McMichael a surprise scorer for the Caps

On By Littum

Through Friday’s games. Last week’s rankings in parentheses.

1. Winnipeg Jets. With 15-2, they are already 17 points ahead of Nashville, which is in last place in the Central. (1)

2. Minnesota Wild. Join the Jets as the only team with just two regular season losses. (4)

3. Carolina Hurricanes. Injuries suddenly have them down to No. 3 Martin in goal. (2)

4. Washington capitals. McMichael up to 12 goals, one of Reinhart’s NHL lead. (6)







Capitals Avalanche Hockey

Capitals center Connor McMichael scored twice Friday in Colorado and has 12 goals on the season.


David Zalubowski, Associated Press


5. Vegas Golden Knights. Come east this week for games in Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. (5)

6. New Jersey Devils. Scored 10 goals during two-game sweep of Florida. (8)

People also read…

7. Florida Panthers. Was on a 10-1-1 run until the Devils came to town. (3)

8. Dallas stars. Back-to-back seven-goal games in wins over the Pens and Bruins. (11)

9. New York Rangers. Zibanejad snaps goal drought in win over Sharks. (12)

10. Vancouver Canucks. Gave up seven at home to Oilers, five to Islanders. (10)

11. Toronto Maple Leafs. Long-term loss of Pacioretty is a blow to forward group. (9)


Inside the NHL: Brooks Orpik had the best seat and the best results of the Penguins-Capitals rivalry

Orpik’s NHL career was spent in the middle of the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry, with 11 years in Pittsburgh and his last five in Washington after signing as a free agent in 2014. Caps forward Evgeny Kuznetsov nicknamed him “Batya,” a Russian term for father, and the nickname stuck during his time at DC.

12. Los Angeles Kings. The Sabers come to town Wednesday looking to avenge the home opener meltdown. (7)

13. Calgary Flames. Wolves shut out Preds for first NHL shutout. (14)

14. Tampa Bay Lightning. Vasilevskiy fastest to 300 wins in grounding of Jets. (13)

15. Edmonton Oilers. McDavid behind only Gretzky, Lemieux, Bossy in race to 1,000 points. (22)

16. New York Islanders. Improved to 4-1-2 in November with strong win in Vancouver. (20)


How Sabers 'found a way' after goalie interference call: 5 takeaways from OT win

Lindy Ruff shouted from the Buffalo Sabres’ bench at KeyBank Center as the KeyBank Center crowd booed the officials Thursday night.

17. Colorado avalanche. MacKinnon without SOG vs. Caps, the first time that has happened in 79 games. (25)

18. Buffalo Sabres. Showed nice resilience against St. Louis in the aftermath of terrible officiating. (21)

19. Ottawa Senators. Ullmark is a disaster in OT loss to Philly. (26)

20. Seattle Kraken. Won the first three of six games at home. (23)

21. Utah Hockey Club. Four game East swing starts Thursday in Boston. (15)

22. Boston Bruins. Destroyed in Dallas, 7-2. (16)

23. Detroit Red Wings. Kane with just three goals, only one at even strength all season. (22)

24. Philadelphia Flyers. Went 3-0-1 heading into the Sabres’ visit, with all four going past regulation. (27)

25. St. Louis Blues. Almost combined with stripes to sink Saber. (17)

26. Columbus blue jackets. Snapped six-game pen-blowing skid. (24)

27. Anaheim Ducks. Gauthier with first NHL goal in comeback win over Detroit. (28)


Mike Harrington: Just when you want to believe, the Sabers give you too many reasons to look away

The Sabers had raised eyebrows around the league with their dismantling of the New York Rangers on Thursday at Madison Square Garden, but this kind of play surely cancels that out.

28. Pittsburgh Penguins. Scored six goals in nightmare first vs. Stars. (19)

29. San Jose Sharks. Has collected to go 5-3-1 since 0-7-2 starts. (30)

30. Chicago Blackhawks. Even with Bedard, this is a slow rebuild. (31)

31. Nashville Predators. This roster shuffle has been a massive failure. (32)

32. Montreal Canadiens. Buffalo wins a blip, back to earth with shutout loss at Minnesota. (29)