East Division Update - March 4th

There were three games tonight in the division, all of which featured at least one good team. The Penguins played host to Philidelphia again for the second time in three nights, Buffalo traveled to Long Island for a date with the Islanders, and the Rangers made the quick trip to New Jersey to play the Devils. The games tonight featured lots of action, so let's get to my analysis below.

(Image Credits: 1 - Pic Dawgz, 2 - PensBurgh, 3 - Blueshirt Banter)

FLYERS @ PENGUINS

This game was just the fourth between these two this season but was nothing short of exciting. The Penguins were coming off a win against this team two nights ago and were looking to improve to 9-1 at home. The Flyers were looking to bounce back from a rough game that saw them lose to the Penguins 5-2 on Tuesday night. The Pens started fast, scoring early and often with three goals in about two minutes to take the 3-0 lead early. Pittsburgh forward Jared McCann scored the nicest of the three, tipping a shot-pass from Kasperi Kapanen bar-down while spinning into the boards. The Penguins would soon give up the momentum, as Philly began taking control of the game. They started with a goal from Sean Couturier and never looked back, earning a 4-3 win. Goaltender Brian Elliott was kept in the game despite the early large deficit and bounced back big time to secure the Flyers the win. Captain Claude Giroux also stepped up, getting three points in tonight's game after being held off the score sheet on Tuesday. The Penguins were hoping to have a better result, as captain Sidney Crosby cleared covid protocol today, and returned to the lineup after missing the last game. Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry was good and kept them in it as long as he could, but the team just got too lazy in the critical moments of the game, and it cost them big points. The Penguins' powerplay is also a joke, and Todd Rierden should be on the hot seat for not being able to utilize the talent Pittsburgh has to work with.

Scoring:

1st Period: Penguins: Kris Letang (5, ES), Mark Friedman (1st NHL Goal, ES), Jared McCann (4, ES). Flyers: Sean Couturier (6, PPG).

2nd Period: Penguins: None. Flyers: Claude Giroux (2, ES).

3rd Period: Penguins: None. Flyers: Scott Laughton (6, ES), Claude Giroux (3, ES).

SABERS @ ISLANDERS

The New York Islanders have been rolling lately, and now find themselves at second in the very tough East division. The Sabers have been slumping, and are at the bottom of this very tough division, with trade rumors starting to swirl around Captain Jack. The Islanders would start on time, and continue to roll, getting the 5-2 win in this one. Buffalo continued their struggles scoring, as well as keeping the puck out of their own net. The Islanders continue to heat up, while Buffalo continues to fall down.

Scoring:

1st Period: Islanders: Noah Dobson (2, ES), Matt Martin (3, ES). Sabers: None.

2nd Period: Islanders: Anthony Beauvillier (2, ES). Sabers: Taylor Hall (2, ES).

3rd Period: Islanders: Jordan Eberle (9, ES), Matt Martin (4, ES). Sabers: Rasmus Ristolainen (3, ES).

RANGERS @ DEVILS

This one featured a story quite similar to the Buffalo vs. NYI game. The Rangers have been getting better and finding some chemistry/depth scoring, while the Devils have been losing a lot of closer games, and struggling to find that extra scoring. The Rangers piled on New Jersey in this one, getting a hattrick from Chris Kreider, his second 3-goal performance in 5 games. The Blueshirts would skate to a 6-1 victory, humiliating the Devils at home after they scored first. New Jersey had 36 shots on goal, but couldn't solve Rangers netminder Igor Shestyorkin. The Devils' goaltending struggled immensely, giving up a combined 6 goals on 19 shots.

Scoring:

1st Period: Devils: Jack Hughes (5, ES). Rangers: None.

2nd Period: Devils: None. Rangers: Chris Kreider (11, PPG), Chris Kreider (12, ES).

3rd Period: Devils: None. Rangers: Chris Kreider (13, ES, Hattrick Goal), Pavel Buchnevich (7, ES), Branden Smith (2, ES), Alexis Lafreniere (4, ES).

Standings Update After Today:

1. Washington

2. NY Islanders

3. Philidelphia

4. Boston

5. Pittsburgh

6. NY Rangers

7. New Jersey

8. Buffalo