East Division Update - March 9th

All eight teams were in action tonight, making for some great matchups, and a lot of good hockey. The Penguins hosted the Rangers again in Pittsburgh, the Flyers hosted the slumping Sabers in Philly, the Islanders hosted the Bruins in Long Island, and the Devils traveled to Washington for a matchup with the Capitals. I have been pretty busy the last few days with homework, so this post will be short but will cover each game and its scoring.

(Image Credits: 1 - Sports Chat Place, 2 - Jaspers' Rink, 3 - ESPN, 4 - NBC Sports)

ISLANDERS @ BRUINS

This game came down to the wire and remained close through all 60 minutes. The Bruins were skidding a little bit lately, falling to New Jersey on Sunday 1-0 at home. The Islanders, however, were the complete opposite. New York is flying right now and sits pretty comfortably (for this division) at the top of the standings. The Islanders got a late goal in the second period from Brock Nelson, and eventually won in the shootout, 2-1. Boston continues to fall in the standings, as they are now in 4th place.

Scoring:

Bruins: David Pasternak (11, PPG).

Islanders: Brock Nelson (10, PPG), Jordan Eberle/Anthony Beauvillier (SO GOALS).

DEVILS @ CAPITALS

The Caps are starting to get some momentum, coming off a recent 3-1 win in Philly on Sunday evening. Captain Alex Ovechkin is starting to score as well, picking up his play some, after a slow start to this season. The Devils have struggled lately, but got a big win in Boston on Sunday, getting them a little bit of momentum coming into this one. The Devils starter very slow, and paid a price for it. Washington got four goals early on, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in the second period. The Devils did not give up though and battled back to tie the game with five minutes to go in the third. New Jersey suddenly had life and was able to push the pace a little bit. The game went to overtime, and Jakub Vrana caught a breakaway pass from Evgeny Kuznetzov, making no mistake and winning it for Washington to avoid the monumental collapse. Final score, 5-4 Capitals/OT.

Scoring:

Capitals: T.J. Oshie (6, PPG), Jakub Vrana (9), Daniel Sprong (4), Dmitry Orlov (3).

Devils: Janne Kuokkanen (2), Miles Wood (8), Yegor Sharangovich (4), Damon Severson (2).

Overtime: Washington: Jakub Vrana (10 - OT Winner).

RANGERS @ PENGUINS

This game was very entertaining, and everyone knew it would be following Pittsburgh's 5-1 come-from-behind win on Sunday against these Rangers. The Penguins were starting to play much better hockey before this set with the Rangers, getting some goals from the whole lineup, and getting saves from their goalies. The Rangers were coming into this set also playing better, piling up goals against very good opponents like Boston and Philadelphia. The Penguins again fell behind early, but came back in this one, winning 4-2 in regulation. The Pens could have easily lost this game if not for the incredible saves Tristan Jarry made in the last two minutes of the third period. If Pittsburgh continues to score and get good goaltending, they will be a threat in this division. Evgeni Malkin and Kasperi Kapanen have also developed some chemistry, which is GREAT news for Pittsburgh. The Rangers dropped back-to-back games to Pittsburgh, and look to change their fortunes in Boston. On another note, Pittsburgh's former players seem to come back to haunt them, as Jack Johnson scored the opening goal in this game after being bought out in the last offseason by former-GM Jim Rutherford.

Scoring:

Penguins: Jake Guentzal (8), Teddy Blueger (4, SHG), Kasperi Kapanen (7), Sidney Crosby (9, EN).

Rangers: Jack Johnson (1), Ryan Strome (PPG).

BUFFALO @ PHILIDELPHIA

The Flyers and Sabers squared off, in what I thought would be an absolute blowout. Philly was coming off some tough losses to Pittsburgh last week, and the Sabers had lost seven straight coming into tonight. The Sabers started strong, however, despite not having captain Jack Eichel due to an injury. Buffalo went up 3-1 early on and pushed the pace for much of the first two periods. The Flyers would continue to battle back though and tie it up late in the game on their lethal powerplay. The contest would need a shootout, which saw Buffalo lose their eighth straight game, and Philly putting an end to their skid. Final Score; Flyers - 5, Buffalo - 4/Shootout.

Scoring:

Flyers: James Van-Riemsdyk (11), Kevin Hayes (9), Claude Giroux (4), Shayne Gostisbehere (4, PPG).

Sabers: Sam Reinhart (10,11), Riley Sheahan (3), Brandon Montour (1).

Shootout: Flyers: Sean Couturier, Nolan Patrick. Sabers: No Goals.

Standings Update After Tonight:

1. Islanders

2. Washington

3. Pittsburgh

4. Boston

5. Philidelphia

6. Rangers

7. Devils

8. Sabers