The book has
officially closed on the 2018-19 NHL regular season. Check out how the
Penguins’ rivals in the Metropolitan division have fared over the last week.
Just as the rest of the regular season has gone for
the Penguins,
last week was full of ups and downs. The week ended with the Penguins clinching
their 13th
consecutive playoff berth last week against the Red Wings on
home ice. It began with a big positive in Pittsburgh, as the Penguins and Hurricanes met
in a game that had major playoff implications. The Pens jumped out to an early
lead and never let the Hurricanes get close, defeating them 3-1 on Sunday.
The Penguins had the chance to clinch a playoff berth on
Tuesday in Detroit, but the Wings would have none of it and won their seventh
game in a row by a final of 4-1. The Penguins would clinch in the next game,
also against the Red Wings, at home with that same final score of 4-1. It was
the eighth-straight game decided by exactly three goals between the two teams,
which is a strange coincidence.
The Penguins closed out the regular season at home against
the New York
Rangers and needed one point to remain in third place, as
the Hurricanes defeated the Capitals that
night to equal the Penguins 99 points. They got an early third period goal to
go ahead 2-1 before the Rangers came charging back to tie it at two (and get
the go ahead goal via another back-breaking short-handed goal less than two
minutes later). A first round matchup against the Capitals was becoming a
haunting reality before Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel teamed
up for a milestone goal for both players. Guentzel would
tie the game with just over two minutes left to record is 40th goal of the
year, and Crosby would
assist on that goal to bring his point total to an even 100. The game went to
overtime, and the Penguins seemed uninterested at that point while they watched
the Rangers scored to get the victory. However, that loser point secured third
place in the Metro and a matchup against the Islanders in
the first round.
The Islanders completed their complete turnaround from last
year with back-to-back wins to finish the season only one point out of first
place in the Metropolitan. Their goals against went from the league’s worst
last year with 296 goals surrendered to first this year with only 196 behind
first year coach Barry Trotz. Nobody saw that coming at the beginning of the
year, and many people expected them to be much worse after the departure of
franchise center John Tavares. However, Trotz’s defensive mind quickly changed
things for the Islanders, and they got the best effort of Thomas Greiss and Robin Lehner’s
careers to secure the William M. Jennings trophy for the Islanders. Trotz is
giving Lightning coach
Jon Cooper a run for his money as the Jack Adams award for best coach. Cooper
tied the NHL record for wins, but Trotz took the Isles from worst to first in
goals against. It’s going to be a tossup between the two of them for the award.
The Islanders will face the Penguins in the first round
starting at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday night. The two teams split the regular
season series with both teams winning two games, with one of those victories
coming via a shootout for each side. The Penguins have the clear advantage
offensively by scoring 45 more goals than the Islanders, but the Islanders have
the clear advantage defensively by allowing 46 fewer goals than the Penguins.
The matchup will be very close across the board, as both teams finished with a
plus-32 goal differential and the season series saw the Penguins outscoring the
Islanders by only goal — 13 to 12 — in the four games. Both teams have what it
take to advance to the next round, and it’ll be a very interesting matchup.
This may be the closest matchup in the first round in the NHL.
The Capitals dropped two out of their three games last week,
but managed to secure their fourth consecutive Metro Division Championship.
They kicked off last week in Sunrise, Florida and were getting blown out by
the Panthers before
scoring three-straight third period goals to bring the score to 4-3. Vincent
Trocheck would then score to secure a 5-3 victory for the
Panthers.
The Caps would secure the Metropolitan crown at home with a
2-1 victory on Thursday night against Montreal, essentially eliminating
the Canadiens at
the same time. With the Metro Division in-hand and nothing to gain or lose in
their final game of the year, the Capitals rested several of the veterans and
were playing a conservative game against the Islanders in their final game of
the season. The Capitals were shutout 3-0 in that game, but it didn’t mean much
to them. The Capitals will face off against the Hurricanes in the first round
of the playoffs. Alex Ovechkin was
held scoreless in their three games last week but still managed to win
his NHL record
eighth Rocket Richard Trophy with his 51 goals, one ahead
of Leon
Draisaitl’s 50 with Edmonton this season.
Carolina would clinch their first playoff berth in 10 years
last week. They began with their most important game in years in Pittsburgh.
Pittsburgh would jump out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period and never
let the Hurricanes get close as Carolina fell 3-1, which dropped the Canes into
the second Wild Card.
The Hurricanes moved back into the first Wild Card in
Toronto two nights later by defeating the Maple Leafs 4-1
in a strong effort by Carolina and goalie Petr Mrazek. They would clinch the
first playoff berth since 2009 at home against the Devils in
their home finale on Thursday night. The Devils scored first five minutes into
the game, but didn’t have enough fight against a desperate Hurricanes team, as
Carolina scored the final three goals to win 3-1 in front of their home fans.
Carolina finished their season in Philadelphia, and jumped out to a 3-1 lead
before allowing the Flyers to
tie the game in the 2nd period. Jordan Staal would
answer soon after the Flyers tied the game and the Canes held on for a 4-3
victory to lock up the first Wild Card and will play the Washington Capitals in
the first round.
Game 1 between the Hurricanes and Capitals will take place
on Thursday night at Capital One Center. The Capitals swept the Hurricanes in
four games this season outscoring the Canes 16-9 in the process. That doesn’t
mean much once the games begin, but it’ll take everything Carolina can muster
up to knock out the defending Stanley Cup champs starting on the road.
Columbus was playing desperate hockey to stay in the playoff
race last week. It began last week on the back end of a road back-to-back in
Buffalo, and Sergei
Bobrovsky would stop all 38 shots he faced. The Blue Jackets were
up 4-0 before the end of the second period and finished the game with that
score. That win was the Jackets’ fifth in a row, which moved them into the
first Wild Card.
Their win streak was snapped two days later by the Boston Bruins in
dominant fashion. The Bruins scored the first five goals of the game before the
Jackets scored their first goal five minutes into the third period. Columbus would
add another one before the Bruins scored one more goal to drop the Jackets 6-2
in Columbus’s home finale. The Jackets finished their season with a
back-to-back against some weak competition in NYC and Ottawa. The Jackets
needed a shootout against the Rangers after allowing them to tie in with only
seven seconds left, but came up big in the skills competition to clinch a
playoff berth. They then finished their season against the Senators, who
gladly accepted defeat in a 6-2 beat down.
Columbus would finish as the second Wild Card after entering
the final week in a battle with Carolina and Montreal. That gives them the
privilege of playing against the Tampa Bay Lightning, who tied the 1996 Red
Wings with the most regular season victories in NHL history with 62 wins. The
Jackets were putrid against the Lightning in the regular season, losing all
three games by a combined 17-3 score. Bobrovsky was
also suspended by the team after getting pulled in a game in Tampa in January
and headed to the showers before the game was concluded. All of that doesn’t
mean anything now that the second season begins, but the Jackets will need to
play their best hockey if they want to defeat the Lightning in the first round.
The Flyers season essentially ended at the end of March as
they dropped their final five games and six out of their last seven games. The
Flyers lost their four games last week by getting outscored 20-8. They were
shutout at home by the Rangers last Sunday to begin last week, and then had a
two game road swing through Dallas and St. Louis and dropped those two games
6-2 and 7-3, respectively. They had a chance to end on a positive note for
their home fans on Saturday, but found themselves down 3-1 at the end of the
first period. However, they put up a fight and tied the game at three. That was
until Jordan Staal scored
1:23 after the Flyers tied it to secure the victory and playoff berth for
Carolina. This was another roller coaster season for the Flyers, and it ended
on a sour note. At least they have Gritty to keep them distracted for the
disaster on the ice.
The Flyers will have an off-season of change and will be
looking to rebuild on the fly. Their defense was supposed to be the future of
their team but did not take the step forward that management was hoping for.
Their management was then overthrown this season with the firing of their
general manager and head coach, and the head coaching position remains open.
The Flyers finished 22nd overall and have a 3.5 percent chance of landing the
number one pick.
The New York Rangers played five games in seven days to
close out their season and weren’t going down without a fight. This began last
week with a back-to-back on the road starting in Philadelphia. Alexandar
Georgiev made 29 saves, and the Rangers got two first period goals and shutout
the Flyers 3-0 in their last meeting this season. The Rags played in New Jersey
the following night and allowed two third period goals after being tied at the
end of the second period to fall to the Devils by a 4-2 final. Henrik
Lundqvist would attempt to achieve win number 450 for the
sixth time on home ice against Ottawa on Wednesday night, but for the
sixth-straight time was denied. The Senators jumped out to a 3-0 lead early in
the second period and held on for the 4-1 victory.
NYR played in the home finale on Friday night against the
Blue Jackets and had control for most of the game, until the Blue Jackets
scored two goals in the third period to go ahead 2-1. Pavel
Buchnevich would score his 21st goal of the season with
seven seconds remaining in the third period to force overtime, however. Artemi
Panarin would score in the second round of the shootout
before Bobrovsky denied Tony DeAngelo to
clinch a playoff spot for the Blue Jackets with their 3-2 shootout victory. The
Rangers finished their season in Pittsburgh and scored two quick goals in the
third period, the second of which came short-handed, to stun the PPG Paints
Arena crowd and give the Penguins a scare of dropping into the first Wild Card
spot. However, Jake Guentzel would
tie the game late to force overtime. The Rangers would score two minutes into
overtime to win their 32nd game and finish the season with a victory.
The Rangers are in the middle of a rebuild and this season
went very much like they expected. This season ended with Glen Sather stepping
down as president, but he will remain with the Rangers in an adviser’s role.
They had some positives with Mika
Zibanejad becoming a number one center in the league and
got a chance to see what some of their up-and-coming talent can do in the NHL.
The Rangers finished in 26th place and have a 7.5% chance of winning the Jack
Hughes sweepstakes.
The Devils had a winning final week, but still remained in
the basement of the Metropolitan Division. They began last week with their home
finale against the New York Rangers and sent their fans home happy with two
third period goals to hand the Rangers the 4-2 loss. The Devils traveled to
Carolina two days later and scored the first goal of the game before allowing
the game’s final three to Carolina to drop that game 3-1. The Hurricanes
clinched a playoff spot with that victory in front of their home fans. The
Devils closed out their disappointing season on a positive note in Sunrise, but
it didn’t come easy. They were leading 3-1 after two periods before the
Panthers scored two goals late in the third period to force overtime. Travis Zajac would
score on the powerplay 56 seconds into overtime to end the season with a win.
New Jersey remained in last place for most of the season and
lost its MVP Taylor Hall the
day after Christmas. He never returned. It’s going to be a long off-season for
the Devils who may be big players in free agency with plenty of money
available. The Devils also have and 11.5 percent chance of landing the No. 1
pick in this year’s draft.
That wraps up another successful season in the Metro, in
which five out of the eight teams advanced to the playoffs. Thank you everyone
for reading and voting for the game of the week each week. It’s been a wild
ride, and the big dance will begin on Wednesday night. Playoff hockey — does it
get any better?
There will be plenty of Metropolitan news in the coming
weeks with front office moves and player movement. Be sure to check back from
time to time with the off-season installments of KUWTM! Again, thank you
everyone for reading each week!
(3) X-PITTSBURGH
PENGUINS
FINAL SEASON RECORD: 44-26-12; 100 pts;
GF: 273 (6th in the NHL; 6th last week);
GA: 241 (14th; T-14th)
LAST
WEEK RECORD 2-1-1 record
last week
3/31/19
CAR: 1
PIT: 3
Fourth line
and depth comes through for Pittsburgh in crucial win
4/2/19
PIT: 1
DET: 4
Mantha and
Bertuzzi score two goals each in Detroit’s 4-1 win over Pittsburgh
4/4/19
DET: 1
PIT: 4
Phil’s pair
powers Pittsburgh; playoff pass punched
4/6/19
NYR: 4 OT
PIT: 3
Pittsburgh
takes care of business enough, loses in OT, but secures playoff matchup with
NYI
INJURIES:
- 2/25/19,
D Chad
Ruhwedel - Day-to-day; Upper-body injury
- 3/9/19,
LW Zach Aston-Reee - Day-to-day; Lower-body injury
- 4/1/19,
D Brian
Dumoulin - Day-to-day; Lower-body injury
(1) Y-Washington
Capitals
FINAL SEASON RECORD: 48-26-8, 104 pts;
GF: 278 (5th);
GA: 249 (17th; 18th)
RECORD
LAST WEEK: 1-2
4/1/19
WSH: 3
FLA: 5
Caps Squander
Opportunity To Clinch Division With 5-3 Loss To Cats In Regular Season Road
Finale
4/4/19
MTL: 1
WSH: 2
Fourth Line
Flies, Caps Clinch Metropolitan Division
4/6/19
NYI: 3
WSH: 0
Washington
Thinking Playoffs, New York Wins 3-0
INJURIES:
- 3/19/19,
D Michal
Kempny - Day-to-day; Torn hamstring
(2) X-NEW YORK
ISLANDERS
FIANL SEASON RECORD: 48-27-7, 103 pts;
GF: 228 (21st);
GA: 196 (1st)
RECORD
LAST WEEK 2-1
4/1/19
TOR: 2
NYI: 1
Leafs strike
back
4/4/19
NYI: 2 SO
FLA: 1
Down to the
wire in Florida
4/6/19
NYI: 3
WSH: 0
Filppula
goals, Lehner shutout clinch home ice and Jennings Trophy
INJURIES:
- 3/25/19,
LW Andrew
Ladd - Day-to-day; Torn ACL
- 3/27/19,
C Tanner
Fritz - IR; Hand
(4)X-CAROLINA
HURRICANES
FINAL SEASON RECORD: 46-29-7, 99 pts;
GF: 245 (16th);
GA: 223 (T-6th; T-7th)
RECORD
LAST WEEK: 3-1 record last
week
3/31/19
CAR: 1
PIT: 3
A loss on
multiple fronts
4/2/19
CAR: 4
TOR: 1
The Leaders
Lead
4/4/19
NJD: 1
CAR: 3
Finally
4/6/19
CAR: 4
PHI: 3
Canes survive
game 82; will take on the Capitals in the first round of the playoffs
INJURIES:
- 3/30/19,
D Calvin de Haan - Day-to-day; Upper-body injury
(5) X-COLUMBUS BLUE
JACKETS
FINAL SEASON RECORD: 47-31-4, 98 pts;
GF: 258 (12th; T-12th);
GA: 232 (11th)
RECORD
LAST WEEK: 3-1
3/31/19
CBJ: 4
BUF: 0
Blue Jackets
Win Fifth Straight, Blank Sabres 4-0
4/2/19
BOS: 6
CBJ: 2
Blue Jackets
no-show again under the national spotlight
4/5/19
CBJ: 3 SO
NYR: 2
Blue Jackets
win; clinch playoff spot!
4/6/19
CBJ: 6
OTT: 2
Columbus Blue
Jackets defeat Ottawa Senators; will face Tampa Bay Lightning in First Round
INJURIES:
- 2/17/19,
D Ryan
Murray - IR; Upper-body injury
- 3/28/19,
D Adam
McQuaid - Day-to-day; Upper-body injury
(6) PHILADELPHIA
FLYERS
37-37-8, 82 pts;
244 GF (17th; 15th); 281 GA (29th; T-24th)
0-4 record last week
3/31/19
NYR: 3
PHI: 0
Mathematical
elimination is a state of mind
4/2/19
PHI: 2
DAL: 6
This game
definitely happened
4/4/19
PHI: 3
STL: 7
Blues
steamroll Flyers in 7-3 blowout
4/6/19
CAR: 4
PHI: 3
So long and
goodnight
Injuries:
- 1/3/19,
G Michal
Neuvirth - IR; Lower-body injury
- 4/3/19,
C Nolan
Patrick - Day-to-day; Upper-body injury
(7) NEW YORK
RANGERS
FINAL SEASON RECORD: 32-36-14, 78 pts;
GF: 227 (T-22nd; T-23rd);
GA: 272 (24th; 23rd)
RECORD
LAST WEEK: 2-2-1
3/31/19
NYR: 3
PHI: 0
Georgiev,
Rangers Shut Out Flyers in Philadelphia
4/1/19
NYR: 2
NJD: 4
Late Third
Period Goal Dooms Rangers in Jersey
4/3/19
OTT: 4
NYR: 1
Rangers Fall
to Senators 4-1 at Madison Square Garden
4/5/19
CBJ: 3 SO
NYR: 2
Rangers Tie
Game Late But Fall in the Shootout
4/6/19
NYR: 4 OT
PIT: 3
Rangers Close
Out Season with Overtime Win in Pittsburgh
INJURIES:
- 3/9/19,
D Libor
Hajek - Day-to-day; Separated shoulder
- 3/18/19,
RW Jesper
Fast - Day-to-day; Shoulder
- 4/2/19,
RW Filip
Chytil - Day-to-day; Undisclosed injury
- 4/5/19,
D Tony
DeAngelo - Day-to-day; Lower-body injury
(8) NEW JERSEY
DEVILS
FINAL SEASON RECORD: 31-41-10, 72 pts;
GF: 222 (26th; 25th);
GA: 275 (26th; 28th)
RECORD
LAST WEEK: 2-1 record last
week
4/1/19
NYR: 2
NJD: 4
The New
Jersey Devils Denied the Sweep and Defeated the New York Rangers, 4-2
4/4/19
NJD: 1
CAR: 3
New Jersey
Devils Beaten 1-3 by Playoff-Bound Carolina Hurricanes
4/6/19
NJD: 4 OT
FLA: 3
Devils Send
Off the Season with an OT Win
INJURIES:
- 12/26/18,
LW Taylor
Hall - IR; Lower-body injury
- 3/4/19,
RW Jesper
Bratt - Day-to-day; Lower-body injury
- 3/24/19,
D Sami
Vatanen - Day-to-day; Illness
- 3/31/19,
RW Kurtis
Gabriel - Day-to-day; Upper-body injury
- 3/31/19,
RW Kyle
Palmieri - Day-to-day; Lower-body injury
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