:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/58481897/911217692.jpg.0.jpg)
A 1-0-1 rankings week (Sunday-Saturday) on the road, with a regulation win against a top team, helped the Islanders start clawing their way back up the LHH Power Rankings last week.
While they’re still under the 100.0 NHL average, they inched closer to it. General weakness in the rest of the Metro also played a part.
Here’s what the guys who get paid to write about this stuff had to say:
Entry # 5 - Feb 17, 2019
| Site | Updated | New Ranking | Prior Ranking | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Site | Updated | New Ranking | Prior Ranking | Comments |
| Buffalo News | 2/16/2019 | 6 | 6 | Playoff site decision using both arenas is probably best compromise. |
| The Hockey Guy | 2/16/2019 | 3 | 3 | There isn't a player on this roster that is not playing well. |
| Brian Simmons | 2/15/2019 | 3 | 4 | |
| ESPN | 2/14/2019 | 6 | 5 | What's so wrong about loving two goalies equally? Robin Lehner has gotten a bit more attention, but Thomas Greiss is only a slight step behind and has gone 4-0-1, saving 154 of 157 shots (.981 save percentage) in his past five games. |
| SportsNet | 2/13/2019 | 4 | 4 | Trade Deadline Prediction: Trader upgrader… we’re guessing. Lou Lamoriello’s lips are sealed like the Ark of the Covenant, but the GM has to reward a group that has rocked the Metropolitan, doesn’t he? While his lack of a 2019 third- or fourth-round pick gives us reason to think he’d be hesitant to let go of a first or second as well, the Islanders should be in the mix for the high-end forwards that become available. |
| NBC | 2/11/2019 | 7 | 7 | The Islanders are a perfect 9-0 in the second half of back-to-backs. |
| CBS | 2/6/2019 | 6 | 6 | They're legitimate. They beat who they're supposed to and give the real ones a fight. Barry Trotz really got this defense up to par. |
| NJ.com | 2/5/2019 | 5 | 5 | A 1-0 shootout loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning provided another example of how the Islanders can hang with the league's top teams. After being the NHL's worst defense in 2017-18, things have turned around dramatically on Long Island. |
Around the League
Metro - 100.5
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | New York Islanders | 58 | 32 | 18 | 8 | 72 | 116.0 | 4 | 115.6 | 4 |
| 2 | Columbus Blue Jackets | 57 | 33 | 23 | 1 | 67 | 109.7 | 7 | 105.2 | 10 |
| 3 | Pittsburgh Penguins | 58 | 29 | 26 | 3 | 61 | 107.6 | 10 | 112.3 | 7 |
| WC1 | Carolina Hurricanes | 59 | 30 | 26 | 3 | 63 | 102.8 | 13 | 96.5 | 18 |
| WC2 | Washington Capitals | 58 | 29 | 25 | 4 | 62 | 102.6 | 14 | 100.4 | 12 |
| 12 | Philadelphia Flyers | 58 | 25 | 30 | 3 | 53 | 90.0 | 22 | 88.0 | 26 |
| 14 | New York Rangers | 57 | 19 | 30 | 8 | 46 | 87.7 | 25 | 85.8 | 26 |
| 15 | New Jersey Devils | 58 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 46 | 87.6 | 26 | 88.7 | 25 |
Washington (1-0-1) remains in the top spot, making up a little ground on the rest of the league. Philadelphia (2-1-0) lost a point, but picked up a spot in the Metro and the league. The Devils 0-4 week dropped them out of the top 3 and behind the Isles. Carolina (1-2-0) maintained 5th. Pittsburgh (2-0-0) moved up to 6th. The Rangers (1-2-0) held 7th. Columbus dropped to last in the division with a 1-1 week. No team in the Metro is worse than the bottom 5 teams in the Atlantic.
Atlantic - 102.0
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | Tampa Bay Lightning | 59 | 40 | 14 | 5 | 85 | 128.3 | 1 | 126.2 | 1 |
| 2 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 58 | 36 | 22 | 0 | 72 | 117.6 | 3 | 117.5 | 3 |
| 3 | Boston Bruins | 59 | 32 | 24 | 3 | 67 | 107.5 | 11 | 100.2 | 14 |
| 9 | Montreal Canadiens | 58 | 29 | 27 | 2 | 60 | 101.9 | 15 | 100.2 | 14 |
| 10 | Buffalo Sabres | 57 | 24 | 28 | 5 | 53 | 94.6 | 18 | 96.0 | 19 |
| 11 | Florida Panthers | 56 | 21 | 28 | 7 | 49 | 94.0 | 20 | 93.2 | 21 |
| 13 | Detroit Red Wings | 59 | 21 | 31 | 7 | 49 | 88.2 | 24 | 89.2 | 23 |
| 16 | Ottawa Senators | 58 | 22 | 36 | 0 | 44 | 84.1 | 31 | 81.7 | 31 |
No changes at all in the top 3. The bottom 5 are the bottom 5 in the Eastern Conference and 5 of the worst 6 teams in the NHL. The Metro, unless several deities intervene, will take both Eastern Wild Card spots.
The West
Central - 100.7
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | Nashville Predators | 61 | 33 | 26 | 2 | 68 | 110.8 | 6 | 114.7 | 6 |
| 2 | St. Louis Blues | 57 | 30 | 26 | 1 | 61 | 109.7 | 7 | 101.2 | 11 |
| 3 | Winnipeg Jets | 59 | 34 | 22 | 3 | 71 | 109.0 | 9 | 115.4 | 5 |
| WC1 | Dallas Stars | 58 | 30 | 28 | 0 | 60 | 104.8 | 12 | 108.8 | 9 |
| WC2 | Minnesota Wild | 58 | 26 | 29 | 3 | 55 | 95.1 | 17 | 100.4 | 12 |
| 11 | Colorado Avalanche | 58 | 23 | 34 | 1 | 47 | 88.8 | 23 | 92.3 | 22 |
| 12 | Chicago Blackhawks | 59 | 23 | 34 | 2 | 48 | 86.6 | 27 | 85.1 | 30 |
5 of the top 10 teams in the league in this division. The Wild, using the LHH Formula, would be in first in the Metro. Instead, the 9th best team in the league would get to face #1 Nashville. The NHL really needs to re-think their playoff format. The only change was St. Louis (2-0-0) and Minnesota (1-1-0) swapping 4th and 5th.
Pacific - 96.9
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| # | Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # | LW | L# |
| 1 | Calgary Flames | 58 | 35 | 19 | 4 | 74 | 119.2 | 2 | 118.8 | 2 |
| 2 | San Jose Sharks | 59 | 35 | 21 | 3 | 73 | 115.4 | 5 | 111.6 | 8 |
| 3 | Vegas Golden Knights | 60 | 30 | 27 | 3 | 63 | 98.8 | 16 | 99.4 | 16 |
| 9 | Arizona Coyotes | 58 | 24 | 31 | 3 | 51 | 94.1 | 19 | 93.8 | 20 |
| 10 | Vancouver Canucks | 60 | 23 | 31 | 6 | 52 | 92.6 | 21 | 98.6 | 17 |
| 13 | Los Angeles Kings | 58 | 21 | 33 | 4 | 46 | 85.2 | 28 | 86.4 | 28 |
| 14 | Anaheim Ducks | 58 | 19 | 34 | 5 | 43 | 84.9 | 29 | 89.1 | 24 |
| 15 | Edmonton Oilers | 58 | 21 | 34 | 3 | 45 | 84.7 | 30 | 87.4 | 27 |
Despite only going 2-1 this week, Vegas jumps to #3 in the NHL. The Flames (0-0-3) took a hit, dropping from 2nd to 4th in the division and 7th to 12th in the league. Arizona continues to wallow at the bottom of the rankings.
The Week Ahead
Tuesday 1/30 - vs (26) Florida
Wednesday 1/31 - @ (13) Toronto
Saturday 2/3 - vs (24) Columbus
To continue to climb in the rankings (and the standings) the Isles need at least 5 of 6 points this week.