Metropolitan Division crowded at top

WASHINGTON -- Heading home following
a 4-2 loss against the Washington Capitals
on Friday, the New York Rangers couldn't help feeling like they wasted an opportunity.
They battled back from being down 2-0 to tie the game on Jesper Fast's goal at 9:37 of the third period, but allowed two goals in the final 3:32 of the third and came away with no points against a Metropolitan Division rival.

With a victory the Rangers would have pulled within one point of the idle Pittsburgh Penguins for fifth place in the tight division race. They defeated the
Penguins 4-3 in Pittsburgh on Tuesday
. That was a game they found a way to win.
They felt like they found a way to lose one against the Capitals.
"We talked about this week was a huge week for us and started off on the right foot with the win against [Pittsburgh]," Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said. "We wanted to try to back that up because if you're not getting points in any fashion you're going to fall off. So definitely a missed opportunity here, and it stings right now because we worked hard to climb back in it and let them make plays and they burned us."

There's no time for the Rangers to feel sorry for themselves, not with a game against the New Jersey Devils, another division rival, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG 2, MSG+, NHL.TV). Although the Rangers (15-11-2) are in sixth place in the division with 32 points, they are five points behind the first-place Columbus Blue Jackets and the Capitals.
The Blue Jackets (18-10-1) have played one fewer game than the Capitals (18-11-1), and did what the Rangers could not Friday. They fell behind by two goals but completed their comeback
by defeating the Devils 5-3
.
The results shuffled the division standings, with the Blue Jackets and Capitals at the top, the Devils (16-8-4) one point behind with 36 points, and the New York Islanders (16-9-3) and Penguins (16-8-3) one point behind the Devils with 35, meaning two points separate first place from fifth.

The Rangers have played fewer games than the Blue Jackets, Capitals and Penguins; with 54 games remaining, there's no reason to panic. But they've already seen how difficult it is to climb in the division standings.
Before their loss against the Capitals they had gone 12-3-0 but remained on the outside of the Stanley Cup Playoff picture in the Eastern Conference after recovering from a 3-7-2 start.
The top three teams in each division qualify for the playoffs along with the next two highest finishers in each conference, regardless of division, as wild cards. Entering play Saturday, the wild cards from the Eastern Conference belong to the Islanders and Penguins.
The Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens are tied in points for third place in the Atlantic Division; each has 30, but the Canadiens have played four more games. They're seven points behind the second-place Toronto Maple Leafs and 12 points behind the first-place Tampa Bay Lightning, who would need to struggle for two or three weeks before they'd have to worry about falling out of the top three in the Atlantic.
By comparison, the margin for error in the Metropolitan Division is razor thin. If the Devils don't get a point against the Rangers, and the Islanders (at the Bruins) and the Penguins (at home ahainst the Maple Leafs) win their games Saturday, the Devils would fall from first place to fifth in the division in two days.
So moving on quickly from their loss against the Blue Jackets is the Devils' priority.
"We're right back on the horse [Saturday] against a divisional opponent," Devils left wing Taylor Hall said. "Hockey is 82 games. … We have another one [Saturday] where we have to play well and get another two points."

The Blue Jackets were happy about their comeback win in Newark, particularly after
losing 4-1 against the Devils
in Columbus on Tuesday. But they weren't getting caught up in their position in the standings. They've got a home game against the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; FS-O, FS-A PLUS, NHL.TV) to focus on.
"It's a good division, I'll give you that. But as far as the standings are concerned, it really doesn't matter to me," Blue Jackets coach John Tortorella said. "It is just about being the best team you can be every night. When we get into February, and that area there, that's when I start looking at the standings."
The Capitals, who have won four in a row and seven of eight (7-1-0), have a similar view. They know things can change quickly, so they're not looking past their next game, against the Islanders at Barclays Center on Monday.
"We've got [52] games left and we're separated by [five points] between six teams, so I'm not getting too excited about where we are," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "I'm looking forward to playing against the New York Islanders next. … They're a good hockey team. This whole [Metropolitan] division is a monster. We're going to have to deal with it all year."
Staff Writer Mike Morreale contributed to this story.