NHL Regular Season Preview

With the exception of the four games played in Europe this past week, the NHL regular season will finally begin this week. Here are my predictions for the Eastern Conference Standings (Western Conference to follow):


1)Montreal (Northeast) → GM Bob Gainey kept the key components of a great team from last year together, while adding underrated forwards Alex Tanguay and Robert Lang to the fold. The key to their success will be the emergence of young goalie Carey Price.

2) Washington (Southeast)→ The Washington Capitals can no longer be labeled as Alex Ovechkin’s team. George McPhee has surrounded his prize sniper with a good nucleus of young talent, including Niklas Backstrom, who is poised for a huge year.

3) Philadelphia (Atlantic)→ In the closest divisional race, the Flyers will narrowly defeat Pittsburgh and the Rangers for the Atlantic Division title. Philly has great depth up front and a solid blue line, and some good young prospects knocking on the door, which keeps the veterans on their toes.

4) Pittsburgh (Atlantic)→ After a trip to the Cup Finals last season, look for the Pens to get off to a sluggish start. Unfortunately for the rest of the league, you can only hold talents such as Crosby and Malkin down for so long. The loss of top defenceman Sergei Gonchar will be a big blow.

5) New York Rangers (Atlantic)→ The Rangers are a tough team to make a prediction for, because of the large amount of changes made in the off-season. That being said, it’s easy to see that they have a lot of talent, and world-class goaltender Henrik Lundquist will keep them in every game.

6) Boston (Northeast)→ I see Boston as a team that deserves more respect. They were very close to knocking off Montreal last season and made some subtle upgrades this off-season, which should continue to push them in the right direction.

7) Ottawa (Northeast)→ Goaltending will continue to be an issue for the Sens, but they are still too deep and talented up front to miss the playoffs. That being said, if things don’t go their way this season, look for massive changes in the Nation’s Capital.

8) Tampa Bay (Southeast)→ One of the more intriguing teams going into this season, Tampa can boast a bevy of offensive punch up front. Their success will be determined by the play of their young, inexperienced blueline, and unproven goaltending.

9) Carolina (Southeast)→ The Canes could easily be a playoff team this season, as they have some of the league’s best offensive depth. I see them just barely missing out of the big dance after a close race with their divisional rivals from Tampa Bay. Carolina’s defence will be their downfall, as they have little top end talent to boast on the blueline.

10) Buffalo (Northeast)→ A fast, exciting offensive team, Buffalo will still fall short of the playoffs due to lack of experience and grit. They may make a push if young sniper Thomas Vanek explodes for a big year.

11) Florida (Southeast)→ The Panthers are a young and improving team, but will be distracted all year by the saga of franchise defenceman Jay Boumeester, who is rumoured to want out of the Sunshine State.

12) New Jersey (Atlantic)→ The Devils brought back some aging talent in attempt to return to their glory years, but I see their plan backfiring. This team will always ride on the aging back of goaltender Martin Brodeur, and I see this as the year he finally begins to decline.

13) Toronto (Northeast)→ Good goaltending and a lot of grit will keep the Leafs from falling to the basement in the East, but there is no scoring depth up front at all. Look for more players to be unloaded at the trade deadline for picks and prospects.

14) New York Islanders (Atlantic)→ The Isles are going with an abundance of youth this season, and that will cause some growing pains as the year wears on. The biggest storyline on the Island is whether or not prized-prospect Kyle Okposo will live up to expectations.

15) Atlanta ( Southeast)→ The Thrashers may as well change their name to the Atlanta Kovalchuks, as they possess no bona-fide scoring besides their Russian sniper. It will take some huge seasons from young and unproven players for this team to avoid the basement.