Trending up

• New York Islanders: Don’t look now, but the Islanders are tied for first place in the Metropolitan Division after Saturday’s 4-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins that left a full house at Nassau Coliseum cheering in delight. The long-suffering fan base is experiencing the type of excitement and optimism that is only fitting in the antiquated barn’s final season before the team relocates to Brooklyn. Jack Capuano’s squad has won eight of its last nine games, with two straight against the star-studded Penguins.

• Toronto Maple Leafs’ sticks: Maybe not trending up, but at least lifted up after the uproar that engulfed the team following their decision to snub the fans last week after Thursday’s 5-2 win over the Lightning, an ill-advised action that caused pandemonium the next day. The Leafs wisely put this issue to bed, reverting to their customary stick salute after a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

• New York Rangers' goaltending: With a 5-0 blanking of the league-leading Montreal Canadiens in a rematch of the 2014 Eastern Conference finals Sunday night, the Rangers recorded their second consecutive shutout. After backup goaltender Cam Talbot stifled the Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 on Wednesday night, Henrik Lundqvist followed with a 21-save performance to record his fourth shutout of the season. That ties him for the league lead with Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury.

• Eric Lindros’ relationship with the Flyers: Time heals -- or at least dulls -- all wounds, right? That seems to be the case for Lindros, as the star was inducted in the Flyers’ Hall of Fame in a ceremony before the club’s 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night. Lindros entered along with fellow Legion of Doom linemate John LeClair and appeared to be in fine spirits despite a previously rocky relationship with his former team, or namely with former GM Bob Clarke. We’ll ignore his snub of the team’s former athletic trainer, John Worley, who was on hand with the Wild that night.

Trending Down:

• Just about everything for the Columbus Blue Jackets: It’s not enough that the Blue Jackets have suffered an uncanny amount of injuries, limping their way through the first quarter of the season. They’ve also seen one of their top player sidelined with a degenerative back condition that could threaten his career. They’ve seen their top defenseman file for bankruptcy in a heartbreaking story of parents vs. child. And they are stuck at the bottom of the Metropolitan Division with a 6-12-2 record following a 4-2 loss to Philadelphia on Saturday. Things can’t get any worse, can they?

• The Penguins’ power play: The vaunted unit, which still ranks first in the league with a 33.3 percent success rate, has not registered a man-advantage goal in their last two games. The unit didn’t even get a chance against the Islanders in the club’s 5-4 shootout loss on Friday. And they were limited to just two shots on their only opportunity in the second match of their home-and-home set against the Islanders the following night.

Injury report

• The Penguins suffered without veteran forward and well-respected “glue guy” Pascal Dupuis during the playoffs last spring, and they will likely be without him again this year as it was announced last week that he suffered a blood clot in his lung that will sideline him for at least six months. If you’re keeping track at home, the Penguins have now seen two players develop blood clots, one player suffer a stroke and another battle cancer during the past two seasons. Sheesh.

• The Boston Bruins have suffered their fair share of losses on defense already this season, most notably the knee injury to team captain Zdeno Chara. The Bruins’ back end remains hobbled with blueliner Adam McQuaid expected to miss six to eight weeks with a thumb injury.

What to watch for

• Alfredsson retirement: According to multiple reports, veteran forward Daniel Alfredsson is expected to retire. Though the 41-year-old has been working toward a return from a nagging back injury, the currently bleak outlook leaves little room for optimism that he will continue what has been an illustrious career. Alfredsson had hoped to return to play for the Red Wings this season, but repeatedly encountered problems with his back during the summer and first month of the season while skating on his own.

• Hitting the road: This could be a critical juncture for the Ottawa Senators, as the 9-6-4 squad readies itself for a five-game road trip this week. The Sens, arguably the most disappointing team of the 2013-14 season, have had an underwhelming start to this year’s campaign. They currently sit two points back of the Leafs in sixth place in the Atlantic Division.