Now that the NHL is back it is time to concentrate on the teams in the race for the Stanley Cup.
The Atlantic Division is arguably the most competitive in the league with four bonafide Stanley Cup contenders and one team on the rise. Last season, the five teams posted the following records against one another:
The NY Rangers were 15-7-2; The Pens were 13-10-1; The Flyers were 11-11-2; The Devils were 13-11-0; The Islanders were 8-13-3. These records indicate that every team was vulnerable against one another and that the possibility of playing seven matches against one another could potentially cripple their playoff seeding in a shortened season.
NY Rangers
The Rangers were the top team in the Eastern Conference a year ago after posting a record of 51 wins, 24 losses, and seven overtime losses. The team was among the top three in goals against (187) and was 13th in Goals Scored (226). Marion Gaborik led the team last year with 41 goals and 76 points. He underwent shoulder surgery this summer, but should be in form when the season starts in a few weeks. The team made a huge splash this summer when it traded Brandon Dubinsky, Artem Anisimov, Tim Erixon, and a first round pick to Columbus for 2002's first overall pick Rick Nash. The Rangers only had three players with 20 or more goals, but Nash has scored at least 30 in seven of nine seasons on a losing team.
The Ranger's defense is easily one of the finest in the league as the team relies heavily on shot blocking and sacrificing the body. Henrik Lundqvist is the reigning Vezina Trophy and at 31-years of age, is considered the Best Goalie in the world. The Rangers are perennial cup contenders and can easily win this division again.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins finished the 2011-12 season just one point behind the Rangers in the Atlantic division and earned the fourth seed in the conference. They boasted the best offense in the league thanks in part to MVP Evgeni Malkin's 109 point season. The Russian superstar put up 50 goals and assisted on 59 others and led all players in the league in points. Malkin was the driving force in the team's offense last year mainly due to the extended absence of NHL posterboy Sidney Crosby. Widely considered the greatest player in the world, Crosby has gotten some rest during the few months and should be in better shape to avoid another concussion. Prior to his concussion in the 2010-11 season Crosby had a monstrous 66 points in 44 games. He ended the 2011-12 season with 37 points in just 22 games and could be primed for a historic 2013 season.
The team shipped off star center Jordan Staal to Carolina and got Brandon Sutter to play a defensive role as the third line center. The defense is anchored by Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik, but the biggest question for the Penguins is Marc-Andre Fleury in goal. Fleury was dreadful in the playoffs and posted a 4.63 goal against average with a woeful 83.4 save percentage. As a result, the team brought in Tomas Vokoun to back him up and provide competition.
The Penguins have the offensive weapons to win the Atlantic Division and make a deep playoff run. However, Fleury needs to have a great season.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Penguin's playoff dreams were dashed in the first round by their in-state rivals, but the Flyers' run unraveled thanks to poor goaltending. Ilya Bryzgalov was thought to be a great signing back in the 2011 summer, However he was inconsistent throughout the season and dreadful in the playoffs. He gave up an average of 3.46 goals and only stopped 88.7 percent of the shots he faced while losing six games and only winning five. His frustrating play was best exemplified when he passed the puck to New Jersey Devil's David Clarkson in Game Five of the Eastern Conference semi-finals; Clarkson's resulting goal proved to be the winner and eliminated the Flyers from the playoffs.
On the bright side, the Broad Street Bullies had the third best offense in the league with 264 goals scored. The offense was lead by Claude Giroux who scored 93 points, including 65 assists. Six players on the team recorded at least 49 points and had 11 players score at least 10 or more goals.
The Flyers put up 103 points last season and can potentially win the division; however, they need better goal tending from Bryzgalov.
NJ Devils
The Devils made a surprise run to the Stanley Cup Finals and came within two games of winning the entire championship. The author of their brilliant run was 41-year old goaltending wonder Martin Brodeur. Brodeur has set almost every single goaltending record, but age is slowly catching up to him. The biggest reason for his success this season was a smaller work load. Brodeur has played over 70 games a season in the past, but only played in 59 in 2011-12. The result was a terrific playoff run in which he gave up on 2.12 goals per game and stopped 91.7 percent of all the shots he faced.
Brodeur will need to be at his best this season as the Devils try to cope with the loss of captain Zach Parise who signed with the Minnesota Wild over the summer. The loss of Parise will also put more pressure on Ilya Kovalchuk, who is now entering the third year of his monstrous 15-year contract. Kovalchuk had a dreadful start to his tenure with the Devils in 2010-11, but made up for it by leading the team with 83 points in 2011-12. Without Parise, he must now become the go-to offensive force. Patrik Elias scored 78 points last season, but at age 36, his best days may be slowly ending. David Clarkson scored a revelatory 30 goals, but he did on a line with Parise; no one knows if he can reproduce the effort.
The Devils are not going to win this division, but a playoff stop is definitely a possibility for this team.
NY Islanders
The Islanders have been and continue to be the worst team in the division. However, they had a tremendous summer that saw the team officially agree to an extensive lease at the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. Prior to this agreement, there was a great deal of doubt looming around the team's future in New York. The team was unable to draw top free agent in the summer due to the cloudy future and poor facility in Nassau. With that problem resolved, the team can continue to focus on building its promising young core which includes the likes of John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Michael Grabner, Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome, Travis Hamonic, and Frans Nielsen. The team lost third leading scorer PA Parenteau over the summer, but the team has one of the best prospect pools in the league and can easily fill that void in coming seasons.
Unfortunately there are a great deal of questions surrounding the team this season. Tavares turned into a bonafide superstar last season with 81 points on one of the most inconsistent offenses in the league but he has been dominating in the Swiss League during the lockout and should continue his excellent play in 2013. The team needs more contributions from Okposo, Grabner, and Bailey this season however. Okposo ended the season with 24 goals, but most came when the team was already out of playoff contention. Grabner went from scoring 34 goals in 2010-11 to only notching 20 tallies last year. Bailey got off to a dreadful start to the season at the center position but ended it well when he was shifted to the wing.
The defense is slim, especially now the top defender Travis Hamonic has been injured in the AHL. The team added Matt Carkner and Lubomir Visnovsky which could upgrade them, but they need captain Mark Streit to return to form after an inconsistent 2011-12. He has been playing well in the Swiss league and could be ready for a strong 2013 season.
In goal the situation is even more uncertain. Evgeni Nabokov is now 37-years old and his form is uncertain. Backup keeper Rick DiPietro went to the German league and only played two games before being benched and omitted from the lineup. It is possible that the Islanders utilize their amnesty clause to rid themselves of his behemoth contract that still has 10-years remaining on it. AHL Prospect Kevin Poulin could get a look in camp, but his minimal experience likely does not make this team a playoff contender.
Predictions:
1. Pittsburgh Penguins (1st in Eastern Conference)
2. NY Rangers (4th in Eastern Conference)
3. Philadelphia Flyers (5th in Eastern Conference)
4. NJ Devils (7th in Eastern Conference)
5. NY Islanders (14th in Eastern Conference)