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Exactly What Will Happen in the Atlantic Division |
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According to the fans and most of the media, the Atlantic is the runaway best division in hockey...Hard to argue this point when you look at the fact the Eastern Conference Final was played by two Atlantic Division teams and neither team was named the Penguins or the Flyers. Pretty remarkable. Might as well start with the hardest to pick! Here goes...
#5. The NY Islanders
I so want to put the Islanders higher than 5th, and I do believe they will battle the Devils for 4th and would not be surprised if they were in the playoff hunt. The Islanders are improving every year and have really solid goaltending from Nabokov. Tavares is one of my all-time favs and Okposo and Moulson are proven legit top 6 forwards...those three are young themselves, but when you look at the other young guns of Grabner, Bailey, Strome, Nielsen and more...the Isles are going to be a huge thorn in the side of the big 4 in the East. I also wonder if Boyes will rebound...I like the signing a great deal...It now looks like Visnovsky will be joining the team...although I never get why a team would want a player who so obviously wants to play elsewhere....that being said maybe he can be converted, because the Isles Nabokov ALSO didn't report to the Isles at one point and now appears pretty happy...Were the Isles in ANY other division and were the condensed schedule not so weighted with divisional games I would have no issue putting the Isles more in the playoff hunt than I will when I eventually list my Conference standings...
#4. The NJ Devils
The Devils loss of Parise is why many are placing them in 4th...but truth be told I dont think it affects them as much as other people seem to. Zach has been hurt often in the past few years and this team is not built around stars. I am putting them in 4th because I believe there will be quite the battle for third, fourth and fifth between the Isles, Devils. Henrique is no flash in the pan and I believe he will step up nicely. Kovalchuk (who arrived at Devils camp today) and Elias are two very talented flat-out point producers giving the Devils a ton of speed and skill up front...and I keep hearing the Devils are actively pursuing trade options....They have called in both Dallas about Benn and Colorado about O'Reilly. A few things to consider going into this season...The Devils are a better team in short stints, they won the Stanley Cup last time we played 48, Brodeur playing from January and not since October is a good thing, and never doubt Lou.
#3. The Pittsburgh Penguins
I can see the Penguins and Flyers neck and neck in points as the year goes on...as long as the Penguins, and by Penguins I mean Crosby, are healthy...they are deadly, and I really feel the quiet addition of Vokoun will pay huge dividends. The loss to the Flyers in the playoffs was not on Fleury, but it sure would have been great if the Penguins had a Vokoun to go to and settle things down. The Penguins defensive woes against Philly came every bit from the forwards being horrible defensively as it did from the defense...I also see Jordan Staal's loss as being very important to this team's season. Having watched this team play many, many times I always found Staal to be as important as Malkin and Crosby and in some ways the Most Valuable Player on the Pens. I believe Vokoun will equal enough points in this condensed schedule to help the Pens continue to dominate in the regular season... However the Pens are not currently built to win in the playoffs and need to pick up some veteran help on to stabilize the D and help them play shutdown against teams that attack them.
#2. The Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have had many star players over the years, but last year saw the rise of something the Flyers haven't had since Eric Lindros. Claude Giroux is a bona fide NHL Superstar. Make no mistake about it. The Flyers GM Paul Holmgren does a remarkable job at retooling on the fly and quietly the Flyers got younger and better last year without falling out of the playoffs or looking like a team rebuilding. Going into last year there were tons of question marks. Carter and Richards had been dealt and no one knew where the scoring would come from? Answer: Everywhere. Schenn, Couturier, Simmonds, Read and Voracek all chipped in and added to Briere, Giroux and Hartnell a ton of depth. The Flyers had so much depth up front they were able to trade away another potential star in JVR to Toronto. (more on him in Leafs preview) and grab a desperately needed component in Luke Schenn. The Flyers season ended last year with one of their worst playoff eliminations I can rememeber. They weren't just beaten by NJ, they were destroyed by the Devils. The Flyers had nothing left after the emotional victory against Pittsburgh and really needed a physical presence on defense versus the Devils. I predict Luke Schenn is destined for Philly fan love. Schenn had to do a lot in Toronto to live up to his first round status, but in Philly...all he needs to do is wear #22 and throw bone crunching checks...and then there's Bryz. If Bryz bounces back (and part if me believes he can as he will be playing not to be bought out) the Flyers will battle for tops in the NHL. But if Bryz isn't spectacular and the Flyers have to depend on Leighton too much they could be battling for a playoff spot. Fact is...I would take any of the four golaies on the Rangers and Penguins: Lundqvist, Biron, Fleury, and Vokoun over the two Flyers netminders. But everything could change...and Jagr could definitely be back at the deadline.
#1 The NY Rangers
Had the Rangers never acquired Rick Nash I would still have had them in the #1 spot. What makes the Rangers so good is honestly not Nash, Gaborik, Richards... It is their team defense, shot blocking and best goalie tandem in the Eastern Conference that makes them a powerhouse. Add those three stars and the sky is the limit. They also managed to steal Nash away from Columbus without really affecting the key elements in their line-up...I mean the fact they managed to get Nash without giving up Kreider, Del Zotto or McDonagh is outright criminal. There is a reason so many people are picking the Rangers to take home a Stanley Cup. They have all the key components. The Rangers are for real and talking to people at their camp they look more focused than they have in years...They will present a real problem for all who get in their path.
Up Next: The Northeast...
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