In the fifth weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot, the New Jersey Devils retook first place as the super-hot Carolina Hurricanes finally lost last night. The division is splitting into haves and have nots as well. All this and more in this week’s snapshot.
The fifth week of the Weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot for the 2024-25 season, the New Jersey Devils are back on top. They won all three of their games and that ended up being enough to take the top spot for the moment. They do have a severe games played disadvantage, one that will expand in this coming week. But they are on top of the once-supremely-hot Carolina Hurricanes, the Washington Capitals, and the New York Rangers. Those four remain well above the remainder of the division. The Metropolitan Haves and Have Nots have seemingly returned.
NHL.com
In this week’s schedule, the Devils will see their games played disadvantage increase. As will the Pittsburgh Penguins. Carolina and Columbus will wrap up their trips while the Islanders are off to Western Canada. All this and just one game within the division on Friday, which is highlighted and in bold as per tradition:
Schedules via NHL.com
Here is the week that was and week that will be for all eight teams.
New Jersey Devils
What Happened Last Week: The Devils ended their trip through Western Canada on Monday night in Edmonton. Against the Oilers, the Devils struggled for two periods. Defensive zone play was an adventure to put it lightly. Jake Allen was on point. Combined with some luck, the Devils were able to hang in the game. This meant that Stefan Noesen’s goal in the first period opened the scoring and gave them something to hold on to. Allen held it down further and then Edmonton made a mistake late in the period: too many men on the ice. It did not take long for Jesper Bratt to finish a feed from Nico Hischier in the slot to convert the power play. 2-0. The Devils did step up their game in the third period, making it easier for Allen and themselves. They secured the win near halfway through the third period when Dawson Mercer stole a puck and cleared the puck with a high flip. Timo Meier grabbed it down, put the puck on his stick, and beat Calvin Pickard for a beauty of a goal. That made it 3-0 and the Devils cruised to a win. A nice bounce back from their loss in Calgary and a 2-1-0 trip through Western Canada all involving shutouts (6-0 win, 3-0 loss, 3-0 win).
The Devils returned home for one night this week on Thursday to host Montreal. They got off to a strong start. Jack Hughes sliced and diced the Canadien defense to set up Jesper Bratt for an early goal. Hughes then set up Ondrej Palat for a one-timer to put the Devils up 2-0. All seemed good. Until Jonas Siegenthaler turned the puck over on a zone exit. The quick rush was finished by Alex Newhook putting a shot that beat Jacob Markstrom low. Siegenthaler would make up for his error by finishing a pass to the weakside to make it 3-1 halfway through the second. Unfortunately, the Devils would invite Montreal back into the game as Hughes and Dougie Hamilton watched Brendan Gallagher bang in a rebound within the final minute of the second period. Jack Hughes responded to that by finishing a rush play with Jesper Bratt to make it 4-2. The Devils decided to be dramatic as Newhook stuck again on an individual effort just fewer than two minutes after Hughes’ goal. the Devils would prevail, though. Hughes made a stop on defense and it sprung Bratt for an empty net goal to lock up a 5-3 win and a winning week.
New Jersey’s week ended with a back-to-back set for the weekend. Last night, it began in Long Island. Would the Devils get revenge for their OT loss to the Isles in October? They would and in dramatic fashion. They started off well enough – until a mistake by Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon ended up with Simon Holmstrom rounding Jacob Markstrom in the first period. The Devils would tie it up in the second period with a power play goal from Jack Hughes. There could have been more for the Devils but Ilya Sorokin’s legs were ironclad. The Devils did get caught too loose in their own end and would pay for it in the third period. A seam pass from Simon Holmstrom to Dennis Cholowski made it 2-1. Just under two minutes later, Brock Nelson finished a play to make it 3-1. Fortunately for the Devils, their offensive play did continue. They would get some big breaks. Dawson Mercer one-touched a feed from Paul Cotter right in front of the net that beat Sorokin for 2-1. With the goalie pulled, Hughes found Stefan Noesen down low. Noesen attempted a pass across the crease but the puck hit off Grant Hutton’s skate to beat Sorokin. 3-3 within the final minute. Overtime would be needed. The Isles seemingly had the Devils a few times but could not find the net. Holmstrom’s backhander sailed over the net and recovered by Dougie Hamilton as Jack Hughes leaked out of the zone. Hamilton hit Hughes with a brilliant long banked pass for a clear breakaway. Hughes beat Sorokin to win it. A 4-3 OT win to sweep the week and retake first place. Also: a three-game winning streak. You like to see it.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Devils will wrap up their weekend back-to-back set at home to San Jose. Hopefully, they will beat the Sharks in Newark this time. After Sunday, the Devils are off to the Sunshine state. They will play a rare road-and-road with the Florida Panthers on Tuesday and Thursday night. The Devils’ time in Florida will end on Saturday night against Tampa Bay. It is a good measuring stick as any. Fortunately, the Devils are in good form going into this week.
Carolina Hurricanes
What Happened Last Week: The Carolina Hurricanes entered last Sunday with five wins in a row. They ended it with six wins in a row. Washington was their latest victim. Ex-Cap and current Hurricane Dmitry Orlov opened the scoring in the first period. The Canes did get stunned with a PPG by Alex Ovechkin and a goal on the next shift by Brandon Duhaime; both goals coming within the final minute of the first period. Carolina had a response for that: two goals and a ton of pressure. Martin Necas and Orlov each scored within the first six minutes of the second period to take the lead. The Canes out-shot the Caps 32-11 combined in the second and third periods. Pytor Kochetov stopped what little he got to face. Andrei Svechnikov locked up that sixth straight win with an empty netter for 4-2.
Carolina hosted Philadelphia on Tuesday night. They would have some trouble with the Flyers, but they kept up their heat. Travis Konecny was a Problem for Carolina as he opened the scoring in the first period with a PPG. The Canes seemingly had a response for that and had the game in hand by the halfway mark. A Jackson Blake equalizer in the first period. Two quick goals in the second period before the 10-minute mark, each from Eric Robinson and Jordan Martinook. However, the Flyers would not go away. Konecny set up Owen Tippett minutes later to make it 3-2. Early in the third period, Morgan Frost deflected in a Travis Sanheim shot created by Konecny to make it 3-3. This was answered quickly by Jack Roslovic, but Konecny scored his second goal of the game and his fourth point on a tip-in with over 10 minutes left to play. Would the Flyers at least take the Canes to the limit? No. Martin Necas found a loose puck by the net and scored with 31 seconds left in regulation. An ENG from Seth Jarvis boosted the score to 6-4. A seventh – and nervy – straight win for the Canes.
Carolina played their third intra-division game of the week against Pittsburgh on Thursday. Would they make it eight in a row? They would. The Penguins owned the shot count at 36-18. They also played from behind since 52 seconds into the game. That was when Jordan Martinook scored. Later in the first, Jack Roslovic made it 2-0 – driving the Pens to attack more. Pytor Kochetkov was up for it. In the second period, the Hurricanes just kept going. Roslovic added a second goal of the night and Jaccob Slavin scored his first of the season to put the Pens down four. Eric Robinson added a fifth goal early in the third to further ensure this would be a big loss. Kochetkov would be beaten by Blake Lizotte, so he would not get a shutout. No matter, the Canes surely enjoyed the 5-1 result all the same for their eighth straight win.
The Hurricanes hit the road on Saturday as they visited a banged up Colorado squad. Any given night in the NHL could be a team’s downfall though. That would be the case in Denver. All seemed fine at first as the Canes led in the first period thanks to a Jack Drury goal. Jordan Martinook made it 2-0 early in the second. But when Cale Makar scored a shorthanded goal before the halfway mark, well, an Avalanche of goals followed. Sam Malinski tied it up on a backhand after Colorado killed their penalty. Martin Necas did restore the lead with a PPG minutes later. Colorado was not amused. Nathan MacKinnon hit back with a goal minutes later. Artturi Lehkonen tipped in a Mikko Rantanen shot about a minute later to make it 4-3. Rantanen converted a late power play goal to make it 5-3 going into the third period. Yes, Carolina gave up five in a period. Martinook would make it real interesting with an early third period goal. A one-shot game against a leaky Colorado team? Surprisingly: the Avs held on. The Canes could not find the equalizer. With 50 seconds left, Rantanen ended the winning streak with an empty net goal. The Canes lost 6-4. And with New Jersey winning, they fell to second place. Still, a 3-1-0 week with a huge games played advantage and plenty of RWs and ROWs is a great place for Carolina to be in. All good things do come to an end. So it did last night for the Hurricanes.
What’s Coming Up This Week: That game against the Avs started a three-game road trip. That continues into this week. On Monday, the Hurricanes will visit Las Vegas. On Wednesday, Carolina will visit Utah. Carolina will return home for their final game of the week; a home game against Ottawa on Saturday. Given how hot the Canes have been, they can play, beat, and even drown-in-shots any opposition in the whole NHL. The streak may be over, but their quality is not.
Washington Capitals
What Happened Last Week: The Washington Capitals opened last week in first place and visiting the very hot Carolina Hurricanes. The Caps were burnt. It started off well enough. Dmitry Orlov scored first, but the final minute of the first period had an Alex Ovechkin power play goal and Brandon Duhaime score on the next shift. 2-1 going into the second period. Then the Canes turned up the heat and the Capitals could not handle it. The Hurricanes flipped the score to 3-2 within the first six minutes of the second period thanks to Martin Necas and Orlov. The Hurricanes kept pinning back Washington and the Capitals could not solve Pytor Kochetkov. The loss was sealed with an Andrei Svechnikov empty netter in the final seconds. The Capitals lost 4-2 – and fell from first place.
On Wednesday, the Capitals hosted Nashville in the division’s only game of the night. They would prevail in a game loaded with shots on net, as they were 36-35 in favor of the Predators. They would get the first goal from a tip-in by Juuso Parssinen. A goal that was answered quickly by Connor McMichael, who has had a very fine start to this season. The Caps went up briefly in the second period with a score from Aliaksei Protas. Briefly as Steven Stamkos scored on the next shift to make it 2-2. It took half of the period and amid the four shots the Caps generated in the third, Alex Ovechkin scored to make it 3-2. The Caps held on for a win to bounce back from Sunday’s loss.
Friday night began a back-to-back set. The Capitals started it with a home game against Pittsburgh. It was the Erik Karlsson who truly started it with a pair of goals. Erik Karlsson scored one himself early and Michal Bunting tipped in his shot to make it 2-0 just seven minutes in. Rasmus Sandin would get the Caps on the board in the first period. They would tie it up in the second period thanks to Andrew Mangiapane. However, the Caps could not generate a third goal. The breakthrough would come from Evgeni Malkin just past halfway through the third period. The Caps were kept to six shots on net in the final frame so a late comeback effort was not likely. And it did not happen. The loss was sealed with an empty netter by Noel Acciari. A 4-2 loss. Not a great result given how Pittsburgh has struggled. The Devils, Rangers, and Hurricanes liked it.
Saturday night closed the set in St. Louis. Would Washington split the week by winning this one? Yes. They more than just won the game. They absolutely wrecked the Blues. The first period was close. Connor McMichael scored within the first minute. This was answered by Scott Perunovich minutes later. The score held at 1-1 until nearly eight minutes into the second period. That was when Alex Ovechkin broke the tie. Jakob Chychrun extended the lead almost three minutes later to 3-1. The third period was a party for the aps. Ovechkin scored a PPG. Rasmus Sandin scored almost two minutes later. McMichael added a PPG for his own brace past the halfway mark. Called up Michael Sgarbossa tipped in a shot minutes after. Brandon Duhaime deflected in a short shortly after that. The Capitals scored five in the third period to complete an 8-1 blowout win of the Blues. The Capitals did split their week in 2-2-0, but a result like that has to make them feel good. As does keeping ahead of the Rangers.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Capitals will have a lighter week of work coming up after last week’s grind. The Capitals will host Toronto on Wednesday night and then go to Colorado for a Friday night game. They are not easy games, but they have showed early on that their window is far from closed.
New York Rangers
What Happened Last Week: The Rangers started their week by hosting their hated rivals in the New York Islanders. In a game filled with shots (77 total) and penalties (8 power plays), the Rangers did prevail. Chris Krieder opened the scoring the first period with a shorthanded goal. Vincent Trocheck made it 2-0 early in the second period. Casey Cizikas responded minutes later for 2-1. Artemi Panarin scored a PPG past the halfway mark of the second period. The Islanders would make it a one-shot game in the dying seconds of the second period with Brock Nelson. But the Rangers dashed comeback hopes when Adam Edstrom deflected a Braden Schneider shot early in the third period for 4-2. Panarin sank in an empty netter for a 5-2 win over a rival. A fine start to the week.
The Rangers hosted Buffalo on Thursday night. This went the opposite of fine. Rasmus Dahlin scored 26 seconds into the game. The Rangers would limit the damage in a ho-hum first period to just that goal. The wheels came off in the second period, though. Dylan Cozens scored early into the middle frame. At 11:39, Tage Thompson made it 3-0. Jordan Greenway made it 4-0 at 12:09. Sam Lafferty backhanded in a goal for 5-0 at 13:51. That run of three goals in just over two minutes sent Igor Shesterkin to the bench and the Rangers were reeling. Will Cuylle provided a consolation goal from a tip in early in the third period. Which was answered later on with a PPG by Zach Benson. The Rangers held Buffalo to 22 shots and conceded six goals, five of which from their soon-to-be-richer goaltender. A brutal blowout 6-1 loss.
The Rangers’ week ended on Saturday night in Detroit. They put on a far better performance. Jonathan Quick was excellent with 37 saves on 37 shots. He shutout the Red Wings. All while the Rangers kept scoring to give him support. A tip-in PPG by Chris Kreider in the first period ended up being the only goal needed for the win. Within the final five minutes of the second period, Jimmy Vesey and Artemi Panarin each scored within a minute of each other to make it 3-0. More than a comfortable cushion for Quick. Detroit kept attacking and Quick kept making saves. They pulled their goalie for an extra skater with over four minutes left – and Reilly Smith scored an ENG for the 4-0 final score. A very good bounce back win over a team they should be beating.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Rangers will have just two games to play and both are at home. They get a favorable matchup on Thursday night when they will host San Jose. They will get an unfavorable matchup on Tuesday night when they will host a very potent Winnipeg team. The short week does them no favors in terms of catching up but if they keep pace, then they should be in a good position for later in the month.
New York Islanders
What Happened Last Week: The New York Islanders opened their week on Sunday against their hated rivals in the Rangers. This did not go so well. While they got an early power play in the first period, Chris Kreider scored shorthanded to put them down a score. In the second period, Vincent Trocheck dug a deeper hole with a goal 91 seconds into it. The Isles did fight back a bit. Casey Cizikas scored to make it a one-shot game. Unfortunately, Artemi Panarin punished a Ryan Pulock hooking call to make it 3-1 after surviving some overrun of a 3-on-5. The Isles did get a break late: Brock Nelson scored with eight seconds left in the second. Alas, hopes of a comeback took a blow when Adam Edstrom deflected in a Braden Schneider shot to make it 4-2. The Isles’ fate was sealed with Panarin’s ENG. A 5-2 loss to a hated rival hurts. Even more knowing the Isles won just one out of three last week.
The Isles hoped to rebound against the Penguins on Tuesday night. It was dramatic but they eventually did. After a scoreless first period, Sidney Crosby scored on a backhand in the second period. Isles head coach Patrick Roy challenged the call for offside and, somehow, lost it. No matter, the game continued. Kyle Palmieri tied it up when he batted in a puck from Bo Horvat. Unfortunately, the Isles took a tripping call less than a minute later and seconds into the power play, Evgeni Malkin converted it. The Penguins put the Isles down two in the third period when Michael Buntin scored less than eight minutes into the period. But on this night, it would the Islanders to blow up someone else’s third period lead. Drew O’Connor was caught kneeing and Simon Holmstrom punished the penalty with a power play goal. Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied it up minutes later when Horvat found him careening into the slot. It was 3-3 and the game needed overtime. Despite a power play for each side, the game needed a shootout. There, Bo Horvat was the lone scorer. The 1-0 shootout gave the Islanders the 4-3 comeback win. Not great to give the Pens a point, but they won a game.
On Thursday, the Islanders visited Ottawa for their only road game of the week. Ottawa has been really good at home so far this season. The Islanders took a shot at that, though. After a scoreless first period and 15 minutes of goalless hockey in the second period, Anders Lee provided the game’s first goal. A set up from Bo Horvat. Horvat again set up another goal late in the period; a score from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. The Islanders even built up a 3-0 lead early in the third with a goal from Oliver Wahlstrom. Of course, third-period leads and the Islanders remain in a complicated relationship. Ottawa would make a game of it. Nick Jensen got his first of the season and the first of the game for Ottawa before the eight minute mark. Drake Batherson punished a Maxim Tsyplakov boarding call to make it 3-2. The Islanders had to hold on. And they managed to do it for a change. Horvat capped off a three-point night with an empty netter for a 4-2 win. Two big points to help the Isles move on up. And Ottawa now has two regulation losses at home this season (the other was to New Jersey).
Saturday night saw the Isles back at home to host the New Jersey Devils. They did not start well outside of Ilya Sorokin making big stops. They would get a break: a mistake from the pairing of Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton. It yielded an opportunity for Simon Holmstrom to go around Jacob Markstrom for the game’s opening goal. Unfortunately for the Isles, they would take a costly penalty: highsticking by Dennis Cholowski on Brett Pesce. This was punished by Jack Hughes to tie up the game in the second. Sorokin, particularly his legs, were adept at keeping it 1-1. And the score held all the way through halfway through the third. The Isles broke through. Holmstrom found Cholowski across the slot for a go-ahead goal. Just fewer than two minutes later, Brock Nelson finished a play to make it 3-1. The Isles just needed to hold on for over seven minutes. This proved to be too difficult for the Isles. The Devils were attacking all night long and they would get some breaks. Like Paul Cotter’s pass to the crease being one-touched in by Dawson Mercer. And especially Stefen Noesen’s attempted pass at the crease during an extra skater situation sending a pass that went off Grant Hutton’s skate and through the legs of Sorokin. The Isles blew a two goal lead in fewer than seven minutes at home. Brutal. In overtime, they seemingly had a great chance 3-on-3. Only for Simon Holmstrom to sky a backhander over the net past a mobile Markstrom. Hamilton got to the loose puck and saw Jack Hughes all the way behind all three Islanders. One bank pass later and Hughes had a breakaway. Sorokin was great on Saturday, but Hughes was better at that moment. Hughes buried it to pay the Isles back with a 4-3 OT loss from their previous meeting. The Isles did end up winning the week by going 2-1-1. They moved up to fifth from the point.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Islanders are on the road for this week. They are going up into the Northwest. The Isles will go to Edmonton on Tuesday, Vancouver on Thursday, and Seattle on Saturday. At least none of those games are back-to-back. Except they will continue their trip into the following week. They will not have a home game until November 23. With a slightly better road record than home record, perhaps that is a good thing. Their main goal now should be to get some separation over the teams behind them.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What Happened Last Week: The Pittsburgh Penguins visited Long Island on Tuesday night. They would come away from it with just a point and another what could have been. After a scoreless first period, Sidney Crosby scored in the second period. This was challenged by the Islanders for offside and somehow, someway, the goal stood. The Islanders responded with Kyle Palmieri batting in a puck, but then they made a mistake. Maxim Tsyplakov tripped Erik Karlsson. It took just six seconds for Evgeni Malkin to bury a shot for a PPG and a 2-1 lead. Michael Bunting scored his first of the season to make it 3-1 into the third. Unfortunately, the Pens could not hold onto the lead. Drew O’Connor took a kneeing penalty over a minute after making it 3-1. It did not take long for Simon Holmstrom to make it 3-2 with a PPG. Minutes later, Bo Horvat found Jean-Gabriel Pageau streaking into the slot for an equalizer. The Pens blew the lead. They did go to overtime. But the Pens could not finish it there, even with an early power play in OT and surviving a PK late in it. A shootout was needed and only one man scored: Bo Horvat. The Penguins lost the shootout 1-0 for the 4-3 loss. They would get a point but the Penguins need wins not mere single-point nights.
Pittsburgh visited Carolina on Thursday night. The Penguins brought the pressure to Pytor Kochetkov. He brought the saves and Carolina brought the goals. Just 52 seconds in, Jordan Martinook put the Penguins down a score. Jack Roslovic put the Pens down two later on in the first period. Roslovic dug a hole deeper near midway through the second. Pittsburgh tried, but again, Kochetkov denied the Penguins a pathway into the game. The Canes kept scoring. Jaccob Slavin made it a 4-0 deficit in the second period. Eric Robinson made it 5-0 early in the third. The Penguins would get one past Kochetkov. The goalie was not sure if he covered up a shot, Jesse Puljujarvi knocked it loose, and the puck came out to Blake Lizotte to bury. That was the only time the Penguins got on the board. A respite amid an otherwise big 5-1 loss.
Pittsburgh ended their week by visiting Washington on Friday night. The Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry has remained for two decades but the night was more about others. Like Erik Karlsson. He scored the game’s first goal and Michael Bunting tipped in one of his shots to make it 2-0 just over seven minutes into the game. Like Rasmus Sandin, who scored shortly after Bunting’s tip-in, and Andrew Mangiapane, who would work to tie it up in the second period. Like Joel Blomqvist who helped keep the Caps to just those two goals. Like Evgeni Malkin, who broke the deadlock past midway through the third period. Like Noel Acciari, who secured the 4-2 win with an empty net goal. Crosby will surely take that. The Penguins ended up splitting the week at 1-1-1, which is some progress.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Penguins will play four games in six nights starting on Monday. The Penguins will host Dallas on Monday, which could be a tough game. On Wednesday, the Penguins will host Detroit. Friday night will have Pittsburgh’s lone road game of the week, which is a game in Columbus. Their week ends at home against San Jose. They still have a lot of ground to make up and that GP count is working against them. Do your best, Pens.
Columbus Blue Jackets
What Happened Last Week: The Columbus Blue Jackets started their California trip on Tuesday night in San Jose. They did everything but score a heap of goals in the Bay. The Blue Jackets ripped apart the Sharks defense for a whopping 48 shots in regulation and 50 total. They just struggled to beat Vitek Vanecek all night long. An effort that picked up after Jack Thompson scored a late second period goal to make it 1-0 for the Sharks. The Blue Jackets would get an equalizer thanks to Kirill Marchenko near the midpoint of the third period. But they could not get a second puck past Vanecek. In overtime, the Sharks bit back. Alexander Wennberg took the puck through the neutral zone, split two Jackets, beat a third, and roofted a shot past Elvis Merzlikins. An excellent individual effort sank the Jackets in overtime, 2-1. A game the Jackets were certainly goalied in.
Columbus ended the week with the start of a back-to-back set in Los Angeles. The first period went well. They conceded no goals and Dmitri Voronkov scored his first of the season off the finish of a rush started by Justin Danforth. Alas, the game got away from Columbus. In the second period, Vladislav Gavrikov and Warren Foegele each scored within two minutes of each other to make it 2-1. Columbus would start the third in the middle of a power play. Only for Trevor Moore to score a shorthanded goal 30 seconds in to make it 3-1. The Jackets did convert that same power play seconds later thanks to Ivan Provorov. But over six minutes later, Alex Laferriere made it 4-2 to put the game further out of reach. One that was sealed with a power play empty net goal within the final minute by Brandt Clarke. The Jackets went 0-1-1 in the week and will need a result tonight to leave California with more than just one point out of a possible six. The one-point week saw them fall to seventh too.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Blue Jackets will finish their run through California tonight against Anaheim. The trip will take one more stop further North on Tuesday in Seattle. The Blue Jackets will come home to play Pittsburgh on Friday night. Then the Jackets are back on the road as they head to Quebec to play Montreal on Saturday night.
Philadelphia Flyers
What Happened Last Week: The Philadelphia Flyers started their week in Carolina on Tuesday night. Would the Canes be any colder? No. Would the Flyers cool them off? They came close! Travis Konecny was a stud for the Flyers. He scored a PPG to open the scoring. Jackson Blake tied it up in the first period and the Flyers gave up two quick ones to Eric Robinson and Jordan Martinook close to the halfway mark of the second period. Did the Flyers quit? No. Konecny set up Owen Tippett to make it a 3-2 game in the second period. Early in the third, Konecny got a secondary assist on a Travis Sanheim shot that Morgan Frost deflected in for 3-3. The Canes responded with a score from Jack Roslovic – which was answered quickly by Konecny tipping in a goal of his own. 4-4 and the Flyers were less than a minute away from overtime. Alas, a loose puck around the net was found by Martin Necas. Necas buried the shot to make it 5-4 with 31 seconds left. Seth Jarvis secured the loss with an empty netter. The Flyers came close to at least pulling something from Carolina. Instead, they get a 6-4 regulation loss and no points. Alas.
The Flyers headed on down to Tampa Bay on Thursday night. Ivan Fedotov got the call to start this one. He was great. Yes, he was beat on a wraparound by Nikita Kucherov late in the first period. He also stopped whatever else the Lightning gave him. Kucherov is also an elite player too. The Flyers would tie it up in the third period thanks to Owen Tippett. It was a bit dramatic as it came within the final five minutes of regulation. They still got it and went into overtime. Fedotov and Andrei Vasilevskiy continued to be strong; the 1-1 score held. A shootout was needed. The Flyers took it 2-0 with goals from Travis Konecny and Tippett along with saves by Fedotov. The Flyers won 2-1 to stop their losing streak at three. A needed result ahead of Saturday.
The Flyers ended their week in Sunrise to play the Florida Panthers on Saturday. They held up well enough against the defending Stanley Cup champions. The Flyers even scored first; a Joel Farabee snapshot made it 1-0 early on. The Panthers would take the game back in the second period. Nate Schmid scored over five minutes into it and Dmitry Kulikov made it 2-1 about three minutes after that. The Flyers would stick around in the game with a goal by Anthony Richard to briefly tie it up. Only for Sam Bennett to break that tie later on in the second period. Still, it was a one-shot game for Philadelphia. They would get it near halfway through the third period from Garnet Hathaway. Sergey Bobrovsky and Sam Ersson would hold it down in their respective nets from then on. With Bobrovsky making an impressive six saves in overtime. A shootout was necessary. Aleksander Barkov’s goal was matched by Owen Tippett within the first three rounds. In the fifth round, Evan Rodrigues won it for Florida as Bobrovsky denied Morgan Frost. The 2-1 shootout led to a 4-3 loss for Philly. They did take Florida beyond 65 minutes, which is impressive. They finished the week at 1-1-1. It could be something to build on.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Flyers will return home on Monday to play a San Jose team that played in New Jersey the day before. A potentially favorable matchup for the Orange and Black. On Thursday, the Flyers will go visit Ottawa. Which has not been a favorable place for many to play in so far this season. The Flyers return home to host Buffalo on Saturday. Again, they could build on the last week.
That was the fifth Weekly Metropolitan Division Snapshot of the 2024-25 season. Now I want to know what you think. How will the New Jersey Devils handle a busy week with a rare road-and-road with the defending champs? How will Carolina respond to their winning streak ending? Can the Rangers and Capitals handle short weeks? Can anyone rise up from the bottom half of the division? 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.