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I guess there’s some other sort of sporting contest happening today. From what I understand, it will be shown sporadically between a bunch of commercials.
So, the Islanders won last night, and have points in 8 straight games. They’re also in first place in the Metro, still. I guess Bossy and Trottier are getting it done up front, and Billy Smith is holding down the fort on the back end. What, this isn’t the 80’s?
The Isles are now universally in the top 7 of all the other pros I track, even the ones that are more than a week out of date. Here’s what they have 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. |
Now on to the actual rankings: Remember that the W-L-T records shown reflect regulation/OT wins and losses, with shootout games counted as ties.
Metro
The Islanders went 1-0-2 since the last update, which was enough to gain them a point in the rankings and hang on to 4th overall in the NHL. The other top Metro teams all lost between 1 and 3 points, although Washington managed to move up from 13th to 12th. The biggest gainer in the NHL was Philadelphia, picking up 6 points and jumping from 30th to 26th. The Devils also got hot, picking up 4.2 points and going from 28th to 25th.
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 |
The Metro is also no longer the weakest NHL division, weaseling up past the Pathetic Division, but still a decent margin behind the
Atlantic
Tampa and Toronto continue to lead, and Boston and Montreal are tied for 14th overall. Detroit picked up 4.2 points and moved to 23rd from 27th. Florida also showed some signs of life moving from 24th to 21st.
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 |
And now out west where they also play what some consider hockey:
The only team in the Central that didn’t pick up points was Colorado. Winnipeg and Nashville are the teams right behind the Isles in the rankings. Dallas remains in the top 10, and St. Louis jumps 5 spots from 16th to 11th. The Central would put 5 teams into the playoffs if the LHH point system was used.
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 |
Pathetic Division
Vegas went into free fall, dropping 5 point and 5 spots from 11th to 16th. Calgary dropped some points, but still holds onto 2nd overall. Edmonton is at risk of being booted from Canada as they continue to slide, down 4 spots to 27th. Word from my sauces is that Trudeau is trying to swing a deal with Trump by offering Edmonton, poutine, bacon, maple syrup and William Shatner for San Jose. The deal is being held up by Trump insisting Canada take Justin Bieber back.
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 Road Ahead
2 short, relatively local road trips in the next 2 weeks, before the big western Canada in February road trip (fire your travel agent!).
Tue. 2/5: @ Boston (14)
Thu. 2/7: @ New Jersey (25)
Sat. 2/9: vs Colorado (22)
Sun. 2/10: vs Minnesota (12)
Tue. 2/12: @ Buffalo (19)
Thu. 2/14: @ Columbus (10)
Sat 2/16: vs Edmonton (27)
Bonus Rankings! NJ D-Division Beer League
This is the league where I play. I’m on the Narwhals, currently riding a 9 game win streak and looking to extend it tomorrow night.
Beer League
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | T | PTS | LHH | # |
| Narwhals | 14 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 23 | 177.6 | 1 |
| Outlaws | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 16 | 128.3 | 2 |
| Rolling Thunder | 14 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 17 | 125.3 | 3 |
| Kodiakbears | 15 | 8 | 6 | 1 | 17 | 113.3 | 4 |
| Storm | 15 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 94.5 | 5 |
| Wolves | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 12 | 72.4 | 6 |
| Chiefs | 14 | 1 | 12 | 1 | 3 | 48.1 | 7 |
| Benders | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 6 | 40.6 | 8 |
6 games to go in the season, top 4 teams make the playoffs. Winner goes to Toronto in June to play other league winners.