Local Hockey Power Rankings- Week 6

It was one of the best weeks of the season as far as local hockey is concerned; the four teams we cover at Double G Sports went a combined 10-3-2. The Flyers had a perfect week, the Islanders’ win streak was snapped, but the point streak lives on, and the Devils and Rangers had some quality wins. This week, we had three voters including myself.

1. Philadelphia Flyers, 11 points (2 first-place votes) Last Week: 3

Record: 10-5-2 (4-0-0 last week) Week MVP: Sean Couturier

The Flyers began the week hovering around .500. They ended the week third in the Metro. It took them an overtime win and two shootouts to do it but they have jumped into the conversation for the top three in the division. It started in Carolina on Nov. 5, hosting the Hurricanes where Carter Hart came up big and Travis Konecny scored the game-winner 1:12 into the third for a 4-1 victory. They followed that up facing the three top teams in the Atlantic. First, Nov. 7 against Montreal, the Flyers skated away with a 3-2 win thanks to an overtime goal from Sean Couturier that leaked through Carey Price. Next, on Nov. 9, Philly traveled north of the border to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. After scoring twice in the first to jump out 2-0, the Flyers saw the game tied and need extra time. It would go all the way to a shootout before Couturier once again delivered the winner. Finally, the next day in Boston, they once again saw a 2-0 first period lead erased and went to the shootout once again. This time, it was Joel Farabee with the only goal in the shootout. Philippe Myers scored in this one to become the seventh defenseman in franchise history to achieve a three-game point streak. He’ll look to extend that streak and Philly will look to win five in a row on Nov. 13 against another top opponent, the Washington Capitals.

2. New York Islanders, 10 points (1 first-place vote) Last Week: 1

Record: 12-3-1 (2-0-1 last week) Week MVP: Thomas Greiss

It had to happen eventually. The Islanders’ win streak ended at 10 games, but their point streak lives on at 12. Thomas Greiss stopped 62 of 64 shots in two wins this week, beginning in the Barclays Center opener against Ottawa on Nov. 5. The Islanders won that one 4-1 with four unanswered, including Cole Bardreau’s first career NHL goal on a second-period penalty shot. Then, they faced the Penguins on Nov.7. Up 3-0 going into the third, the Islanders were dominated in the final 20 minutes as Pittsburgh sent this one to overtime. Brian Rust stole the puck from Brock Nelson behind the Isles’ net and beat Semyon Varlamov with a wraparound. They bounced back, however, with a tremendous goalie battle between Greiss and Sergei Bobrovsky that ended 2-1 in favor of New York. The Islanders tied their fifth-longest point streak in franchise history and will look to extend it on Nov. 13 when they welcome in the Maple Leafs.

3. New York Rangers, 5 points. Last Week: 2

Record: 7-6-2 (2-1-1 last week) Week MVP: Artemi Panarin

After an embarrassing 6-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at the hands of former Rangers Vladislav Namestnikov and a Jean-Gabriel Pageau that brought back memories of the 2017 playoffs, the Blueshirts took out their frustration on Detroit on Nov. 6, winning 5-1. They followed that up with a big win over the division rival Hurricanes in Carolina thanks to a vintage 45 save performance from Henrik Lundqvist. The Rangers finished off the week with a back and forth affair with the Florida Panthers on Nov. 10. Brian Boyle tied it at five with the only goal in the third and Vincent Trocheck finished it off in the shootout. If you had told me before the week that the Rangers would beat the Hurricanes, I thought they would have gone 4-0-0. Unfortunately, they seemed to take the night off against Ottawa and got the short end of the stick in a shootout. They’ll look for some consistency beginning this week, facing the Penguins on Nov. 12 before heading down to the sunshine state for a bout with the Tampa Bay Lightning and a rematch with the Panthers.

4. New Jersey Devils, 4 points. Last Week: 4

Record: 5-7-4 (2-2-0 last week) Week MVP: Taylor Hall

The Devils squeaked out two victories this week despite scoring just five non-shootout goals in four games. They began a Western Canada road trip in Winnipeg, scoring first in the first period before Adam Lowry tied the game in the second. New Jersey would get shootout goals from Nikita Gusev and Jesper Boqvist and pull out the victory. Alberta didn’t treat them as nice. The Devils led 1-0 and 2-1 but eventually fell to the Calgary Flames 5-2 on Nov. 7 before getting shutout by the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 the next night. New Jersey finished out the week with a matinee in Vancouver. Wayne Simmonds and Jesper Bratt scored in the first for a lead the Devils wouldn’t relinquish en route to a 2-1 win. The team has a few days off before returning home on Nov. 13, welcoming in the Ottawa Senators.