Metro Division Power Rankings: The NHL's Toughest Division Gets Tougher to Rank

OK, this is getting ridiculous.

Right now, the Atlantic Division in the NHL has two teams above .500. The Metropolitan Division has five, with one more in Pittsburgh sitting at exactly the break-even mark. Even the two teams at the bottom, Philadelphia and Carolina, could be were it not for an amazing seven overtime/shootout losses apiece.

All, in their own ways, are still alive for playoff contention, or can at least convince themselves that a hot run will put them in the thick of the race.

For the first quarter of the season, the divisions squads were trying to find their footing. Columbus and New Jersey had strong starts, but everyone else had some notable issue. Two-time defending champ Pittsburgh was trying to stabilize its defense. Two-time defending Presidents’ Cup winner Washington was trying to figure out its depth. The New York Rangers, consistent playoff participants the past decade, were trying to dig out from a rough start.

Don’t look now but Washington is on fire, the Rangers have moved into a playoff spot, and the Penguins are 6-4-0 in their last 10 and are going backwards in the division.

It’s a beautiful mess. So let’s try to rank it.

(All possession stats from the great Sean Tierney)

1. Washington Capitals (21-12-1, 43 points): Wait, what? The Caps are in first, and now at the top of this poll? I had this team consistently in the bottom half of the division for the first few rankings, and it was deserved. The team’s stars like Alex Ovechkin, Nick Backstrom and Braden Holtby weren’t quite playing at the level expected, and that was a problem given how the team had to remake the rest of its roster because of a salary cap crunch this offseason. But now, the Caps are on fire, having gone 10-2-0 in their last 12 with wins over Eastern Conference contenders Tampa Bay, Toronto, Columbus and the Rangers in that time span. Ovechkin has been ridiculous, with an NHL-best-tying 23 goals overall and a 5-7-12 line in eight December games. I’m still skeptical of this team’s depth – they’re still not getting a ton of production offensively once you get past the names – and the team’s possession metrics aren’t good, but when the stars are playing like stars this team is one of the most difficult to beat in the NHL.

2. New York Rangers (18-12-3, 39 points): I think I’ve apologized about this before, but jeez, my “The Rangers might be dead” take 12 games into the season was freezing cold. The Rangers are 14-5-1 since November began, are now plus-13 in goal differential, and have one of the top-scoring offenses in the league. The possession stats aren’t a huge fan of the Rangers, but there’s a lot of scoring depth there – 14 players have already topped double digits in points. Perhaps most importantly, the team has figured out how to play the defense it was missing early in the season, with Henrik Lundqvist at a .926 save percentage over his last 19 starts while allowing just over two goals per game. That’ll play when you have guys like Chris Kreider and Michael Grabner scoring, with the latter at 12 goals in his last 20 games. The Rangers are 3-1-0 vs. Metro foes this month.

3. Columbus Blue Jackets (20-12-1, 41 points): The Jackets still kind of are what they are right now, which is a team still trying to get all of its pieces going at one time. The power play continues to languish, but it’s at least balanced by a penalty kill that has more than done its part. Getting everyone on the same page offensively has proved to be a struggle, though we’re starting to see the Nick Folignos, Cam Atkinsons and Alexander Wennbergs of the world start to turn in some better work after being called out by head coach John Tortorella. Defensively, the Jackets have been in a bit of a funk with 3.25 goals per game allowed as part of a 4-4-0 start to December. This is still a team with some tremendous high-end talent, though, and the top line of PB&J along with the top defense pairing of Zach Werenski and Seth Jones has been rampant of late (when those five are on the ice, the CF% of 69.06 at 5-on-5 is pretty much laughably good). Given the star power and the puck possession, you can’t help but think if this team could just score some power-play goals, it would be clearly the best team in the division.

4. New Jersey Devils (18-9-5, 41 points): The Devils just keep on keepin’ on, don’t they? The team is still tied for second in the division with the Jackets even though the possession metrics aren’t, well, good. Of course, those are just a guide, and there’s plenty to like about the Devils. They have a good young core (Hischier, Bratt and Butcher are all great adds), Taylor Hall has fully blossomed (even as he battles a knee injury of late), they’re fast as heck, and Cory Schneider has played like a No. 1 all season. Is that enough to stay afloat in a division that includes star-driven teams, consistent winners and a few similarly young upstarts? Over time, perhaps not. But so far, so good, and the team is 4-3-1 in its last eight so it’s not like they’ve been figured out or anything. 

5. Pittsburgh Penguins (17-14-3, 37 points): OK, I’ll admit, I have no idea what to make of this Penguins team right now. This isn’t the first time the Pens have gone deep into the season trying to find their footing, but it’s jarring to see the team out of a playoff spot right now. I’ve been tempted to give them the benefit of the doubt all year, and it’s not like .500 is a total disaster. Still boasting the division’s worst goal differential isn’t good, but some of the advanced stats would have you believe the Pens have just been downright unlucky this year. Losing Matt Murray to a spell because of injury – and the total collapse of Antti Niemi – has also hurt. So where am I on the Pens? Far from ready to give up on any team that still boasts Sidney Crosby (33 points), Phil Kessel (38) and Evgeni Malkin (30), and I’m guessing the return of Murray might stabilize some things here. It will be fun to renew the rivalry, as the Jackets and Pens face off twice in a week’s time starting Thursday.

6. New York Islanders (18-12-3, 39 points): My biggest takeaway from watching the Islanders on Thursday night was just how good that top line of John Tavares, Josh Bailey and Anders Lee is. I remember watching Lee at Notre Dame, and it’s really something to see how he’s blossomed in the NHL with a team-high 20 goals this season. Anyway, I don’t want to go too far down the Pierre McGuire road, so back to the actual analysis. If the Islanders can keep scoring like they have been, they’ll be nearly impossible to get out of the playoff race, and really, you could argue this has been as fun to watch as any team in the NHL with the second best offense and second worst defense in the league. At some point, though, you figure this team has to stop giving up goals at the rate that it is or something has to give.

7. Carolina Hurricanes (14-11-7, 35 points): OK, we tapped around it on Saturday, but the Canes are just dreadful to watch. I would like the time back that I’ve spent watching the Blue Jackets’ games against Carolina this year. I wanted to make Saturday night’s recap a list of things I wish I had done other than watch that game, a list that would have included washing my hair and watching paint dry. Hey, if this is the way Carolina has to play to win – and it might be, given its strong, young defense and lack of playmakers up front – that’s the way they have to play, but watching essentially no-event hockey is no fun. Anyway, the funny thing is the Canes are among the best in the NHL at creating shots at 5-on-5 per 60 minutes, but my visual evaluation of the team is that hasn’t equated with excitement (the team’s 2.8 goals per game seems to agree). Still, with such strong possession numbers, you can’t count this team out, especially if it can start winning some overtime games.

8. Philadelphia Flyers (14-11-7, 35 points): All right, just when I was ready to give up on the Flyers, they’ve followed an 0-5-5 stretch with a six-game winning streak that has significantly raised the basement floor of the Metro. Part of that has to be attributed to Brian Elliott, who has started every game in that streak and allowed a grand total of nine goals, giving him a 1.71 goals-against and .941 save percentage this month. Some credit has to go to Jake Voracek, who really is a wonder, with 10 assists so far this month. And how about Shayne Gostisbehere in the last seven games? Three goals, two assists, and a plus-5 rating in more htan 20 minutes per night. Ivan Provorov is also averaging around 25 minutes per night, as some of the Flyers young defenders appear to be making strides. It’s still early to count these guys out when there’s talents such as those around, but the defensive gains will have to continue.