Columbus Blue Jackets Minding the Metro: Standings Look Odd Early
Yes, it’s early, but the Columbus Blue Jackets are starring up at two unlikely teams atop the division.
Through a week and a half of the NHL season, the Columbus Blue Jackets are looking up a two teams that not many would have expected to be atop of the Metropolitan Division standings. The Carolina Hurricanes and New Jersey Devils have come out of the starting block in impressive fashion.
The Hurricanes have taken the league by storm (pun intended) and are 4-1-1 through five. With nine points, they sit just one behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the top spot in the NHL. The Devils, who have only played three games, are undefeated and sit at 3-0-0 heading into Monday night.
The Jackets are tied with the Devils for second in the division but have played two more games than the New Jersey squad. Just a point behind the Jackets are the Pittsburgh Penguins who have five points in four games.
The Washington Capitals and New York Islanders both are averaging a point per game to start their season and sit in fifth and sixth place in the division.
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The seventh place team is the Jackets next opponent, and only Metro opponent until November 9th. The Philadelphia Flyers come to Nationwide Arena on Thursday with a 2-3-0 record. The Flyers have a home game on Tuesday against the Florida Panthers as they look to get to .500. The Flyers may or may not have Nolan Patrick back at that point who is dealing with an upper body injury.
The last team in the Metro should get used to that slot as they will likely finish the season there. The New York Rangers are in the heart of their rebuild and have started the season off with a 1-4-0 record through five games.
Metro Player of the Week
The Carolina Hurricanes hot start has been led by their underrated leader Sebastian Aho. The quiet Finnish forward is third in the league in scoring with 11 points in six games.
The 21-year-old center is leading the upstart Canes and their high powered offense that is taking the division by storm. He had a four point game including two goals in the overtime winner on Saturday agains the Minnesota Wild.
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The Columbus Blue Jackets look to climb up the standings this week with their two games on the slate with an eye on Thursday’s divisional matchup.