Brooks Laich (21) – R.J. Umberger (18)Mandatory Credit: Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

The Washington Capitals have played 19 games so far this season, and they currently have a record of 10-8-1. The Capitals have only played 6 out of 19 games against division opponents – 5 out of 6 have been played at the Verizon Center. Last night they played their second game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, a team that they have beaten twice now – both wins coming at home.

So far so good against Columbus, but how do the Caps stack up against the rest of the division? Other than Columbus, the Capitals have faced 4 other Metropolitan division teams – Rangers, Hurricanes, Islanders, and Flyers.

Overall record against division opponents – 4 wins, 2 losses

Wins – Blue Jackets x 2, Flyers, and Islanders

Losses – Hurricanes, Rangers

Teams not yet played – Penguins (11/20), Devils (12/21)

Ranked 2nd, only trailing the Penguins by 1 point (as of 11/13)

Sidney Crosby (87) – Alex Ovechkin (8)Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Washington faces 6 “new” teams due to the realignment – Carolina is the only familiar face in the crowd. That is not to say that the Caps have not been playing the other Eastern conference teams in the years prior though – the only real “new” team has been the Blue Jackets. As you can see, the Capitals have fared quite well so far in the Metropolitan division – a division that everyone thought would be tougher to handle than the former Southeast division.

Testimonies have now come out though that the Metropolitan division is now the weakest division in hockey, and if you look at the standings, then you would see there is some truth in that. There are 6 teams out of 8 who have a record of .500 or below – the Caps themselves are only 2 games above .500. At this point in time, the top 3 teams in each division have a better record than the 1st place team, the Penguins, in the Metropolitan division. That is not to say that in years to come it couldn’t become the best division in the league – teams always over or under achieve, and it fluctuates from time to time.

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