East Division Update - February 25th

There were three games in the division tonight, all of which held opportunities for teams to move around in the standings. This division is so tight, that a team can jump up and down the ranks just by winning or losing one game. The games tonight included another great matchup of Pittsburgh @ Washington, Boston @ the NY Islanders, and the Devils @ the Sabers again. My analysis of all three games below.

(Image Credits: 1 - PensBurgh, 2 - The Athletic, 3 - LightHouse Hockey)

PITTSBURGH @ WASHINGTON

The more I cover these games, the more I realize how lucky we are as hockey fans to be able to see this rivalry unfold every season. The Penguins and the Capitals battled out another close one at Capital One Arena in D.C. on Thursday night. Washington would startup at 1-0 early in the first, thanks to Nick Backstrom, and go up 2-0 in the third period. This came after a sweet goal by T.J. Oshie as he was falling down with one hand on his stick. The Penguins, however, wouldn't give up, as they've done all season, getting two goals in about a minute from Brandon Tanev (Shorthanded) and Jake Guentzal to even it up at 2-2. The Pens got a bit of a spark in the first period when Caps forward Tom Wilson laid a heavy, late hit on Mark Jankowski as he was clearing the puck into the zone. In my opinion, it was late and should be looked at by the NHL as a possible suspension. The hit came about four seconds after he cleared the puck in, which is grounds to suspend.

The Capitals got a bit of luck on two separate occasions in the third period as well, when Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang's stick broke twice, allowing the PPG by Tom Wilson, and the first of two empty-net goals by Carl Hagelin. Pittsburgh dropped their first in five games, while Washington picked up the win 5-2, after losing to the Pens Tuesday night in OT.

Scoring:

1st Period: Washington: Nick Backstrom, 9th of the season (Even Strength). Pittsburgh: No Goals.

2nd Period: No Goals.

3rd Period: Washington: T.J. Oshie, 5th of the season (Even Strength), Tom Wilson, 7th of the season (PPG), Carl Hagelin, 2nd of the season (ENG), Lars Eller, 3rd of the season (ENG). Pittsburgh: Brandon Tanev, 5th of the season (SHG), Jake Guentzal, 7th of the season (Even Strength).

BOSTON @ NY ISLANDERS

This game summary won't be super long, as the game went entirely one way, but not exactly how you might think it went. The Islanders pummeled the Bruins 7-2 in Long Island on Thursday night, getting a much-needed W in this tight division. The Bruins, however, lost a game, but that doesn't mean much to them as they lead the East. The good teams are allowed to have a bad game once in a while, and that's what I think happened in this one. New York got five of their seven goals in the third period, being tied 2-2 after 40 minutes. Boston's Tuukka Rask gave up 7 goals on 37 shots in this one, while the Isles Semyon Varlamov made 34/36 saves.

Scoring:

1st Period: Bruins: Nick Ritchie, 7th of the season (Even Strength). Islanders: Adam Pelech, 1st of the season (Even Strength), Matt Barzal, 7th of the season (Even Strength).

2nd Period: Bruins: Craig Smith, 4th of the season (Even Strength). Islanders: No Goals.

3rd Period: Islanders: Anthony Beauvillier, 1st of the season (Even Strength), Jordan Eberle, 8th of the season (Even Strength), Jean-Gabriel Pageau, 8th of the season (SHG), Anders Lee, 9th of the season (Even Strength), Oliver Wahlstrom, 2nd of the season (Even Strength).

DEVILS @ SABERS

This game was pretty close but had some interesting storylines to it. The Sabers were coming into the game without captain Jack Eichel, as he was a late scratch. This wouldn't bode well for the Sabers, as they would lose 4-3 in OT on a goal from Pavel Zacha. The Devils needed to win this one after losing three straight, and they got it done. Buffalo, however, continues to struggle and remains at the bottom of the East division standings. Goaltender Linus Ullmark was also injured for the Sabers in this one, as they continue to get served some bad luck.

Scoring:

1st Period: Buffalo: Riley Sheahan, 2nd of the season (Even Strength). Devils: No Goals.

2nd Period: Buffalo: Casey Mittelstadt, 1st of the season (PPG). Devils: Jesper Bratt, 1st of the season (Even Strength).

3rd Period: Buffalo: Sam Reinhart, 7th of the season (PPG). Devils: Miles Wood, 6th of the season (PPG), Nico Hischier, 1st of the season (Even Strength).

Overtime: Devils: Pavel Zacha, 5th of the season (OT Winner).

Standings After Tonight:

1. Bruins

2. Capitals

3. Islanders

4. Flyers

5. Penguins

6. Devils

7. Rangers

8. Sabers