New York Rangers: Breaking down the competition in the Metropolitan Division
The New York Rangers have been playing better, but they’ll have to keep it up in a tightly contested Metropolitan Division.
Everyone expected teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Washington Capitals to be competitive, but there have been a few surprises. The New Jersey Devils lead the division with 24 points.
Yet, just six points separates first and last place. The Philadelphia Flyers currently sit eighth in the division, but have a total of 18 points. To put that in perspective, even with their six game winning streak that was just snapped last night, the Rangers are in sixth place and only have 20 points.
While their win streak was needed, it doesn’t mean the Rangers can rest on their laurels. Obviously, not every team from the Metropolitan can make the playoffs, so it’s time to analyze who are the contenders and who are the pretenders.
Contender: Pittsburgh Penguins
Current Record: 10-7-3 (23 points)
The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t playing too well, but that doesn’t mean you can count them out of it. Any team with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Phil Kessel has a chance. All three have scored against the Rangers this year. There’s simply too much firepower.
Condisering that not much changed from last year, and that the Penguins are back-to-back Stanley Cup champions, their start is a bit of a surprise. What’s also concerning is their goal differential, which is third worst in the league at -17. The Penguins 72 goals against highlight a significant problem with their defense, even after a 5-4 win last game against the Buffalo Sabres.
What’s impressive is that despite those numbers, they’re still third in the Metropolitan Division. Their offense has struggled, but is starting to heat up. They have too much talent to not average over three goals a game. However, goaltender Matt Murray needs to be better than a .903 save percentage, and the defense must correct its issues.
Contender: Columbus Blue Jackets
Record: 11-7-1 (23 points)
The Blue Jackets started the season hot, but have struggled recently. When they lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning 5-4 on November 14th, they also lost the next three games after that. A new problem arose, and the Blue Jackets couldn’t score goals.
They scored three in a loss to the Rangers, one in a loss to the Predators, and one again in a loss to the Hurricanes. However, their last two games were both victories, getting the Blue Jackets back on track. The only cause for concern was that in their last two wins, they only scored two goals both times.
The Blue Jackets have too much depth to see their scoring woes continue. Newly acquired sniper Artemi Panarin had 31 goals last season with the Blackhawks, but has just three so far this season. He’s bound to break-out. They’re still second in the Metropolitan in goals scored with 57. The goals will start coming back, and with last year’s Vezina Trophy winner Sergei Bobrovsky owning a .928 save percentage, this team is one of the most balanced in the league.
Contender: Washington Capitals
Record: 10-8-1 (21 points)
After winning the President’s Trophy last year, a bad dream is starting to come true. The Washington Capitals simply aren’t what they once were. Extensions to forward T.J. Oshie and defenseman Dmitri Orlov this past offseason gave the team little cap space to do much else.
Gone was Kevin Shattenkirk after an acquisition brought him to Washington at the trade deadline. Gone was playoff performer Justin Williams, who bolted to Carolina. To re-sign Evgeny Kuznetsov, the Capitals traded high-scoring winger Marcus Johansson to the New Jersey Devils.
The important thing is the core of this team was kept intact. Ovechkin is having a very good year, Nicklas Backstrom is still the teams number one center, and goaltender Braden Holtby is one of the best in the league when on top of his game.
The Capitals have been mediocre up to this point, but they’ll still find a way into the playoffs. Ovechkin has 13 goals in 19 games this year, and if he continues to shoulder the load, the Capitals will remain dangerous. While they are done owning the division for awhile, they’ll still punch their ticket to the big dance. That usually means we’re bound for a Capitals vs. Rangers playoff series, because it seemingly happens every other year.
Contender: New York Islanders
Record: 9-6-2
The New York Islanders are an improved team from last season, a team that barely missed the playoffs. The Rangers cross-town rival added to their scoring depth by acquiring sniper Jordan Eberle for Ryan Strome. It was a great deal that gave the Islanders some more secondary scoring help.
The big question on everyone’s mind is if John Tavares will re-sign with the team. However, it certainly doesn’t look like it’s weighing on his mind. Tavares has 13 goals and six assists for 19 points in 17 games. He’s been absolutely unstoppable.
Rookie Mathew Barzal slipped all the way to 16th overall this past June, and the Islanders scooped him up. Out of training camp, it was clear Barzal was NHL-ready. Now, he’s proving it. Barzal has 11 points in 17 games, and looks like a sure-fire second line center behind Tavares.
The Islanders can effectively roll six defenseman, with Nick Leddy and Johnny Boychuk leading the way. The only problem lies in net. The Islanders don’t have an official starting goaltender between Jaroslav Halak, and Thomas Greiss. Both have looked average in games this season. The Islanders added more scoring, and got younger on defense. They’ll make the playoffs. But, goaltending will determine how far they go.
Contender: New Jersey Devils
Record: 11-4-2 (24 points)
While everyone projected the New Jersey Devils to be at the bottom of the division, they still hold first place as they have for some time now. Of course, I believe the Devils will cool down. But, this hot start is looking like more than just a mirage. That hot start got the best of the Rangers, when the Devils came into the Garden and beat them 3-2.
In their last ten games, the Devils are 5-3-2, so they’ve started to cool off. But, you still have to give credit where credit is due. Coach John Hynes has done an incredible job with this now young team. This team sits first, and that’s without winger Marcus Johansson, and long-time center Travis Zajac.
The key to the Devils success has been their change in philosophy. Everyone remembers them as slow, with no scoring ability on offense. However, this past offseason saw the Devils transform their roster into a team filled with quickness. Taylor Hall has 19 points in 17 games. Miles Wood just had a hat-trick in Chicago. Unknown rookie Jesper Bratt burst onto the scene, and has five goals and eight assists already in his first season.
Finally, goaltender Cory Schneider is getting some scoring help. He boasts a fairly good .922 save percentage, and if he improves, can help the Devils win even more games. The Devils have an elite first line winger, and solid depth filled with speed. They could easily tail off due to inexperience, but don’t be surprised if they don’t.
Pretender: Philadelphia Flyers
Record: 8-8-2 (18 points)
The Philadelphia Flyers are a similar team every year; average. This season looks no different. Sure, they have prolific forwards in Claude Giroux, Jakub Voracek, and Wayne Simmonds. But, that’s about it.
The Flyers are a team that’s needed a full-on rebuild for awhile now. They have a young defense corps led by Shayne Gostisbehere, rounded out by Ivan Provorov, Trevor Sanheim, and Robert Hagg. All four of them are under the age of 25. The main problem for the Flyers remains goal scoring. They have just 50 goals for, second worst in the division to the Carolina Hurricanes. Their scoring depth is an issue, and their fourth line is one of the worst in the league. It’s made up of Michael Raffl, Scott Laughton, and Taylor Leier, which has a putrid shooting percentage of 2.9%.
New starting goaltender Brian Elliott hasn’t been that impressive either. In 12 games, he has a .910 save percentage, and a 2.59 goals against average. Michael Neuvirth has out-performed him with a .928 save percentage in six appearances.
Voracek, Simmonds, and Giroux have been a strong staple for the Flyers. But, constant ineptitude from management in icing an average roster will result in another failure to clinch a playoff birth.
Pretender: Carolina Hurricanes
Record: 7-5-4 (18 points)
The Carolina Hurricanes went on a tear to end last season, almost sneaking into the playoffs. With key additions like forward Justin Williams, and starting goaltender Scott Darling, the thought was that momentum would carry over.
While they have the least amount of games played thus far, they’re still having trouble scoring goals. One big positive though is their goals against, thanks to Darling who’s played as advertised. Instead of relying on sub-par goalie Cam Ward, the Hurricanes finally have a trustworthy starter.
Darling’s 2.37 goals against average in 12 games is great, but he still carries an average save percentage of .910, which means the defense is more than doing it’s job. The defense is made up of young puck movers like Justin Faulk, Noah Hanifin, Jaccob Slavin, and Brett Pesce who are all under 25.
Next: J.T. Miller On Pace For a Breakout Season
This team is young, and can defend. They’re a good 5-on-5 team. But, what’s keeping me from putting them in the conversation is scoring. They have young forwards that are good, but have struggled, like Sebastian Aho who just got his first goal of the season on Monday. The Rangers used to mark this match-up as an easy two points, but that isn’t nearly the case anymore. However, they’ll need to prove to me first that they’re better than 22nd in the NHL in goals per game. If they can’t do that in this tight division, they’ll have to remain a pretender for now.