Rangers in 4-way race for Metropolitan Division lead at quarter mark of NHL season
The NHL season has passed the one-quarter mark, and the New York Rangers are part of a four-way scramble for first place in the Metropolitan Division – despite a disappointing ending to their four-game road trip last week and starting this week with a third straight loss.
The Metro appears to have sorted itself into two levels. The New Jersey Devils, Carolina Hurricanes, Washington Capitals and Rangers are battling for first place, while the New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, Columbus Blue Jackets and Pittsburgh Penguins are already in danger of falling too far off the pace to catch up.
The Devils are on top of the division in terms of points – not surprising since they’ve played an Eastern Conference-leading 24 games, four more than the Rangers and three more than the Hurricanes and Capitals.
The Rangers (12-7-1) would be in better shape had they not lost both games in Alberta during their western trip last week. After defeating the Seattle Kraken 2-0 and the Vancouver Canucks 4-3, they were outplayed badly in a 3-2 loss to the Calgary Flames on Thursday and embarrassed 6-2 by the Edmonton Oilers two nights later.
That said, their 7-7-0 record the past 14 games is more indicative of their overall play this season than the 5-0-1 start.
The 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on Monday began a week that will see the Rangers play four times in six days. The good news is that beginning with their Saturday matinee against the Montreal Canadiens, they play five in a row at the Garden.
Related: 3 Rangers takeaways from third straight loss, 5-2 to Blues
Where Rangers stack up in Metropolitan Division at quarter mark of season
Here’s a team-by-team look at the Metro at the one-quarter mark. Teams are listed in order of points earned through Tuesday.
New Jersey Devils (15-7-2, 32 points)
Good: Improved goaltending, big guns are producing
Trouble spot: Consistency
The Devils started the season by defeating the Buffalo Sabres twice in Prague and haven’t looked back. The addition of No. 1 goalie Jacob Markstrom helped cure New Jersey’s biggest issue from last season, and better health from center Jack Hughes and defenseman Dougie Hamilton has made a huge difference.
The Devils look very much like the team that finished first in the Metro in 2022-23 – lots of offense with adequate defense and goaltending. The Devils have been playing solid hockey after an up-and-down start but need to show more consistency; they’ll be helped by playing 10 of their next 14 games at Prudential Center, and one of the road games is a date at the Garden on Dec. 2.
Carolina Hurricanes (15-5-1, 31 points)
Good: The offense is cooking
Trouble spot: They’re down to their No. 3 goalie
The ’Canes are filling the net, averaging 4.0 goals per game after rallying from two goals down Monday for a 6-4 win against the Dallas Stars, who’ve allowed the fewest goals in the NHL. Martin Necas (35 points; 12 goals, 23 assists) shares the NHL scoring lead with Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon, and bargain free agent Jack Roslovic (yes, the former Rangers wing) has 12 goals; he’s scored more than 12 in a season just once (2021-22 with Columbus).
Carolina may need to keep filling the net; starting goalie Frederik Andersen is out 8-12 weeks after knee surgery and Pyotr Kochetkov is sidelined with a concussion, leaving journeyman Seth Martin and rookie Yaniv Perets to carry the load for now. One of the two is likely to be in goal when the Rangers visit Raleigh on Wednesday.
Washington Capitals (14-6-1, 29 points)
Good: Alex Ovechkin turning back the clock
Trouble spot: Coping with Ovechkin’s absence (broken leg)
The Caps surprised everyone by making the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season; doing it this season won’t be a surprise after their fast start. Ovechkin, now 39, fueled much of the early surge by scoring 15 goals in 18 games before breaking his left leg against the Utah Hockey Club last week; he’ll miss 4-6 weeks.
Washington lost its first two games without Ovechkin before winning 4-1 against the Florida Panthers on Monday. 2019 first-round pick Connor McMichael’s 13 goals are just five fewer than he had all last season, and goalie Logan Thompson, acquired from the Vegas Golden Knights in June, is 9-1-1 with a 2.44 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage.
The Capitals, who don’t see the Rangers again until Jan. 4 in Washington, will have to cope with missing Ovi for most of December, but they have the tools to do it.
New York Rangers (12-7-1, 25 points)
Good: Goaltending, Artemi Panarin, the third line
Trouble spot: Shaky defense, little production from the Mika Zibanejad line
The Rangers won 12 of their first 17 games, largely thanks to the goaltending brilliance of Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick, the scoring of Panarin, who’s on track to repeat as a 100-point scorer, and the solid play of what’s arguably the best third line in the NHL.
But the wheels have come off in consecutive losses to Calgary, Edmonton and St. Louis; they’ve allowed 49, 40 and 43 shots in those defeats and struggled to defend opposition rushes. The line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Reilly Smith has gone cold, the defense is being caved in and the barrage of Grade A chances — especially off the rush — has been more than the goaltenders can handle.
Now, Kreider and Filip Chytil are sidelined with upper-body injuries, the power play has gone cold and the goalies aren’t stealing as many wins.
There are already rumors that GM Chris Drury wants to make some changes, but he also has to be conscious of keeping enough cap space to sign Shesterkin this summer.
New York Islanders (8-9-5, 21 points)
Good: Ilya Sorokin’s return to form
Trouble spot: They can’t score or hold leads
Times are tough on Long Island, where the Isles are missing two-thirds of their top forward line and two-thirds of the left side of their defense. Their special teams are abysmal, they are tied for 27th in goals scored and they’ve failed to close out games when leading in the third period eight times – including four of their past five games, all losses.
Sorokin is healthy and playing well after offseason back surgery and Semyon Varlamov is a fine backup, but even the best goaltenders need some help. It’s hard to see how the Islanders make the playoffs, especially in a season where it looks like at least six of the eight postseason spots in the Eastern Conference are all but locked up. The archrivals don’t see each other until the Rangers go to UBS Arena on Feb. 25.
Philadelphia Flyers (9-10-3, 21 points)
Good: Rookie Matvei Michkov looks like the real thing
Trouble spot: Goaltending
Michkov lasted until the No. 7 overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft because there were fears of how long teams would have to wait for him to come to the NHL from Russia. The rebuilding Flyers only had to wait one season, and they’ve been delighted with what he’s produced (17 points; eight goals, nine assists in 19 games). He’s already scored two overtime winners.
But with starter Samuel Ersson out with an injury, Ivan Fedotov (3-4-1) and Aleksei Kolosov (1-4-1) haven’t done the job between the pipes. The Flyers, who host the Rangers on Friday, haven’t made the playoffs since 2019-20, and they’re going to have a tough time avoiding a fifth straight early summer.
Columbus Blue Jackets (9-9-2, 20 points)
Good: A surprisingly good offense
Trouble spot: Consistency, especially in goal
Through 20 games, the Blue Jackets have a top-10 offense (70 goals scored; 3.50 per game). Newcomer Sean Monahan is one of three Blue Jackets skaters with 20 points; another is defenseman Zach Werenski, who’s quietly having an outstanding season. Perhaps the biggest surprise is forward Mathieu Olivier, who has already scored an NHL career-high six goals despite being among the NHL leaders in penalty minutes (35) and fighting majors (3).
The Blue Jackets lead the NHL by scoring six or more goals six times; they need continued improvement from goalies Elvis Merzlikins (four straight wins) and Daniil Tarasov to have any hopes of a playoff berth. Columbus doesn’t see the Rangers this season until coming to the Garden on Jan. 18.
Pittsburgh Penguins (7-12-4, 18 points)
Good: Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin
Trouble spot: Keeping the puck out of their net
No team has blown more multiple-goal leads than the Penguins, who’ve lost five times when leading by two goals. The oldest Penguins, Crosby (21 points) and Malkin (20), are the only ones with more than 12 points. No one who’s played more than seven games is a plus player. Tristan Jarry’s struggles earned him a brief demotion to the AHL, and the best goals-against average by any of Pittsburgh’s three goalies is Alex Nedeljkovic’s 3.42.
The Penguins, who lost 6-0 to the Rangers on opening night and come to the Garden on Dec. 6, are on track to miss the playoffs for the third consecutive season — something that hasn’t happened since they failed to qualify in four straight seasons from 2000-01 through 2005-06.
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