The New York Rangers are once again in the mix to contend for the top spot in the Metropolitan Division this season. With a record of 8-2-1, and plenty of room for improvement, the Rangers have put themselves in a great spot over the course of the first month of play.
It’s familiar territory for the Rangers. They secured first place in the Metro last season — and won the Presidents’ Trophy for best record in the NHL — with a franchise-record 114 points. They’ve notched 100+ points three seasons in a row, winning the division once and finishing six points out of first place the other two seasons.
Of course, before 2021-22 the Rangers never finished higher than fifth in their division from 2017-18 to 2020-21. So, these things largely go in cycles, though the Carolina Hurricanes have finished in the top four in the division when making the Stanley Cup Playoffs each of the past six seasons. Carolina finished in second place in 2023-24 after winning the division each of the previous three seasons.
This season, there seems to be a clear case of the haves and have-nots in the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers currently sit in second place in terms of points (17) and points percentage (.773). The Devils are first in points (18) but have played four more games than the Rangers and are five ahead of the Hurricanes, who have the best points percentage (.800).
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Breaking down Rangers, Metropolitan Division rivals into two categories this season
The good: Devils, Rangers, Hurricanes, Capitals
After just about a month of play, the top four teams in the Metropolitan Division are as follows:
New Jersey Devils: 18 Pts (8-5-1)
New York Rangers: 17 Pts (8-2-1)
Carolina Hurricanes: 16 Pts (8-2-0)
Washington Capitals: 16 Pts (8-3-0)
Clearly, it is a tight battle to start the season. Each team has exactly eight regulation wins, and there is only a two point margin between the top four teams. It is important to note that the first-place Devils have played 15 games, meaning the Rangers and Capitals have four games in hand, and the Hurricanes have five. Nonetheless, these are the distinct frontrunners to begin the season.
After making a slew of offseason acquisitions, the Devils, who missed the playoffs last season, were bound to have a bounce-back season They’ve done so to this point and thatings should only get better now that Brett Pesce and Luke Hughes are healthy.
The Rangers and Hurricanes picked up where they left off last season, and remain two of the best teams in the League. New York is completely healthy with the returns of Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey. However, Carolina is now without goalie Frederik Andersen. Still, each team appears to be primed to make another playoff run this season.
The big surprise here is the Washington Capitals. After barely squeaking into the playoffs last season with a whopping minus-37 goal differential, there was doubt surrounding their ability to compete in a top-heavy division. However, Alex Ovechkin is off to a much better start this season with seven goals and 14 points, and the Capitals are playing much better on each side of the puck, even with two of their biggest offseason additions — defensemen Matt Roy and Jakob Chyrchun — sidelined by injury.
The bad: Blue Jackets, Penguins, Islanders, Flyers
Here are the standings for the bottom four teams in the Metropolitan Division:
Columbus Blue Jackets: 11 Pts (5-5-1)
Pittsburgh Penguins: 11 Pts (5-7-1)
New York Islanders: 10 Pts (4-6-2)
Philadelphia Flyers: 9 Pts (4-7-1)
Evidently, the Metro is split into two distinct groups. These four teams have struggled to start the season. Though not so far behind the frontrunners, one would expect more separation with more games played.
The surprise here is that Columbus Blue Jackets are NHL .500. They finished last in the Eastern Conference with 66 points and had the third-worst record in the NHL last season. They then traded Patrik Laine to the Montreal Canadiens and lost their best player when Johnny Gaudreau was tragically killed in an offseason biking accident. But with the smallest payroll in the League, the Blue Jackets were 5-3-1 until losing their past two games. It’ll be difficult for them to keep up with others in the division. But good on the Blue Jackets so far.
The Penguins are looking to bounce back after failing to make the playoffs the past two seasons, a rare feat for future hall-of-famer Sidney Crosby. Speaking of Crosby, Sid the Kid is showing no signs of slowing down. He’s got 14 points already on the season, as does Evgeni Malkin. Some help in the crease, where the Penguins have been awful, and they just might turn things around. But Pittsburgh appears to be at least a notch or two behind the best teams in the division.
The Islanders and Flyers, albeit early, are on the verge of hitting the panic button. The Islanders made playoffs after finishing third in the Metro last season, but are now on the outside looking in. They’ve been shut out four times already and ravaged by injuries to Mathew Barzal, Anthony Duclair, Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly.
The Flyers have a shining star in rookie Matvei Michkov, but they’ve struggled early on. Earning just four wins in 12 games is not the start that coach John Tortorella imagined as he is trying to get the Flyers back into the playoffs for the first time since the 2019-20 season. They already have a minus-13 goal differential — scoring and keeping the puck out of their own net each has proven difficult so far.
