In the tenth weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot, the Washington Capitals went 2-for-2, the New York Islanders actually won a week, and the New York Rangers slipped due to their slump. All this and more in this week’s snapshot.
The tenth weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot of the 2024-25 season showed some breaking away at the top. The Carolina Hurricanes split a short week and could only watch as the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils gained more points. While far from out of it, they could use some help to close a gap that formed between second and third. Even the point percentage has the Devils ahead of Carolina. The Canes are at least safe from a far messier bottom-five. The Philadelphia Flyers finally jumped a slumping New York Rangers team. But no one is really safe; even the Columbus Blue Jackets could jump up with a few wins in a row. Of course, that is easier said than done. After a very busy Thursday and Saturday, here are the standings:
NHL.com
The schedule is not as hectic as the previous week, but there are plenty of contests within the division in this week coming up. There are six and it could cause some movement amid the upper and lower parts of the division. Only the New York Rangers are exempted from such events, which are highlighted and in bold as usual for this post:
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 started their short week on Thursday. They visited Columbus on Thursday night. Both teams brought their shots to the game with a combined 70 shots. Both teams also brought their goaltenders to the game. Jet Greaves for Columbus and Charlie Lindgren for Washington both had great nights. They held the game at 0-0 for over half of it. Zach Werenski punished a Nic Dowd high-sticking penalty with a power play goal to put the Caps down one. Washington would solve Greaves in the third period. Just 31 seconds in, Aliaksei Protas finished a one-timer from Pierre-Luc Dubois in the slot to tie it up at 1-1. And the score held. Greaves and Lindgren dragged this one into overtime. Before halfway through the fourth period, Protas ripped a shot past Greaves to make it a 2-1 win. A hard-fought two points to stay atop the division.
On Saturday, the Capitals hosted a hapless Buffalo squad. Buffalo has been winless in their last eight. The Capitals would make it nine. The Sabres were at least persistent. Jason Zucker was responsible for a deflection goal early on to put Washington down. The Capitals answered that later in the first period with a power play goal to punish an Owen Power holding call. The PPG was a tip-in from Tom Wilson. Amid what would be a penalty-filled second period, a Zach Benson tripping call yielded a second PPG for Wilson to put the Caps up 2-1. However, Jiri Kulich tipped in a Byron Byram shot minutes later to tie it up. The score held all the way through past through the third period. Another tip-in would break the tie and it would come from Dylan Strome with John Carlson providing the shot. The Caps went up 3-2. Logan Thompson held it down and Jakob Chychrun secured the win with an empty net goal with 90 seconds to go. The Caps won 4-2 to win both of their games in the week. They remain in first place and in a fantastic position in general.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Capitals will open their week on the road with a back-to-back set. They will visit a very good Dallas team on Monday night, and then go to Chicago on Tuesday night in what will be a classic trap game. The Capitals will get two days to prepare for a big Friday night home game against Carolina. A win for the Caps may further strengthen their hold on first in the division. Even if they do not, they are in a position to remain there depending on other results.
New Jersey Devils
What Happened Last Week: The New Jersey Devils began a week of four games in seven days with a Sunday night home game with Colorado. The Devils conceded first when an open Ross Colton finished a feed from Casey Mittelstadt. Two goals were disallowed; one really obvious deflection from a high stick and one not-as-obvious-but-not-as-clear jam play after a whistle. The Avs went up 2-0 when Logan O’Connor re-directed a halfwall shot from Calvin de Haan. The Devils’ offense needed something and generated next to nothing until the third period. They had two shots in the second period and allowed one goal – a Artturi Lehkonen breakaway goal after a horrendous giveaway by Dougie Hamilton to Mittelstadt. The Devils pushed more in the third but it was too little, too late on Scott Wedgewood. The Devils pulled their goalie early and Parker Kelly ended it with an empty netter with under four minutes to go. The Devils lost 4-0 to Colorado.
New Jersey hosted Toronto on Tuesday night. The Devils put the Maple Leafs to the sword for 40 minutes. Toronto was held to one (1) shot on net in the first period. Anthony Stolarz was the sole reason why the Devils did not run away with the game. Even then, Ondrej Palat finished a feed by Jesper Bratt in the second period for the Devils to go up 1-0. Alas, the third period arrived and Toronto tried to play. Matthew Knies took a potentially costly boarding penalty. Only for the Devils to go for a big jam play on the power play, fail, and Pontus Holmberg sank a shot through Jacob Markstrom’s legs on a counter-attack rush for a shorthanded equalizer in the third. Brutal. The game made it to overtime. There, a trailing shot by Brett Pesce yielded a counter-attack rush Auston Matthews. Matthews did not miss. He went bar down for the Devils to lose 2-1 in a game where they dominated the shot count and the run of play. A point earned but harsh all the same.
The final night game of the homestand was on Thursday night game against Los Angeles. The Kings were hot going into this one with six straight wins, they have been a defensive force, and the Devils have scored one goal in their previous two games. New Jersey proceeded to out-shoot the Kings 9-1 in the first period. Dave Rittich looked a bit like Stolarz. The Kings played a more competitive game in the second period and they struck first. Jordan Spence sent a shot through Markstrom’s legs to open the scoring. Then the Devils got a break. The Big Deal, Jack Hughes, took a late period shot and Ondrej Palat tipped it down. The puck beat Rittich to tie it up at 1-1. Palat repaid the favor with a nice feed to Hughes in front to make it 2-1 past halfway through the third. While holding the Kings to a handful of shots, Erik Haula took an ill-advised tripping penalty with fewer than four minutes left. During the penalty kill, Hughes rushed up for a shot. The shot was blocked but a trailing Pesce fired one through Rittich’s legs for his first goal as a Devil – a huge shorthanded insurance goal. The Devils killed off the game to win 3-1. Los Angeles’ winning streak was over. The Devils had a chance to win their homestand with five points earned with a game to go.
The Devils ended their homestand with an afternoon game with Chicago. This one was close until the final frame. The post was Jacob Markstrom’s friend as the Devils kept Chicago to an otherwise small number of shots. Then the second period saw the Devils struggle to attack. They took five power play shots in the second. They had three non-power play shots in the remainder of the period. They also got done in by a bad break. Jason Dickinson hit the crossbar on a make-shift 2-on-1. The puck rebounded off Luke Hughes’ face and dropped into the net to put the Devils down one. Then the third period happened and the Devils took the game back with authority. First, Luke Hughes made an excellent pass in front for a Dawson Mercer tap-in to tie it up against Drew Commesso. An icing by Chicago with 11:24 left ended close to two minutes later after an amazing possession shift by Nico Hischier’s line and an even-more-amazing forecheck by Jesper Bratt. The tired Blackhawks could only watch Jack Hughes slam in a shot to make it 2-1. Less than two minutes after that, Nico Hischier finished a counter-attack 3-on-2 rush with a power move to make it 3-1. Right on the next shift, Timo Meier put home a rebound from a Mercer shot. The Devils went up 4-1 and cruised to a victory. They ended their five-game run at home at 3-1-1. They won the week at 2-1-1. They secured second place and, for a few hours, held onto first in the division.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Devils will be on the road for two out of their three games coming up this week. They will visit St. Louis on Tuesday. They will try to get some revenge or at least score a goal against the Blues. On Thursday, the Devils will visit Columbus for their first game of the season against the Blue Jackets. The week will end for the Devils with a home game against Pittsburgh, another first of the season. Provided the Devils take care of business, they will continue to be fine as they are.
Carolina Hurricanes
What Happened Last Week: The Carolina Hurricanes had two games to play. Their first one was on Tuesday with a home game against San Jose. A San Jose team now featuring Alexandar Georgiev as a goaltender. He did make it to the team but Vitek Vanecek got the start. And the Sharks made it difficult for the Canes. Shayne Gostisbehere did open the scoring early in the first period. But Luke Kunin of San Jose tied it up late in the first. He broke the tie past midway through the second period after a great forecheck by William Eklund. The Canes were not flooding Vanecek with shots and the run of play seemed even. But the Hurricanes would take the game in the third period. Brent Burns tied it up early in the third after joining a rush up ice. Late in the third, Jalen Chatfield caught a clearing attempt by Macklin Celebrini. He put the puck down and ripped a wrister from above the left circle past Vanecek. Carolina went up 3-2 and they held on for the remaining 2:39 for the victory. No one is easy in this league.
On Friday, Carolina ended their week with a home game against Ottawa. And against the Sens, the vaunted Carolina attack was not exactly firing on all cylinders. The score was 0-0 after the first. Early in the second, Shane Pinto beat Pytor Kochetkov to put the Canes down a score. The Hurricanes would pick up their attack in the third period and even held the Sens to five shots. Unfortunately, for Carolina, Linus Ullmark – who came into the game heating up – burned up that attack by stopping everything he faced. A soft goal by Kochetkov was allowed to Nick Jensen with just over five minutes left. It was a classic “This isn’t happening” game for Carolina and it did not. Pinto put in an empty net goal to seal up 3-0 loss for the Canes. Payback for the 4-0 win Carolina put on Ottawa a few weeks back. Carolina split the week at 1-1-0 and lost ground to Washington and New Jersey. They are still safe in third place for now.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Hurricanes will get to impact the division quite a bit. All three of their games this week are within the Metropolitan. They will host Columbus tonight to start their week. They will host the Islanders on Tuesday. Those two can have the Canes hurt the bottom end of the division to their own benefit. The third is a big one: the Canes will visit Washington D.C. on Friday. A prime opportunity to make a move to get closer to first place in the division. A better week is what they really need first, though. Falling behind is going to be a problem since Washington and New Jersey are not likely to slump any time soon.
Philadelphia Flyers
What Happened Last Week: Philadelphia opened their week at home on Sunday against Utah. It did not go so well. After a scoreless first period, the scoring opened up in the second period. Michael Carcone put Utah up 1-0 and Joel Farabee matched that just 19 seconds later. Juuso Valimaki tipped in a Mikhail Sergachev shot to put Utah up 2-1. That lasted for a few minutes before Owen Tippett tied up the game for the Flyers. However, the lone penalty of the second period – Tyson Foerster with a clearance over a glass – yielded a Logan Cooley backhander of a power play goal. Utah went up 3-2 from that. It held until late in the third. Only for Kevin Stenlund to score a shorthanded goal after an Ian Cole high-sticking penalty. The Flyers would fall 4-2. A disappointing start to the week.
Philly visited Columbus on Tuesday in a meaningful matchup within the division. They understood the assignment. The Flyers put the Jackets down early. Noah Cates and Owen Tippett made it a 2-0 game before eleven minutes into the game. Travis Konecny had a big second period. He scored a power play goal to make it 3-0. Minutes after Zach Werenski’s PPG in the second, Konecny scored a second goal at even strength with a minute left in the second to make it 4-1. Morgan Frost really dug it deeper with a goal early in the third to make it 5-1. The Flyers cruised. Columbus did get two tip-in goals past Samuel Ersson. However, they were just consolation goals. The Flyers won 5-3 to rebound from their loss and keep themselves up in the division.
The Flyers went back home to host Detroit on Thursday. It became the Scott Laughton Show. Philly ended up taking 36 shots in this game. Laughton took nine of them. Two of them beat Cam Talbot. After a scoreless first period, the Flyers ramped up the attack in the second period with 17 shots on Talbot. Laughton scored the game’s first goal with a slapshot on a breakaway after a Simon Edvinsson giveaway. Early in the third period, the Flyers had to kill a roughing call on Matvei Michkov. On the PK, Travis Konecny rushed up ice. He fed Laughton crashing to the net for a one-touch shorthanded goal to make it 2-0. Ben Chiarot would make it interesting late with a goal within the final four minutes. Detroit understandably pulled their goalie. Which allowed Laughton to put in an empty net goal for his hat trick. Detroit then pulled Talbot again, which resulted in a second ENG for Laughton. His 100th career goal, his fourth of the game, and a big 4-1 win for the Flyers.
Philadelphia visited Minnesota on Saturday to close out their week. The Wild took the game and never looked back. Kirill Kaprizov opened the scoring in the first period. Matt Boldy made it 2-0 over fifteen minutes into a second period short on shots (just eleven total from both teams). Near midway through the third, Marco Rossi made it 3-0 for the home team. The Flyers had little answer for any of this. They did deny Marc-Andre Fleury a shutout when Travis Sanheim scored with over five minutes left. Yet, it was too little, too late. The game was sealed up when Kaprizov put home an empty net goal for his 20th of the season. Philly lost 4-1, bookending their week with a loss to go 2-2-0. While enough to get past the Rangers to take fourth place, one could look at those losses as lost opportunities to get ahead in a competitive bottom end of the Metropolitan.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Flyers will have three days without a game before playing three in four nights. Not easy but the rest will be welcomed. Their week starts on Wednesday in Detroit; a matchup the Flyers would want to prevail in to keep any sights on a wildcard spot. The Flyers will then return home to host Los Angeles on Thursday. A difficult matchup on short notice. Their week ends with a home game against Columbus. That is another matchup of value for the Flyers if they want to stay in the wildcard race. They need points to stay ahead in the mix that is the bottom end of this division. Will they get them? We shall see.
New York Rangers
What Happened Last Week: The New York Rangers opened the week at home against Seattle. On paper and after a win over the Penguins, this seemed like a night to make things right. It seemed that was going to happen after Reilly Smith scored early in the first period. Seattle answered back with a Oliver Bjorkstrand PPG. Filip Chytil scored roughly a minute later and Vincent Trocheck made it a 3-1 game on a power play goal of his own. Then the Kraken flipped the game on its end. Brandon Tanev, Eeli Tolvanen, and Bjorkstrand each scored within the final six minutes of the second period to make it a 4-3 game going into the third period. In that period, Vince Dunn added in a slapshot for a 5-3 score. Shane Wright tipped in a Tolvanen shot for a 6-3 game. The Rangers did make a push. K’Andre Miller made it a two-goal game and Alexis Lafreniere made it a one-shot game with five minutes left. The high-scoring affair ended with Yanni Gourde putting in an empty netter. 22 shots on Jonathan Quick (he got the start as the Shesterkins welcomed a new child into the world; congratulations to them), 7 goals allowed, and the Rangers lost 7-5. Would it get worse?
It would get worse on Monday night against Chicago. At MSG, Taylor Hall set up Tyler Bertuzzi for the game’s first goal. The Rangers did get on the board within the final minute of the first period with a shorthanded goal by Will Cuylle. Yet, that would be it. Arvid Soderblom would get everything else the Rangers threw at him. The returning Igor Shesterkin would get beaten one more time. A 2-on-1 ended with Taylor Hall trying to finish the play. Shesterkin went out for a poke check and managed to knock the puck in himself. Harsh. And it would be the last goal of the game. The Rangers lost 2-1 to Chicago. Congrats to interim head coach Anders Sorensen for getting his first win. No congratulations to a Rangers team sinking in their extended slump.
The Rangers would go to Buffalo on Wednesday night. Buffalo lost seven in a row. The Rangers won twice in their last seven. Something had to give. Fortunately for New York, Mika Zibanejad appeared. With a power play goal to punish a first period Connor Clifton interference call. The score held through the remainder of the first and the second period. It took until the 13:29 mark for the next goal. Which was by Reilly Smith of the Rangers to go up 2-0. Buffalo finally got on the board with just fewer than five minutes to go with a goal by Owen Power. Would it mount a comeback? No. Adam Fox ensured that with an empty net goal for his first of the season. Tage Thompson did score with 38 seconds left in regulation. But the Rangers are not like their Long Island rivals so they did not blow it. They win a needed game over a really bad Buffalo team, 3-2.
The week ended for the Rangers at home against Los Angeles on Saturday afternoon. Los Angeles was held to just 14 shots on net against the Devils on Thursday. The Kings put up 17 shots in the first period against the Rangers on Saturday. Needless to say, they had a point to prove. They also put up two in the first period. Alex Turcotte snapped home a goal to open the scoring over seven minutes in. Warren Foegele careened into the slot for a one-timer and put home his own rebound with less than five to go in the period. It would get worse for the Rangers in the second period. After they killed a Filip Chytil penalty that carried over into the period, Quintin Byfield made it a 3-0 game by going bar-down on a shot. Close to two minutes later, Adrian Kempe made it 4-0 after a sick pass by Anze Kopitar that cracked the Rangers defense. Just 24 seconds later, Phillip Danault made it a five-spot for Los Angeles with a rebound score from a Brandt Clarke activation. Igor Shesterkin was replaced after giving up three goals on four shots in the second period. The Kings proceeded to cruise from then on. Chytil did get one past Darcy Kuemper in the second. But it was a pure consolation goal. The Rangers had little to show for their efforts in a 5-1 loss. They lost their week 1-3-0 and finally fell from fourth in the division in the process. Fortunately for them, they got some “help” from Philadelphia.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Rangers are on the road for the week. This is effectively a mid-west road trip. They begin in St. Louis this evening. They will then head to Nashville on Tuesday night. Their trip and week will end on Friday evening in Dallas, which will definitely be a tough match up. The Rangers need to make things right and fast. They made the trade, they announced the big signing, and now they need results. They can climb back into fourth fast but they need to get points. And if they continue to fail to get them, they could end up even further back in the division. The Isles, Penguins, and Blue Jackets are not that far away.
New York Islanders
What Happened Last Week: The New York Islanders went up to Ottawa on Sunday night and made the most of what they created. Early on, Adam Gaudette put the Isles down a goal. But the Isles proceeded to score two goals among the five shots they had in the first period. Anders Lee punished a Claude Giroux high-sticking penalty to tie up the game and Kyle MacLean tipped in a Dennis Cholowski shot put the Isles up 2-1. In the second period, Josh Norris scored within the first minute to convert a power play that started within the final minute of the first period to tie up the game. The Isles had just five shots on net. The score held at 2-2. Ottawa kept the Isles to even fewer shots in the third period: three. And the Isles won? Yes. Kyle Palmieri scored a PPG to punish a Norris trip on him to make it 3-2. Bo Horvat ended the game with an empty netter. The Isles won 4-2 with just 13 shots on net. Those at the Canadian Tire Center surely seethed over that.
The Islanders returned to Belmont to host Los Angeles on Tuesday night. The Isles conceded first with a first period goal allowed to Adrian Kempe. The Isles went down two early in the second with a goal from Kevin Fiala. The Isles had hope restored when Anders Lee scored just before the halfway mark of the period. Down 2-1, would the Isles come back? No. The Los Angeles Kings were not only hot going into this game with five straight wins, but they are one of the most defensive squads in the league. The Royal Blue and Orange could not generate much on net much less in the net. An empty netter by Mikey Anderson in the final seconds sealed up a 3-1 loss for the Islanders. Yes, a decisive, close-score loss with no real drama.
The Islanders’ week ended on Thursday night when they hosted Chicago. This got wild. The Isles did go down first. They conceded a power play goal to Connor Bedard, a result of a cross-checking penalty on Dennis Cholowski. The Islanders had a response for that in the second period. Cholowski tied up the game about seven minutes in. Simon Holmstrom made it a 2-1 game just over fourteen minutes into the second. A one-goal lead going into the third period? The Islanders seemingly had it sorted. They just kept scoring. Noah Dobson made it 3-1 at 5:39. Close to a minute later, Bo Horvat made it 4-1. Over a minute later, Maxim Tsyplakov made it a 5-1 game. All good? Well, not so fast. T.J. Brodie would make it a 5-2 game just over 11 minutes into the third period. With the goalie pulled, Tyler Bertuzzi made it 5-3 with 1:10 left to play. And with ten seconds left, Bertuzzi deflected in an Alex Vlasic shot to make it 5-4. Would the Islanders commit the epic choke job one would come to expect from them this season? Thankfully for everyone involved in the Isles organization, no. They held on to beat Chicago 5-4. Grey hairs grew. Antacids were taken. Sighs were given. The Islanders won the week (2-1-0) even with that scare of a final nine minutes against Chicago. They ended up in sixth due to having one fewer game played than the Penguins and two fewer than the Rangers.
One final note for the Isles. After the win over Chicago, the Isles placed Pierre Engvall and Oliver Wahlstrom on waivers. Head coach Patrick Roy has not favored Engvall’s performances and Wahlstrom just has not developed. More positively, their placement on waivers meant that the potential returns of Mat Barzal, Anthony Duclair, and Adam Pelech are soon. Which would be big for the Isles. Engvall cleared but Boston claimed Wahlstrom.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Islanders will be away from Long Island all week. The Isles start their week in Chicago on Sunday to complete their season series with them. Tip: Don’t risk a four-goal lead against them. The Isles will return back to the East when they visit Raleigh on Tuesday for a potentially tough game with Carolina. The Isles will get some time off before they visit Toronto on Saturday – another potentially tough game. They can salvage some of their season with another good week. Easier said than done.
Pittsburgh Penguins
What Happened Last Week: The Pittsburgh Penguins started their week at home against Colorado, who now boasts MacKenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood as goaltenders. Blackwood had yet to join the team so Wedgewood took the start. He stopped eight shots while watching Tristan Jarry give up two goals. Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen provided them. Rantanen did it to Pittsburgh again in the second period, which was the one competitive period for the Penguins. Cody Glass scored his first with the Pens to get the team on the board. Michael Bunting made it a one-shot game with just over a minute left in the second period. Pittsburgh proceeded to plotz through the third period. Valeri Nichushkin made it 4-2 early. Artturi Lehkonen made it 5-2 past halfway through the third. Rantanen completed his hat trick and his fifth point of the night (!!!) on an empty netter with just under five minutes to go. Why pull Jarry so early? I guess to make a point to someone? Regardless, Wedgewood was perfect down the stretch. The Pens were anything but in that 6-2 loss.
The Penguins visited Montreal on Thursday night. And, um, this got hilarious. The opening period was standard. Cole Caufield struck first. A Patrik Laine hooking call yielded a Rickard Rakell PPG to tie it up. OK. The Penguins took the game after halfway through the second period. Bryan Rust scored two straight goals to put the Pens up 3-1. Joel Armia scored shortly after Rust’s second goal to make it a 3-2 game. For most games, this would lead to a potentially tight third period. Instead, Pittsburgh just ran away with this one. Or Montreal filled their pants. Or both. The Penguins took 14 shots in the third period and scored on six of them. Rakell made it 4-2. Josh Anderson took a high-sticking penalty, which yielded a Kris Letang PPG for 5-2. Anthony Beauvillier made it 6-2 a minute later and Martin St. Louis, Montreal’s head coach seen enough. He replaced Sam Montembeault with Cayden Primeau. This fixed nothing. About three minutes in, Rust completed his hat trick to make it 7-2. Minutes later, Matt Nieto made it an 8-2 game. Noel Acciari added a goal with over a minute left for a 9-2 final score. 9-2! The Penguins absolutely hammered Montreal in the third period! They also swept their season series against the Habs.
Pittsburgh’s week ended in Ottawa on Saturday night. The Penguins looked to suffer against Linus Ullmark and they did for two periods. They scored no goals. Thomas Chabot scored in the first period and the Penguins had to chase that to little avail. They would finally breakthrough early in the third period. Blake Lizotte beat Ullmark with a backhander to tie it up. A deflection goal by Drake Batherson put the Pens down a score. But Kris Letang would tie it up after carrying the puck through all three zones, stopping, popping a long shot from the right point, and it sailed past Ullmark. The score was 2-2 and overtime would be needed. Alas, the Penguins failed to get a needed extra point. Brady Tkachuk led a 2-on-1 and scored on a toe drag. The Penguins lost 3-2 in overtime. They split the week at 1-1-1. They are in the mix but an extra point would have put them in fifth instead of seventh place by tiebreakers.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Penguins will start their week on Tuesday night when they host Los Angeles – who clearly has been going through the division between last and this week coming up. A tough match up as the Kings can defend very well. The Penguins will then leave home to visit Nashville on Thursday, hoping to put some more misery on them. Their week will end in Newark when they visit the New Jersey Devils; a tough matchup for the Pens. The Penguins still have a lot to do.
Columbus Blue Jackets
What Happened Last Week: The Columbus Blue Jackets ended their trip in Winnipeg on Sunday night. After three straight losses in Canada, the Blue Jackets went out and…won in Winnipeg? Indeed. After a scoreless first, a pair of penalties provided goals in the second period. Kyle Connor scored a power play goal after a Justin Danforth boarding penalty. Dmitri Voronkov scored a power play goal to tie it up after a high-sticking call on Brad Lambert. The difference maker came in the third period. Kent Johnson scored twice within three minutes to put the Blue Jackets up 3-1. Elvis Merzlikins and the Jackets maintained the score. Sean Kuraly added an empty net goal for a 4-1 win. Yes, the Blue Jackets won in Winnipeg. A winning start to the week, a book end for their road trip, and an actual win in the Great White North.
Columbus went back home on Tuesday night to host Philadelphia. They would go down first and never really recover to the Flyers. Noah Cates scored within the first five minutes and Owen Tippett put the Jackets down a pair over halfway through the first period. Travis Konecny made it a 3-0 deficit with second period PPG. While Zach Werenski put the Blue Jackets on the board late in that period with a power play goal of his own, Konecny scored a second goal of the period with a minute to go in the second period. Morgan Frost scored early in the third to really put the Jackets in a deep 5-1 hole. All the Jackets could do was make the score closer. Which they did with tip-in goals from Sean Monahan and Kent Johnson. It was too little, too late. The Jackets lost a valuable game in the bottom half in the division, 5-3.
Columbus remained in Ohio on Thursday to host Washington. Jet Greaves took to the net for this one and he had an awesome night. Unfortunately for the Jackets, so did Charlie Lindgren for the Capitals. The two kept firing shots but those goalies made saves. Columbus would strike first. Over fourteen minutes into the second period and during a Nic Dowd high-sticking penalty, Zach Werenski beat Lindgren for a PPG to put the Jackets up 1-0. The lead could not be held, though. Pierre-Luc Dubois hooked up Aliaksei Protas in the slot for a one-timer that beat Greaves 33 seconds into the third period. The two goalies did their best to drag their game to overtime and they did. A point for each. Unfortunately for the Jackets, the one shot to win it would come from the Capitals. Protas fired a laser to beat Greaves before halfway through OT to make it a 2-1 OT loss. The point is nice to have but Columbus really needed both as they remain at the bottom of the Metropolitan.
The Blue Jackets’ week ended at home with a Saturday game against Anaheim. They could win the week with a win over the Ducks. The Ducks had other ideas. Late in the first period, Mason McTavish opened the scoring at 16:33. By the 18-minute mark, the Blue Jackets were up 2-1. Despite the goal, McTavish was called for interference on Jet Greaves. Kirill Marchenko punished that with a PPG and Cole Sillinger scored on the next shift. A great response. It would not last. Alex Killorn tied up the game in the second period. In the third period, Columbus just owned a lot of the puck and out-shot the Ducks 17-5. They even went up 3-2 thanks to James van Reimsdyk. However, with the goalie pulled, Jackson LaCombe tied it up on a long shot through traffic. At 3-3, the game went to overtime. Robby Fabbri stole a puck at the Anaheim blueline and played it ahead for Alex Killorn. Killorn stayed ahead of Ivan Provorov and beat Greaves one-on-one to take the game. The Blue Jackets lost 4-3. They remain in eighth place after a 1-1-2 week. They may be three points behind the Flyers in fourth but their lost points are holding them back.
What’s Coming Up This Week: The Blue Jackets will continue to grind through December. Another four-game week awaits Columbus. The Jackets will begin on Sunday in Raleigh to take on the Hurricanes. The Blue Jackets will head further South to Tampa Bay on Tuesday night. Then on Thursday, they make a quick trip back home to host the New Jersey Devils. Then the Jackets head out to Philadelphia to take on the Flyers on Saturday. It is at least all in the East but it is a lot to go through.
That was the tenth Weekly Metropolitan Division snapshot of the 2024-25 season. You read the post about what happened and what’s next. Now it is your turn. Who will be on top for next Sunday between the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils? Will Carolina get back into the picture for first place in this week coming up? Who among the bottom five teams will sort things out and try to break ahead of the pack? 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.