove a point. It yielded an empty net goal for Marchenko. Columbus won big, 6-2, to win another week and keep pacing their end of the division.
The Blue Jackets ended their week in St. Louis on Saturday. They beat them last Saturday. Columbus did it again, although it was a tighter affair in St. Louis last night. They needed a great performance from the greatly named Jet Greaves. He donned the armor of goaltending and prevailed. It also helped that he had a lead to work with. Adam Fantilli scored in the first period to put the Jackets up. Cole Sillinger made it 2-0 on a power play goal in the second period to punish Oskar Sundqvist’s holding call. They knew the third period would be one to survive. They were out-shot 15-4. They took two penalties, including a late one. Greaves held up well. The only blemish was that last-minute power play goal allowed to Colton Parayko. The Blue Jackets defended the remaining 12 seconds to win 2-1. Columbus won their fourth straight game with that win. They swept their week. They cemented their spot in fourth place a bit more. They even took a wild card spot in the East for the time being. It was a very good week for the Blue Jackets.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Blue Jackets will have three more games coming up. They would do well to do well this week as success in these games will help them tremendously within the division. First up is a Tuesday night game with Philadelphia. That will directly impact the wild card race within the division. On Thursday, the Blue Jackets will host San Jose. The goal there is not fall apart and get a result. They have a big game in Manhattan on Saturday against the Rangers. That is another opportunity for Columbus to hurt someone directly in the division by helping their own cause. Onward, Blue Jackets.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What Happened Last Week: The Pittsburgh Penguins opened this past week on Sunday in Raleigh as they played the Hurricanes. The Penguins struggled at times to attack as they ended the game with just 19 shots on net. Fortunately for them, they got some goals out of their shots. They went up 2-0 early in the first period with one each from Kevin Hayes and Michael Bunting. The game got away from the Pens in the second period as they conceded three to the Hurricane attack. Seth Jarvis, Jalen Chatfield, and Jarvis again scored amid the 14 shots the Canes put up in the period. The Penguins needed one to go in to tie. They got it less than two minutes into the third period thanks to Erik Karlsson. Overtime was necessary to decide this one. It ended when Sebastian Aho pounced on a rebound to beat Alex Nedeljkovic. The Pens got a point in a 4-3 loss.
The Penguins then returned home for Tuesday to host Columbus. This got off to a poor start. Erik Karlsson took an early penalty and Dmitri Voronkov punished it for a 1-0 deficit. Fortunately for the Pens, Voronkov took a call late in the first period. The carried over power play was converted by Michael Bunting in the second period to tie it up. In the third period, it seemed like Rickard Rakell would be the hero. He broke the 1-1 tie just 24 seconds into the final frame. He made it 3-1 with less than ten minutes left in regulation. Alas, the Penguins blew that lead. Voronkov scored to make it a one-shot game. Blake Lizotte took a costly slashing penalty with less than four minutes left. The resulting power play ended with Adam Fantilli re-directed a shot-pass by Kent Johnson past Tristan Jarry for a 3-3 score. Overtime solved nothing and the shootout went poorly for the Pens. No Penguin scored. Johnson and Kirill Marchenko did for Columbus. The Penguins lost 4-3 through a shootout. Yes, they got a point, but they needed to swing the points by winning in regulation. They were less than ten minutes away from that and they failed there.
Pittsburgh hosted Edmonton on Thursday night. The Pens faced the rubber as the Oilers put up 43 shots on net. Which was a result of the Penguins running away with the game in the first period. Within the first ten minutes alone, Rickard Rakell, Bryan Rust, and Kevin Hayes each scored to put the Oil down three. Leon Draisaitl got the visitors on the board, only for Drew O’Connor to answer that about a minute later for a 4-1 lead. Pittsburgh just had to not crumble. Something aided when Sidney Crosby scored a power play goal in the second period to punish a Vasily Podkolzin tripping penalty. Edmonton would make the score respectable amid their flurry of shots. Draisaitl made it 5-2 past halfway through the second period. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins punished a late period penalty on Rust to make it 5-3. However, the Penguins shut it down for the third period. No one scored and that meant the Penguins won in regulation. Congratulations to Crosby for surpassing Joe Sakic for ninth place in all-time points in the process of this victory.
On Saturday, the Penguins’ busy week ended with a home game against Ottawa. They got pasted. Whacked. Rolled over. Ran through. Tyler Kleven scored early to put the Penguins down. The Penguins challenged the goal and lost. Shane Pinto punished Mike Sullivan’s decision with a PPG. Then the game got ugly with fights and calls. A Nick Cousins boarding call late in the period did give Pittsburgh a chance to get back into the game. It yielded a shorthanded goal for Pinto. The Penguins, down three, ended the first period with Sidney Crosby taking a slashing call. Yes, even Crosby took an undisciplined penalty. Ottawa punished that in the second period thanks to Drake Batherson. Tim Stutzle made it 5-0 later on as the game settled down. The Penguins had nothing in response. They could not beat Leevi Merilainen, whom earned his first NHL shutout. They can only claim that they denied a hat trick to Shane Pinto. An ugly loss ended a 1-1-2 week. The Penguins remain in fifth but their position is now less secure with the two New York teams getting hot. Not to mention Columbus getting hot.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Penguins’ grind will continue. That game against Ottawa is followed up with a home game against a mighty Tampa Bay team today. Yes, a weekend back-to-back starts it off for the Pens. The Penguins will host Seattle on Tuesday before getting some days off. Which is followed by a road back-to-back; Friday in Buffalo and a potentially tough and meaningful one on Saturday in Washington D.C. Sort it out soon, Penguins. You may be falling back real soon at this rate.
New York Rangers
What Happened Last Week: The New York Rangers opened their week with a road game in Chicago. The Rangers showed that this would not be a close one and it was not. Well, after the first period at least. Tyler Bertuzzi did score first, but the Rangers answered back late in the first with goals from Jonny Brodzinski and Will Borgen. In the second period, Filip Chytil made it 3-1 early, Reilly Smith made it 4-1 by the halfway mark, and Vincent Trocheck tipped in an Artemi Panarin shot for 5-1 with less than five minutes left. The blowout was on and only spoiled slightly by a Wyatt Kaiser goal late in the second period. A second Chytil goal, a deflection, added to the rout for what would be a 6-2 victory. Something to build on.
On Tuesday, the Rangers hosted Dallas. The Rangers seemed to own this one early on. Alexis Lafreniere scored two goals with Vincent Trocheck tipping in a Will Borgen shot in between for a 3-0 lead in the first period. What was the score by the end of the first? 3-2. Matt Duchene and a PPG from Evgeny Dadonov pulled the Stars back within one. One that they would get in the second period from Jason Robertson. The lead was blown but maybe the Rangers could restore it? Which they did with a PPG tip-in by Trocheck to make it 4-3 with over seven minutes left. Thomas Harley took the penalty that led to that power play. He redeemed himself when he finished a forecheck-created feed by Sam Steel with less than three minutes left. 4-4 and the Rangers were at risk of blowing it in overtime. Which they did. Artemi Panarin hooked Wyatt Johnston 25 seconds into the fourth period and just before the power play ended, Jamie Benn converted it. The Rangers lost 5-4. Not exactly building something even with a point.
Thursday night saw a rivalry rekindled as the New Jersey Devils visited Madison Square Garden. The Rangers got Igor Shesterkin back. As well as Matt Rempe. But not Filip Chytil. They were tested early on but Shesterkin and the crossbar was strong. A penalty by Kurtis MacDermid was quickly punished by Adam Fox for the Rangers to go up 1-0 in the first period. This would not last. Jack Hughes tied up the game in the second period with a tip-in of a Brett Pesce shot. Minutes later, Jesper Bratt torched Shesterkin shortside to put the Rangers down a goal. They would get a chance to tie it up late after a Nico Hischier slashing call. Jacob Markstrom stopped a Mika Zibanejad shot but the rebound careened out to Artemi Panarin. He put it back for the PPG and the 2-2 game. The Rangers did everything but score in the third period but overtime was necessary for this one. There, they took advantage of some bad puck possession. One final turnover from Jack Hughes yielded a two-on-one rush to Reilly Smith. Pass to Sam Carrick and he scored for the 3-2 overtime win. The Rangers won the week with five points at this point. Could they make a statement to move up further?
The week ended for the Rangers with a Saturday game in Las Vegas, a difficult place to play in. They made a statement by pulling out a victory. It was a goalie duel with Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Samsonov keeping the score down. A pair of PPGs in the second period did little to open the game up. Mark Stone converted one to punish a Vincent Trocheck stick-hold. Minutes later, Keegan Kolesar took Las Vegas’ only call of the game. Trocheck redeemed his penalty by punishing that for 1-1. The breakthrough came early in the third period. Adam Edstrom re-directed a Jon Brodzinski feed in for a 2-1 lead. With two big penalty kills and Shesterkin, the Rangers held on to win in the Golden Knights’ building. The Rangers ended their week at 3-0-1, easily their best in a long time. They move up to sixth pace in the division for their efforts.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Rangers will be out West for two of their three games in this week. The Rangers will visit a talented and hungry Colorado team on Tuesday night. They will visit Utah for the first time on Thursday, which will be a new experience. The Rangers will then come home for Saturday for a big game against Columbus. If the Rangers want to get back into the playoff picture, they need to go on a run. Easier said than done given how this season has gone. But they are in the form to do something.
New York Islanders
What Happened Last Week: The Islanders began their week on the road in Boston on Sunday. This one was a back-and-forth affair with a reminder of who the 2024-25 Islanders are. Cole Koepke opened the scoring for Boston. The Isles challenged the goal and lost it. Then Bo Horvat to score shorthanded 21 seconds later to tie it up. OK, then. Ryan Pulock made it 2-1 shortly after the kill too. The Isles went up 3-1 in the second period after Anders Lee snapped in a shot. About halfway through the period, Justin Brazeau made it a one-goal game and the score held until the third period. A one-goal lead for the Isles? They blew it? Not quite. Lee scored again early in the third for a two-goal lead. The Islanders blew that instead with goals allowed to David Pastrnak – one slap shot and one tip-in. 4-4 and overtime was necessary. Fortunately for the Islanders’ fans, they would prevail. Horvat would win a puck off a save and go off on a breakaway from his own blueline. He beat Joonas Korpisalo for the 5-4 win. Big for the Isles.
On Thursday night, the Islanders went to Las Vegas. They left with a 4-0 win. Wait, what? Really? Really. Ilya Sorokin was perfect. He stopped all 30 shots by the Golden Knights. Anders Lee’s shot late in the first period for a goal would be enough for the win. The Isles did not take the chance of leaning on a 1-0 lead on the road. Brock Nelson made it 2-0 in the second period and just past halfway through the second, Horvat made it 3-0. The G-Knights pulled the goalie late just to try to get something past Sorokin. All it did was give Casey Cizikas an empty net goal for what would be a 4-0 final result. A stunning win given the quality of opponent, the fact it was in Las Vegas (just Las Vegas’ fifth loss at home this season), and the everything about the Isles this season. But, hey, they won their week going into Saturday night for a change.
The Isles ended their week and their trip in Salt Lake City on Saturday. The Isles came out well but could not break Connor Ingram for two periods. The Fighting Utahs went up early in the second period. Nick Schmaltz tipped in a Michael Kesselring shot past Marcus Hogburg for the game’s first goal. This held until the third period. In a taste of delicious circumstance, it was the Islanders’ turn to ruin a team’s one-goal lead in the third period. They got an equalizer from Brock Nelson finishing a backdoor feed from Anders Lee with over 16 minutes left. With over a minute left in regulation, the Isles did it again. Mat Barzal fired a shot that Ingram stopped. The put back attempts were stopped until the puck came out to Barzal again. He buried it for a late 2-1 score. The Islanders did to Utah what has happened to them so many times. The 2-1 win also meant the Isles swept their week. Yes, they are on a winning streak. They also move up to seventh place for the time being.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Islanders are back home this week and they need results fast. They will host Ottawa on Tuesday, host Philadelphia on Thursday, and host San Jose on Saturday. All three would be important for the Isles to win in to keep some kind of reasonable playoff hope alive. Whether they do it is another matter. They are at least coming in hot with three straight wins.
Philadelphia Flyers
What Happened Last Week: The Philadelphia Flyers began their week with a road game in Toronto on Sunday. It was close after an upstart first period. Tyson Foerster opened the scoring early on only for Matthew Knies to answer back very quickly. The Leafs put the Flyers down a score late in the first period when Oliver Ekman-Larsson poked in a loose puck past Ivan Fedotov. The Flyers rebounded when Scott Laughton tied it up in the second period. Then the game was all about defense as the shot count and chances dried up. Overtime was necessary. It ended when Auston Matthews found Morgan Reilly coming in alone into the zone. Reilly ripped in a shot to hand the Flyers a point with the 3-2 overtime loss.
The rematch against the Maple Leafs was on Tuesday and in Philly. The Flyers came out strong in this one. They out-shot Toronto 10-2 in the first period and Travis Konecny scored to make it 1-0. Unfortunately, there was more to play. And Cam York took a penalty 24 seconds into the second period. John Tavares punished that with a power play goal to tie it up. Konecny once again emerged to restore the 2-1 lead. That lasted for just 41 seconds as Auston Matthews tied it up. At 2-2, the game was tight. But Matthew Knies provided a go-ahead goal on a tip-in of a Morgan Reilly shot to make it 3-2 with over six minutes left. Philly tried but could not find an answer. They lost again to Toronto, 3-2. Only with no point as it was a regulation loss.
Thursday night saw the Flyers host Dallas. The Stars won five straight going into this one, including a comeback win over the Rangers. The Flyers, well, they were not going to stop this team. They did not. Mavrik Bourque scored 1:45 into the game for Dallas. Roope Hintz made it 2-0 before halfway through the first. In the second period, Wyatt Johnston made it 3-0. All signs pointed to a shutout going into the third period. Morgan Frost at least denied a shutout for Dallas by scoring over six minutes into the third period. But there was not going to be a comeback attempt. Philly may have tried but Casey DeSmith ensured it. Miro Heiskanen sealed up the loss at 4-1 with an empty netter. It has been a rough week for Philly.
Philadelphia’s week ended with a home game against Anaheim on Saturday. Would they make it right against the Ducks? Definitely. The home fans were hyped up to jeer Cutter Gauthier all night long. The Flyers were in business mode and business was very good that night. Philly went up and never looked back. Morgan Frost opened the scoring and Jamie Drysdale converted a power play late in the first period for a strong 2-0 lead. The Flyers held it and made it 3-0 late in the second thanks to Owen Tippett. Philly ran away with the game even further in the third period. Ryan Poehling scored 24 seconds into the final frame of regulation. Matvei Michkov punished a Ryan Strome (or Radko Gudas, there were penalties at the same time) call for 5-0. Garnet Hathaway added a backhander for 6-0. Sam Ersson was perfect. Travis Konecny put up 4 assists. The Flyers ended a bad week (1-2-1) with a big blowout win. They fall to eighth regardless.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Flyers will “enjoy” four games in six nights in this week coming up. Three of them are within the division too. Philadelphia will host Florida on Monday night, which is a challenge in of itself. Then they get to go to Ohio on Tuesday for a big game within the division for the wild card picture. Philly’s own hopes will also be impacted by the Islanders and they will go to Long Island on Thursday to play them. The week ends for the Flyers with their first game of the season against the Devils on Saturday afternoon. We shall see what is left when the Flyers arrive in Newark.
That was the fourteenth Weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot of the 2024-25 season. You read the post about what happened in the past week and what’s coming up going into the new year. Now it is your turn. How long can Washington keep getting results in spite of their performances? Will the Devils keep on slumping a bit or are they turning it around? How close will Carolina stay on them? When will Columbus or the Islanders cool off? Can the Pennsylvania teams pick it back up? Please leave your answers and other thoughts about the eight teams in the week that was and the week ahead in the comments. Thank you for reading.