Ranking the Metropolitan Division NHL Teams at the All-Star Break
TheHabsFan I love the NHL, and I also love predicting outcomes and ranking teams. As of writing this, it is the all-star break, it's also kind of like the halfway mark (not quite, but almost). So I've decided to rank all four of the divisions, the Atlantic, the Metropolitan, the Pacific, and finally, the Central. From the best to the worst team. Here is my ranking for the Metropolitan division:1. Pittsburgh Penguins
Some people might think I'm a bit crazy to have put the Capitals below the Penguins on this ranking, with them being the current league leader. But, I'm not getting a very good sense from the Capitals, I'm feeling some 2016 vibes going on, which isn't a good sign for the Caps. Anyways, the Penguins make it third on this ranking. Mostly because of their recent Cup success and their great offense. Crosby, Malkin, Geuntzel, Galchenyuk, to name a few great forwards. And not to mention Tristan Jarry! He's playing insanely well.
2. Washington Capitals
As I already stated in this post, the Capitals are currently first in the league. I believe those stats are deceiving, but undoubtedly they're still a great team. I feel like they have one outstanding player in each position at the moment: Ovechkin being the forward, Carlson being the defenseman, and Samsonov being the goalie. They did just recently win a Cup, so they definitely have the skill, but without the drive to win their first Cup, I don't know if they will win a second. Only time will tell.
3. New York Islanders
I am still blown away by their performance! How are they playing so well? I mean, they don't even have a single player who has over 20 goals so far this season! Their offensive stats com nowhere near the teams they're competing against. I guess if must mostly be their goalies, they do have two great goalies in their lineup. Wow Islanders, you keep impressing me, keep it up. And also look at their goal differential, +11, that's not even that good, the Canucks differential is better than that. But they're getting the wins, which is what matters.
4. Carolina Hurricanes
They've slowed down since the beginning of this season no doubt, but they're still playing well. They've got no "without a doubt" best players, every player seems to have a pretty big role, a lot of team chemistry going on with them. Their goalies aren't anything special, they're good, but aren't amazing. After seeing them sweep the Islanders, I've kind of been keeping a closer eye on them, will they repeat that success? I doubt it, but who knows? I hope they do well in the playoffs again, that was very enjoyable to watch.
5. Columbus Blue Jackets
I was very close to putting the Flyers ahead of them, but I didn't, mostly because of Korpisalo. This is another team that has very much impressed me, I was thinking that without Bobrovsky and Panarin, they would totally suck. But man was I wrong! They're looking to make the playoffs, and I believe the main reason is Korpisalo. Korpisalo's stats aren't anything outstanding, but he's getting the wins! If you take a look at their skaters stats, there's no one or two or three more outstanding players than the rest. It's a complete group effort! Keep it up Jackets!
6. Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers are definitely a team I have not been paying much attention to recently. They're playing a bit above average, but nothing spectacular. Their goaltending is very average, while their offense is pretty good. They seem like another team that is very much a group effort. Most of their forwards seem pretty similarly talented to each other. It's quite sad to see that Nolan Patrick isn't even in the lineup right now, they've really got to be hoping he's a late bloomer. I'm guessing they won't make the playoffs, and if they do, they'll go out in the 1st round.
7. New York Rangers
Now we're getting to the crappier teams. The Rangers aren't that bad, but they're not going to make the playoffs, that's for sure. The Metropolitan seems quite solid this season, the only really bad team is the Devils. Since acquiring Panarin, he has been undoubtedly their best player, if they could get a good goalie and a couple more skaters, then they'd be looking good, but until then, I don't think much is going on here. Lundqvist is also majorly slowing down, he's just not the goalie he once was, maybe he'll recover, but I don't think so.
8. New Jersey Devils
I wasn'texpecting them to be this bad this season! Even at the beginning of the season when they had Hall, they sucked, but now they they traded him away for not much in return, they're absolute junk. They're going finish second last in the league probably! What happened to them? Two years ago they had the league MVP! They undoubtedly deserve last place in this ranking. At least they have a few young guns in the lineup, and maybe with the draft pick additions in this upcoming draft, they'll make a new good team.
Well that wraps up my Metropolitan division rankings, I hope you liked it. My current favourite Metro team would have to be the Hurricanes, since there isn't any Canadian teams. Feel free to comment and to criticize my opinions if you want. I'm not sure if I'll do more of these in the future, but I seem to always get the drive, so I probably will. Thanks!