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After a week of little change, there were several changes this past week. Tampa Bay remains on top, barely, but the rest of the top 10 saw big changes.
There was a mixed bag of results for the Isles on the professional rankers front.
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. |
The Metro
With a 1-1-2 week, Washington backed in to the top 10 because last week’s 8, 9 & 10 teams all did worse. Pittsburgh rode a 4-0-0 week up 4.4 points and in to the top 15. Philadelphia (2-0-1) picked up 2.3 points to get back over 100 and hold at 16th. New Jersey (3-1-0) almost made it back over 100 and picked up one spot to 18th. Carolina (1-2-0) dropped .9 points but held onto 20th. The Isles 2-2-0 week saw them lose just 0.1 points and no ranking drop (21st). Columbus (1-1-1) picked up 1.2 points, but dropped from 24th to 25th. The Rangers (1-3-0) lost .3 points but held on to 26th.
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 |
For the first time in forever, the Metro no longer holds both eastern wild card spots using the LHH formula.
The Atlantic
No real changes here, except that Florida is charging up the rankings on the strength of a 3-0-0 week. They picked up 3.6 points and 3 spots to 19th overall, but now hold onto the 2nd wildcard using the LHH formula. Boston (2-1-0) continues to gain ground on first overall Tampa (1-3-0) and Toronto (2-1-0) is staying safely in the top 10. There are also signs of life in Detroit (3-1-0), which moved out of the bottom 5 and past the bottom 2 Metro teams.
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 |
The Central
It was a rough week for the best division in the NHL. They still have 5 of the top 10 teams, but no team gained spots, and only 2 teams held their same spots. Nashville (1-2-0) dropped from 2nd to 5th, and out of the top spot in the division. Winnipeg (2-1-0) held on to 4th overall and moved into 1st in the division. St. Louis (0-2-1) remains 3rd in the division but dropped to 7th overall. Minnesota (1-1-1) dropped to 9th overall, Colorado (2-1-0) dropped to 10th, Dallas (1-1-0) held on to 13th, and Chicago (1-3-0) fell out of the top 20 to 22nd.
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 |
The Pacific
Vegas (3-1-0) moves into 2nd overall this week. Arizona (4-0-0) picks up nearly 5 points, but still remains dead last in the league. Edmonton (0-3-0) drops 3.4 points and 4 spots. The rest of the division was relatively unmoved.
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 |
The Week Ahead...
Mon 2/19 - vs Minnesota (9) in Monday Manatee Matinee Madness
Thu 2/22 - @ Toronto (6) in a John Tavares home game
Sat 2/24 - @ New Jersey (18) in a beer league goalie shuts out Isles game
The over/under for shots against in the 3 games is set at 140.