from Pierre LeBrun of ESPN,

Just like the Rangers, the Washington Capitals remain hot as well, racking up yet another victory with a 6-2 decision in Toronto on Wednesday night.

Since a 4-3 loss to Vancouver on Dec. 2, the Caps have gone 11-1-3. No wonder the equally hot Columbus Blue Jackets can't gain any ground in the Metropolitan Division with the Rangers and Caps refusing to lose games.

Speaking of the Metro, we were hard on the division earlier in the season because it appeared to be a weak outfit aside from Pittsburgh and the Islanders, but not so much anymore. The Rangers and Caps both sit in playoff spots now, giving the division four teams sitting pretty.

read on for Custance on the Bruins, Strang on the Rangers and Burnside on Ilya Brygalov...