Eastern Conference Predictions
Posted by Craig on September 26, 2008
The East is getting better, I still don’t think they are as good as the West, but they are starting to catch up. There will a few differences in the power house teams, some teams in the East retooled there squads and have greatly improved for the coming season. The East has a lot of great players, its yet to be determined whether or not they have great teams.
1 – Montreal Canadiens - Montreal is fast and deep up front. There question marks will come on defense, but they may just score enough goals not to worry about it. If Carey Price is as good as he was last year I think the Canadians will have no problems when playing teams from the East and may win the Presidents Trophy. In the off season Montreal added veterans Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang, who have the ability to be excellent offensive players. Add them with players like Kovalev, the Kostitsyn brothers and Higgins and they might be ready for a run at the Cup.
2 – Tampa Bay Lightning – This is not the same Lightning team that finished in last place a year ago. They are solid in there forward lines adding Ryan Malone and Radim Vrbata to play on the second line with 1st overall pick Steven Stamkos. Secondary scoring will be the key to there success, since they can count on production from there 1st line Lecavalier, St. Louis and Prospal. The defense and goaltending is unproven, but there division is weak. If the goalie tandem of Smith and Kolzig play good enough to win, the Lightning will win.
3 – New York Rangers - The Rangers play in the toughest division in hockey, that might boast as many as four playoff teams. There is no question that the Rangers will go as far as Lundqvist will take them. Busy in the off season New York brought in veterans Wade Redden and Marcus Naslund to help the team get over the top. Nikolai Zherdev was brought in to add offense, and if he plays up to his potential he will. The Rangers will play a tight defensive game and hope they have enough skill in there forward lines to score a few goals.
4 – Washington Capitols - The Capitols had a memorable run to the playoffs last season and they will battle with Tampa for the division title this year. Alexander Ovechkin is a true super star in this league and along with line mates Semin and Backstrom will lead Washington to the playoffs for the second straight year. They need good goaltending from newly acquired Jose Theodore, and secondary scoring from veterans Fedorov and Nylander. If nothing else Washington will be fun to watch this season.
5 – Pittsburgh Penguins - Pittsburgh may be a better team then 5th in the conference, but I think they will struggle early with a Stanley Cup hangover. They lost some key players up front, but they still have some of the best young talent in hockey with Crosby, Malkin and J. Staal. They have been hit with injury bug on the defense early this year, but they have some depth that will help them get through it. As most teams they need there goalie Marc-Andre Fleury to stay healthy and play well all season. The team will go as far as Crosby and Malkin will take them.
6 – New Jersey Devils – Its hard to count out the Devils, every year people want to say there not that good, but they are always there in the end. The reason for this is Martin Brodeur, he is the best goalie in the game and will lead this team to the playoffs again. New Jersey plays a tough defensive system, they always have, they score just enough goals to win. They did add Brian Rolston and Bobby Holik to try and help put some pucks in the net. Basically I will not pick against Brodeur leading the Devils to the playoffs.
7 – Boston Bruins - Injuries played a big factor for the Bruins last season, there best player Patrice Bergeron missed almost the whole year. Bergeron is back and they added Michael Ryder to go along with Marc Savard and young star Phil Kessel. They are led by one of the best d – men in the league in Zdeno Chara, and again they need good goaltending to make the playoffs. Manny Fernandez should be healthy and Tim Thomas is back to create a decent duo in the pipes for the Bruins. I think the Bruins have enough to battle it out for one of the final playoff spots.
8 – Philadelphia Flyers – The Flyers are talented, but I think they will have to battle all year to make the playoffs. They are solid up front with Carter, Richards and Briere. If Martin Biron plays goal like he did in last years playoffs the Flyers may finish higher in the conference. There division in tough therefore every night they will have to battle for wins. If they play Philly hockey, tough and defensive I think they will earn a spot in the playoffs at years end.
Well its apology time, for all you Senator fans out there I’m Sorry, I think you will battle with the Bruins and Flyers for a spot. Gerber isn’t a number one goalie in the NHL and the Sens defense isn’t good enough to compensate for bad goaltending. Florida and Buffalo should also be in the mix near the end of the year and try and make the playoffs. Personally I would finally like to see the Panthers live up to there potential. If you are a Toronto, Atlanta, Carolina or Islander fan, I don’t think you will have good seasons ahead. The East is improving and that group of four teams are getting left behind. I hope your favorite team has a good season, there is a more balanced schedule this year so we will truly see if the Eastern Conference is as good as the Western Conference.
