Where Rangers, Metropolitan Division rivals stand entering November
The New York Rangers enter November after one of the best first months of the season in their history. A 6-2-1 start, even if the two losses came in their final three games, is nothing to sneeze at. They are fourth in points in the Metropolitan Division but third in points percentage at .722, trailing the Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals, each of whom are 7-2-0 (.778).
There are a lot of positives to be excited about as the new month begins.
Start with the goaltending. Igor Shesterkin continues to make his case to become the highest-paid goalie in NHL history, and hasn’t let any concerns about free agency next summer distract from his play. He’s 4-2-1 with a 2.43 goals-against average, a .923 save percentage and one shutout. He was the best Ranger on the ice in his two regulation losses. Backup Jonathan Quick is 2-0-0 and has allowed three goals; expect him to see more action this month as the schedule gets busier.
Adam Fox spent most of October partnered with K’Andre Miller while Ryan Lindgren recovered from an upper-body injury. The new duo worked well until Tuesday, when they were caved in during a 5-3 road loss to the Capitals. Coach Peter Laviolette switched things during the game, restoring Lindgren to the top pair. Don’t be surprised if the Lindgren-Fox pairing sees more time.
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Where Rangers, Metro Division rivals stand entering November
Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers with 15 points, and his line with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere continues to shine. But the best news is that the third line of Filip Chytil between Will Cuylle and Kaapo Kakko was arguably the best in hockey during the season’s first month. Chytil, who missed all but 10 games last season because of what was believed to be a concussion, has given the Rangers a big boost up the middle, helping to compensate for the struggles of Mika Zibanejad. When the Chytil line is on the ice at even strength, the Rangers have outscored opponents 10-0, including 9-0 at 5v5.
The Rangers play five of their first six November games at home before spending the week before Thanksgiving visiting Seattle and the three Western Canadian teams. Thanksgiving week will also be hectic with four games in six days – including a Thanksgiving Eve visit to the Hurricanes, who figure to be their biggest hurdle in repeating as Metropolitan Division champs.
Here’s a look at the rest of the Metro (in order of points percentage) as November begins:
Carolina Hurricanes (T1 – 7-2-0; .778 points percentage)
The Hurricanes have won seven of eight since their opening-night loss to Tampa Bay, including a sweep of the same four-game swing the Rangers will make this month, followed by an 8-2 demolition of the Boston Bruins on Thursday.
The ’Canes have excelled despite losing forward Jake Guentzel and defensemen Brady Skjei and Brett Pesce as free agents. They’re a typical Rod Brind’Amour team – Carolina shoots from any and every angle, crashes the net and seems to control the puck at will.
But their two-headed goalie rotation took a hit this week when Frederik Andersen went down with a lower-body injury. Brind’Amour says the oft-injured Andersen is week to week. Pyotr Kochetkov will be counted on to carry the starter’s load, with Spencer Martin as his backup. This is the 25-year-old Russian’s big chance to take the starting role for good.
Washington Capitals (T1 – 7-2-0, .778 points percentage)
The Capitals surprised everyone by qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, although the Rangers swept them in the first round. They’ve exceeded expectations again this season.
Alex Ovechkin isn’t the same player he was in his prime, but he’s still scored five goals (two against the Rangers on Tuesday) and has 10 points in nine games, 37 short of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record for goals.
Tom Wilson leads a balanced attack with six goals, the defense has been solid despite the injury absence of Matt Roy, and coach Spencer Carbery has rotated Charlie Lindgren and Logan Thompson in goal – Thompson is 4-0-0, even though his underlying numbers (3.21 goals-against average, .876 save percentage) aren’t good.
The Caps have a hectic November, playing 15 games in 29 days. They have a three-in-four at Colorado, Vegas and Utah from Nov. 15-18 and a two-game swing in Florida before Thanksgiving.
New Jersey Devils (4th – 7-4-2, .615 points percentage)
The remodeled Devils enter November having played 13 games, more than any other team. To say they’ve been erratic would be an understatement.
The new goaltending duo of Jacob Markstrom and Jake Allen has been inconsistent; each has a shutout, but their combined save percentage is .895. Markstrom’s shutout came Wednesday when the Devils played their best game of the season, routing the Vancouver Canucks 6-0 to begin a three-game Western Canada road trip.
Captain Nico Hischier was the first player in the League to hit double figures in goals this season, and five Devils have at least 12 points. Bottom-six forward Paul Cotter has already chipped in with six goals for a team that’s averaging 3.85 goals per game.
The Devils play 14 times this month, eight on the road. That includes a rare two-game set at Florida on Nov. 12 and 14, followed by a visit to Tampa Bay two nights later. They also play five games in the final eight days of the month.
Columbus Blue Jackets (5th – 5-3-1, .611 points percentage)
The Blue Jackets are off to a solid start that’s more impressive because of what happened during the offseason, when their top player, forward Johnny Gaudreau, was killed when he was hit by a car while riding a bicycle.
Columbus enters November on a 3-0-1 run that includes a 6-1 win against the Edmonton Oilers on Monday and a 2-0 victory over the New York Islanders two nights later. Newcomer Sean Monahan has produced as expected (five goals, nine points), and Mathieu Olivier has surprised with four goals, one short of his full-season NHL career high.
The best news is the play of goalie Elvis Merzlikins, who struggled in his first two games but allowed one goal in the two wins this week.
The November schedule is tough, beginning with a back-to-back Friday at home against Winnipeg and Saturday (on a short turnaround) at Washington. The visit to the nation’s capital begins a five-game trip that includes the three California teams and Seattle. The last four games of the month are at home.
Philadelphia Flyers (6th – 4-6-1, .409 points percentage)
The Flyers opened their season with a shootout victory in Vancouver and won three of their last four in October, sending them into the new month on an upswing after they went 0-5-1 in the middle.
It was a bizarre month for coach John Tortorella’s still-rebuilding team. Sean Couturier had three goals and six points in 11 games – he had a hat trick and two assists in a 7-5 win against Minnesota last Saturday but just one assist in the other 10 games. Their 27.3 shots allowed per game was sixth-best in the league; their 26.2 shots per game were third from the bottom. No. 1 goalie Samuel Ersson is 4-2-1 with a 2.72 GAA and .897 save percentage; his backups, Ivan Fedotov and Aleksei Kolosov are a combined 0-4-0 and have allowed 18 goals on the 102 shots they’ve faced.
All things considered, 4-6-1 isn’t a bad way to go into November. But they’ve got to get Ersson some help and show more consistency.
The Flyers have a tough week ahead, with games at Carolina, Tampa Bay and Florida in a span of five days. They have a five-game homestand from Nov. 16-25 that includes Colorado, Carolina and Vegas coming to Wells Fargo Center.
New York Islanders (7th – 3-5-2, .400 point percentage)
There were 19 shutouts in 166 NHL games in October. The Islanders were on the losing end in four of them.
Ilya Sorokin has lost two 1-0 games, plus a 3-1 defeat (2-1 plus an empty-netter) to the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov allowed a combined three goals in his two shutout losses. The odd part is that the Islanders are generating plenty of chances, especially at even strength. But their 6.5% shooting is far below the League average of 11 percent. The Isles’ inability to finish is costing them dearly, though the underlying numbers say things should get better.
So are their special teams. The penalty kill is tied for last in the NHL (62.5 percent) and has allowed six goals on nine shorthanded situations at home. The power play is 28th at 12.9 percent. Add to that the fact that they’ve blown three leads inside of the last five minutes of regulation and lost another game after leading 3-0 and it’s surprising they’ve done as well as they have.
November’s schedule won’t help. The Isles play eight of their next 10 games away from UBS Arena, including a visit to the Garden on Sunday and the same Seattle-Western Canada swing the Rangers face.
Pittsburgh Penguins (8th – 4-7-1, .375 points percentage)
Sidney Crosby’s overtime goal against Anaheim on Thursday produced a 2-1 win that ended Pittsburgh’s 0-5-1 slide. But the Penguins enter November last in the division and 28th in the overall standings.
They’ve struggled despite getting plenty of production from their two oldest forwards, Crosby (12 points) and Evgeni Malkin (14). Another over-30 forward, Rickard Rakell, has found his scoring touch with six goals in 12 games.
The problem has been keeping the puck out of their own net.
Pittsburgh’s 49 goals allowed are the most in the NHL, and they’ve blown three two-goal leads in their past six games. Longtime No. 1 goalie Tristan Jarry (5.47 goals-against average) has been banished to the AHL, leaving the crease in the hands of Alex Nedeljkovic and rookie Joel Blomqvist.
November begins with a three-in-four trip — they visit the Islanders on Tuesday and have a back-to-back against the Hurricanes and Capitals on Thursday and Friday. Things get better after that — the Penguins play eight of their remaining 10 games at home, including five in a row from Nov. 16-27.
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