NHL Eastern Confrence

Buffalo Sabres

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Boston Bruins

Season Series: Boston 4-2-0

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NHL PLAYOFFS EASTERN CONFERENCE ROUND ONE PREVIEW AND PREDICTIONS

The Buffalo Sabres have the best goalie in the NHL with Ryan Miller between the pipes. He is a huge reason team USA beat Canada in round-robin play in the Olympics and also why the States were in the final (among other reasons). Miller is in the top three in the league for goals against average and save percentage. Some would say that Boston’s Tuukka Rask has played better this season than Miller but this isn’t the first year Miller has shown how great his is, while we’ve seen other keepers come and go through-out seasons. Other than Ryan Miller, the Sabres don’t have a huge name player like Washington, Pittsburgh or San Jose but they have a solid group of guys who play hard-nosed hockey, giving up their bodies up with hits, blocking shots and any things else their team calls on them for.

No Sabre has over 25 goals or 65 points and Tim Connolly (battling lower body injury), Derek Roy and Jason Pominville lead the way (they have a combined for 195 points) but players like Thomas Vanek, Tyler Myers and Jochan Hecht (battling upper body injury) help out to make the team a whole. Sometimes, it’s not about being the flashiest like Ovechkin or have the highest paid players but about working together as a team night-in-night-out, and out-working your opponent. Other than the Bruins and Devils, they have the lowest amount of goals scored against them in the Eastern Conference but have scored a lot more goals than both those teams. If all is clicking for the Buffalo with Miller between the pipes, the Sabres are going to be extremely hard to beat as they’ve shown all season long unlike teams like the Habs and Sens who have been hot and cold all season.

The Boston Bruins aren’t in the playoffs because of good offence. Nor are they in the playoffs because of good defence. The reason the Bruins barely squeaked into the playoffs is solely because of the play of their goalie Tuukka Rask. You know what, TheCoach is about to give a lesson to all minor hockey players. If you want to make it too the big leagues, watch the following video and do it yourself… it will make you a name and somebody will give you a chance. It worked for Tuukka… (click link at top of post to see video) ... 

All anger-management jokes aside, this dude has been throwing milk crates turning heads all season long with the best goals against average and save percentage in the entire league! The problem is, there is no one in front of him who can muster any offensive fire power to put Boston in a position to win big games. Patrice Bergeron is one talented-mofo and David Krejci is going to be a star in the league for years to come, but when a defensemen (Zdeno Chara) is your third leading point getter and your 4th is old enough to be Sidney Crosby’s father (Mark Recchi = 42 years old)… you are in trouble. Bergeron and Krejci are by far the most offensively skilled players on the Bruins roster but they have no one to play with. Hopefully their early 1st round pick (thanks to the Maple Leafs) will help but they’ll have to wait until 2010-11′ to see results from the draft. As for now, the Bruins aren’t going anywhere in the playoffs. When you just barely make the playoffs and have two teams from your division (Ottawa and Buffalo) ahead of you, you stand no chance… even if you’ve got the best goalie statistically in the league… Bruins fans heads will hurt more than Marc Savard’s.

** After making my pick, sometimes you think the entire next day about it... and you have a gut feeling that something needs to change... I am changing this pick (as well as my Detroit-Phoenix pick **

** Previous pick was Sabres in SIX ** 

TheCoach’s Pick: SABRES in SEVEN

New Jersey Devils

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Philadelphia Flyers

Season Series: Flyers 5-1-0

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Having one of the most reliable goalies in the history of the NHL plays a huge factor not only in the ability in beating the other team but also it tends to lift up the confidence of the team playing in front of them. For years the New Jersey Devils have relied on Martin Brodeur to do what his does best – be a stonewall in the net and this year is no different. It allows teams to take chances which teams that don’t have a great goaltender can’t. With they being said, they obviously can’t be lazy and make mistakes but when have the New Jersey Devils ever been know as that kind of team. They may not be flashy, and they may not be more most interesting team to watch on television (see Indianapolis Colts) but no one can deny that year after year they have a solid hockey club that can contend for the Cup.

In the last sixteen seasons (since the Wales Conference because the East), the Devils have been in the playoffs all but two years and have seen the Eastern Conference finals fives times and the stanley Cup finals four times (winning three of them – 1994-95′, 1999-00′, and 2002-03′). With that much experience, a solid core of players in Parise, Zajac, Langenbrunner, Elias, and most recently the addition of Ilya Kovalchuk to boast the offence… I expect the Devils to go quite far and possible even face off against Washington in the conference finals. The only thing to be of concern is the Devils started off the season much hotter than they finished it and if they want to contend for the conference championship, they need to find what they were doing early in the season, and do it again.

The Philadelphia Flyers just squeaked into the playoffs with a win in the final game over the New York Rangers to get the #7 seed in the East and play against New Jersey. Without a doubt, the season-ending playoff-clinching victory will give the Flyers a boost but honestly, they have their hands full when the face off against the the Devils. The Flyers have relied all season long on the play Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Danny Briere and newest addition and big-man on the blue-line Chris Pronger. Richards and Carter lead the way with 60+ points each while Pronger and Briere and in the mid-50’s but they are facing an extremely tough and skilled New Jersey Devils squad. Trying to put up those point averages when you are playing against Brodeur is hard enough but to have to do it for a possible seven-game seasons (especially after the Flyers grueling run to make the playoffs)… I don’t think Philadelphia stands much of a chance.

One thing I will say is I am EXTREMELY happy that Philadelphia won over the Rangers because the last thing I wanted to see was Avery blanketing and pissing off Ovechkin… someone should punch Avery really, really hard in the face. Anyways, there is not much more to say about the Flyers. They did bring in Pronger to help out their defence and paired him up with Matt Carle and gave a decent second pairing of Kimmo Timonen and Lukas Krajicek. The problem lies in the Flyers goaltending, they also picked up Ray Emery and hoped he could get back to they way he once played helping the Senators go to the Stanley Cup. Unfortunately he got injured and Michael Leighton took over and well, the rest is history. The Devils will win, only because you can’t finish off the season having to play every game balls out and still be 100% for the playoffs. New Jersey is healthy other than Andrew Peters who is expected to be back and ready for the playoffs and I expect the Devils to coast through the Flyers.

TheCoach’s Pick: DEVILS in FIVE

Keeping in mind that although sports are entertainment for the masses, for the athletes, it's their jobs. It's the way they provide for their families and make a living. With that being said, you never want so see an athlete in any sport get hurt to where they can't make a living—except in this situation, maybe.

I think I speak for the majority of hockey fans and even some players when I say: Matt Cooke, payback's a ——!

About two minutes into the second period of Atlanta's 1-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins Saturday night, Cooke barked up the wrong tree.

Former Heavyweight champ Evander Holyfield might have been celebrating an eighth-round knockout victory in Vegas Saturday night, but it was a different Evander that was making news in the hockey world with a knockout of his own.

Last summer's fourth overall draft pick, Evander Kane, KO'd Cooke with a thunderous right hook that would have made Holyfield proud.

Somewhere, Marc Savard is smiling.

Kane, who was being targeted by the Penguins all night after delivering a couple of hard, CLEAN checks to Sidney Crosby earlier in the game, had enough with Cooke's antics.

Leading up to the one-punch fight, Cooke elbowed Kane along the boards and challenged him. I guess Cooke didn't think the fiery, 18-year-old Vancouver native would respond the way he did.

The result of the altercation was Cooke momentarily knocked out as Kane skated to the box while Thrashers and NHL fans rejoiced. A stretcher was brought out, but Cooke was able to skate off under his own power.

Remember when Tie Domi sucker-punched Ulf Samuelsson years ago? There was an outrage over that as well—an outrage that it nobody did it sooner.

When you chose to live by the sword, you die by the sword. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. What comes around, goes around. Insert generic cliche phrase for retribution here ______.

I'm sorry, but Matt Cooke had this coming—for a long time.

Cooke's most recent note on a laundry list full of incidents came on March 7, with the highly publicized Marc Savard headshot.

Unless you've been living under a rock, every NHL fan knows that the flawless NHL disciplinary system deemed the hit not suspension worthy.

Savard hasn't played a game since with no timetable for a return.

What Evander Kane did tonight, drilled two of the biggest problems I have with the NHL right in the head—no pun intended.

The first issue I have with the NHL is: the way the league is reacting to clean hits.

This is hockey, it's not ballet. No offense to ballet enthusiasts.

Thrashers' coach John Anderson summed it up perfectly.

"If they take exception to who gets hit out there, does that mean you are supposed to start a fight?" Anderson said.

Much like I am, Anderson was confused to how players are supposed to play the game these days.

"I don't get it. Crosby is so great for this game, but when you're always around the puck, you're going to get hit a little bit. Every time he gets body checked, does that mean somebody is going to get attacked?"

This is problem that is developing at rapid speeds in the NHL, lately.

It's like I'm watching a roller hockey game some nights.

Player A skates down the ice. Player B drills him with a hard, clean hit. Player A's teammate attacks Player B.

It's almost appalling to watch some nights. What happened to taking a hit and getting back into the play and waiting for the opportunity to hit your opponent with an equally hard, legal hit?

The next problem that I have with the NHL that this Kane fight kind of deals with is: the instigator rule.

If this instigator rule isn't in effect, Cooke and players alike don't make it out of the game alive.

Look at how many cheapshots and headshots have been in the league over the last five years or so. Think it has nothing to do with the instigator rule? You're out of your mind if you think it doesn't.

These players get to run around and have literally no fear. It's one thing to take liberties against your opponents knowing full-well that you're going to pay the price in the near future. It's another thing when you can run around like guerrilla warfare knowing you're not going to get touched.

Cooke doesn't make it out of that March 7 game against Boston if a guy like Tony Twist or Stu Grimson is laced up at the end of the Bruins bench.

Only time will tell what is going to happen, but if the league wants to clean up it's act, these are two huge problems that need to be addressed.

The 25-year-old center will be joining fellow Wolf Pack teammates P.A. Parenteau and Andres Eriksson, who were also recently called up by the New York Rangers.

Locke, who leads the Hartford Wolf Pack in scoring with 80 points, will get some pro experience due to the injuries of Ryan Callahan and Sean Avery.

Locke tallied 29 goals and 51 assists through 73 games with the Wolf Pack this season, which is good for third overall in point production in the AHL.

The former Ottawa 67er was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the fourth round of the '03 draft. He played one NHL game for Montreal in 2008, registering one shot.

The Rangers signed him this past offseason, where he has been enjoying his most productive AHL campaign to date.

If he's given time on the powerplay, which I highly doubt coach John Tortorella will do, he might be able to add some production. He is currently ranked fifth in the AHL with 18 power-play goals.

Bringing players like Locke and Parenteau up should have been done much earlier by the Rangers.

I have been advocating for a while that the Rangers need to start evaluating the talent they have down in the AHL at the professional level for the better part of this season.

The organization can see what they do on the Wolf Pack for as long as they want to, but until they gain real in-game minutes at a consistent level in the NHL, we're never going to truly know what they have to offer.

The Rangers are not blessed with sure-fire talents such as Steven Stamkos, John Tavares, and Matt Duchene, like some other franchises across the NHL are. They need to start developing these players at the big-time level.

Making the playoffs is great, and a real morale booster, but getting crushed in the first round and going blindly into next season still unaware of what the kids can do is extremely detrimental to what the Rangers need to do.

Guys like Locke and Parenteau aren't exactly kids anymore, either. Locke will turn 26 in May, while Parenteau just celebrated his 27th birthday.

If the Rangers have any plan for these players in their future, it's about time we see what they can bring to the table.

Well, there can be one positive thing taken from this abysmal season for the New York Rangers: Henrik Lundqvist.

With Thursday night's come-from-behind win over the Devils, Henrik Lundqvist added to a record that he already holds.

Lundqvist is now the only NHL goalie to ever post five consecutive 30-win seasons to start an NHL career.

Last season Lundqvist set the record when he recorded his 30th win over the Nashville Predators.

That gets put into perspective when you think about how hard that actually is to achieve.

Patrick Roy, arguably the greatest goaltender in NHL history, didn't even record his first 30-win season until his fourth year in the league. Marty Brodeur, Henrik's cross-town rival, took three seasons to lock up 30 wins.

Lundqvist, who just gained his 30th win during the 73rd game of the season, should have much more than his current total.

The Rangers have lost 15 games by one goal this season.

During nine of those 15 games, Lundqvist gave up three goals or less.

Seven of those 15 games, King Henrik gave up two goals or fewer!

One of those games, Lundqvist didn't even give up a goal, but the Rangers still managed to lose in a shootout!

It's unreal how good Lundqvist actually has to be on a regular basis for the Rangers to win a game.

The Rangers have won six games this season where they only scored two or fewer goals for Lundqvist.

Eleven of the Rangers 33 wins have been decided by one goal. That's 33 percent of their victories. Sickening, isn't it?

This wasn't the first record that Lundqvist has set this year, either. During the Olympics, Lundqvist broke a 50-year-old record for consecutive minutes without allowing a goal. It took 172-plus minutes for Lundqvist to let up a goal during Olympic play.

That streak carried over from 2006, when Lundqvist earned a gold medal for Sweden. Coincidentally, that was also the year he started his 30-win streak.

Lundqvist's win total might be down this season, but it has nothing to do with his play. Outside of the shutouts category, Lundqvist is actually putting together one of his best seasons.

It's a shame the Rangers can't do more for their King on a nightly basis.

That's right, I said it: Don't tank to finish the season. Think about what I'm saying here for a minute.

What is tanking? It's when a team totally blows it, and fails to succeed. They falter when they need to perform most, and ultimately lose the goal they set out to achieve.

For most teams, tanking would be blowing the last stretch of the season and slipping out of a playoff spot and watching the postseason from the nearest golf course.

For the Rangers, it's the exact opposite. If the Rangers tank the final games nine games of the season, it means they've put together a long win streak to close out the year, thus screwing themselves out of a good draft pick.

Going into last night's game with the Islanders, the Rangers sat in 23rd place. Just a mere three points out of third worse, which the Isles currently occupy.

If they were to finish in third place, well, third from last, I would be ecstatic. That would ultimately mean they would get one of the three top players in this draft: Taylor Hall, Tyler Seguin, or Cam Fowler.

Any one of those three names would be NHL-ready next year. I mean, this is the Rangers we're talking about who would probably have Alex Ovechkin still playing for Hartford if they drafted him, so it's anybody's guess if they would make the team next year.

The Rangers already started tanking, with their 5-0 shellacking of the Isles last night, so a decent win streak to close out the season seems inevitable.

The Blueshirts close out this final stretch of the season with games against: New Jersey, Toronto, the Isles, Tampa, Florida, Buffalo, the Leafs again, and a home-and-home with the Flyers to close out the season.

For any team looking to slip into the playoffs that schedule is a blessing, but for the Rangers, it's disastrous.

The Rangers could easily finish these nine games gaining 15 of 18 available points. Like I said, if this happens, it's a disaster. Once again, the Rangers will be in the middle of the pack and get a so-so draft position.

What I wish they would do, but wont, is allow Henrik to rest and call up some kids.

I would like to see what a line of Marian Gaborik, Artem Anisimov, and Evgeny Grachev could do together over an extended period of time. By extended, I mean at least five games, not eight minutes, which is an eternity for a line to be together under John Tortorella.

Wade Redden should also get a "rest" and a guy like Bobby Sanguinetti should be allowed to show us what he's truly got.

But, this is the Rangers we're talking about here. Odds are, they'll make Lundqvist play the nine remaining games in a last-ditch effort to overtake the Bruins for the final playoff spot.

Let the tanking begin!

Oh, I've been here.  Just no incentive to write. Why?  I think yesterday's effort about sums it up.

This team not only doesn't deserve to make the playoffs, but definitely killed any chance they had by the effort of the past week in particular, never mind since the Olympics or training camp in September.

I'm sick of this team.

I'm sick of the overpaid douche bags getting the same ice time night in-night out.  I'm sick of a defense that can't play physically and/or defensively, then don't play with that aggressiveness and offensive edge we were promised.  I'm sick of the forwards being made up of third and forth liners and Marian Gaborik, who then has to carry the team.  I'm sick of Henrik Lundqvist having to play Game 7 Stanley Cup Finals-type games in November, because the team in front of him doesn't allow him the luxury of giving up a weak goal once in a while with goal and defensive support, never mind allowing 40+ shots on him regularly.  I'm sick of Olli Jokinen and his lack of effort and eyebrows.  I'm sick of John Tortorella overreacting like the coach of a winning team being asked stupid questions, not the coach of a losing team being asked routine post-game/pre-game/post-practice questions.  I'm sick of Glen Sather pretending to be the GM of this team.  I'm sick of James Dolan/Cablevision and their ability to turn what they touch into complete s--t (Remember "Nobody Beats the Wiz"?). I'm sick of excuses. I'm sick of being told we have good young players in the system yet none being a true impact type player.

I'm sick of everything.

Of course, I will watch this team down the stretch, mainly to see if they can improve their lottery chances.  I know they can't get number 1, but maybe they can move up one spot than they finish?  Only the ping pong balls know.  But I can't openly continue this blog this year without giving myself an ulcer.

Time to waive the white flag on 2009-2010.

I'm going to pop back up for the playoffs when the games get exciting again.  I'll loosely talk about whats going on, and after the Bettman Coyotes win the cup, move on to draft coverage and anticipation of any offseason moves July 1st and onwards.

Maybe if we're lucky, I'll have more to write about regarding the relieving of somebody's duties... but I doubt it.

Till then, time to ride it out as we watch these bums crash and burn.

So here we are, coming towards to the end of the 09-10 NHL regular season, with many teams in contention for a playoff spot. I am writing this article to reflect on this season and to relive some of its surprises and shocks.

First I'll start off with the current President's Trophy leaders, none other than the Washington Capitals.

What can I say? They have been phenomenal this year, able to score goals for fun due to the awesome depth they have in their squad. It must be nice to be Bruce Boudreau and know that you are going to get goals from every line.

However, it must also be noted how Nicklas Backstrom has become much more of a goal scorer this year, going from 22 last year to 28 so far this year. This is a notable reason as to why the Caps have scored the most goals this year (266).

As well as Backstrom becoming a more prolific goal scorer, it seems that Alex Ovechkin has become more of a helper since getting the "C" stitched onto his jersey. He is playing like he was born to be the captain, and he is on course for the NHL scoring title again, however this time with more assists than goals.

One of the Caps' biggest threats in the playoffs comes from the current champs, the Pittsburgh Penguins and most notably Sidney Crosby. Sid the Kid is having an awesome year, and this is because he is shooting the puck a lot more and currently sits atop the goal scoring charts.

The Pens are a big threat to the Caps because they seem to be able to get goals from whoever is on the ice. I did fear a little for the Pens because they didn't seem to make a big signing in the offseason, however the deals they did make have paid off well.

Moving on to the Pen's Atlantic Division Rivals, the New Jersey Devils, who like the Pens, are in the hunt for the title. Many people believe that the Devils pulled off the biggest coup of the season, with the trade for Ilya Kovalchuk.

Kovalchuk was easily the biggest prize available before the trade deadline, and the Devils managed to beat off competition from numerous teams, (including a massive contract extension from Atlanta ), to secure his services. Even though Kovalchuk hasn't made a huge impact in NJ just yet, watch for him in the playoffs because they will need stand out performers and he fits that bill. 

Talking about big deals in the season, few were bigger than Phil Kessel being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs from the Boston Bruins. A lot of people probably thought that this was going to be the catalyst for the Leafs to make the playoffs this year.

However, they have struggled all season whilst slumping to the bottom of the Eastern Conference (23-34-12) and even with the blockbuster trade on Jan. 31 (that brought Dion Phaneuf, Freddie Sjostrom, and Keith Aulie in exchange for Ian White, Matt Stajan, Niklas Hagman, and Jamal Mayers), haven't really improved dramatically. However Leafs fans shouldn't worry too much because the rest of this season is a transition period for all younger players such as Bozak and Caputi to show what they can do ahead of training camp in the summer.

The other team involved in the Kessel trade, the Boston Bruins, has been rather surprising this year, going from President Trophy candidates last year to fighting for a playoff spot this year. I would say this is partly due to the trading of Kessel, who was one of the bright lights for the Bruins.

I would also say that Tim Thomas' performances this year have been to blame. Last year's Vezina Trophy winner is less than .500 this year (15-17-8) and has been replaced with Tuukka Rask, a rookie goaltender from Finland, on numerous occasions.

Talking about Rask, he has been in fine form this season and has needed to be to give the Bruins a chance of making the playoffs. He currently leads the league in GAA (2.09) and is third in save percentage (.928). If he can keep playing like this, it is more than likely he will have the starting job for the Bruins if they make the playoffs and for next season.

Bruins fans should be excited no matter how they finish this year, because of the fact that they have Toronto's first round draft pick. This is awesome because seeing as the Leafs are so low this year, they are looking at either a potential No. 1, 2, or 3 pick, depending on how the lottery goes.

Other teams battling it out with the Bruins for a playoff spot are the Philadelphia Flyers, Montréal Canadiens, New York Rangers, Atlanta Thrashers, and the Tampa Bay Lightning.  

Moving on to the Montréal Canadiens. With the number of moves they made in the offseason, I had them down as being Eastern Conference contenders, but after a while it looked like they would struggle to make the playoffs, especially when they lost Mike Cammalleri.

But since the Olympics it's been a totally different story and, at the moment, they are on fire! I believe that they are well on their way to the playoffs, and it will be interesting to see how they do with Cammalleri back in the lineup.

Moving on to the New York Rangers and their up and down season. This year I thought they would be a challenger for the Atlantic Division title, especially after signing Marian Gaborik and their 7-1 start. However, the Rangers seem to be unable to sustain a long winning run, especially when they have been in winning positions.

I have been impressed by the play of people like Gaborik, Prospal, Christensen, Callahan, and Lundqvist (as usual), but the rest of the team have struggled to provide secondary offense this year and I do believe they will struggle to make the playoffs, which disappoints me massively as I am a huge Rangers fan.

Another team fighting it out for the playoffs is the Atlanta Thrashers, who have been extremely inconsistent this year. They have had some great results, and then they have had some disastrous ones as well. However, with the trade for Kovalchuk the future looks bright as they are stacking up with some handy youngsters such as Nicklas Bergfors, Evander Kane, and Zach Bogosian.

Therefore, Thrashers fans shouldn't worry too much if they don't make the playoffs this year, because they will have a great chance next year. 

Moving on now to one of the Thrashers' Southeast Division rivals, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The Bolts, like the Thrashers, have had quite an inconsistent year; however the play of Steven Stamkos has been phenomenal. After an average rookie year, he has absolutely exploded on to the big stage this year, with 42 goals so far (third in league).

However, the Bolts haven't seemed to capitalize on the strong play of Stamkos, Steve Downie, Victor Hedman, and others as they are still outside of the playoff race. However, like the Thrashers, if they don't make the playoffs this year the next year still looks good.

One team that seems to have their place booked in the playoffs is the Philadelphia Flyers. However, in December, this was nowhere near the case. With the acquisition of Chris Pronger, the Flyers were expected to be fighting it out for the Eastern title. So the fact they were 13th place in the East and looking up at most teams prompted them to make a coaching change.

And it worked. Replacing John Stevens with Peter Laviolette seems to have done the trick for the Flyers, who were playing such uninspired hockey before Christmas. Since then they have been pretty steady, thanks to the sustained play of most of their stars, and their most frequently started goaltender, Michael Leighton.

Michael Leighton? Yes, and I think he has to receive a lot of credit for the resurrection of the Flyers. A pickup on waivers from the Carolina Hurricanes, this has to be one of the best signings of the season. Leighton was only supposed to provide cover for Brian Boucher, who was covering for the injured Ray Emery.

However, when Boucher was a little shaky, Leighton came in and took advantage of his opportunity. He is now the starting goaltender for the Flyers (as Emery is out for the season) and he looks like a seasoned veteran in the net. Come playoff time it will be interesting to see if he can maintain this high standard he has set.

Moving on to Leighton's old team, the Carolina Hurricanes, and how things have gone so wrong for them this year. They have gone from reaching the Eastern Conference finals last year, to finishing near the basement in the East and having the worst start in franchise history.

I think the injuries to Cam Ward have been quite a hindrance to the Canes, plus the fact that their players didn't really play with any fire in their hearts. However, I think giving Eric Staal the "C" has really helped him shape up and put up some good numbers.

Also, the recent play of a young rookie goaltender has showed signs that the future of the Carolina Hurricanes is nearly here. His name is Justin Peters and he has been brilliant for the 'Canes since being thrown in at the deep end. Along with Peters, the play of rookies like Brandon Sutter and Zach Boychuk shows that the future looks encouraging for the 'Canes.

Another team that looks like they will be missing the playoffs is the Florida Panthers, who have been extremely inconsistent this year. They have had some great road wins against the Sharks and the Red Wings, but also some lopsided defeats, the latest one being last night against the Caps.

The play of players like Tomas Vokoun, Nathan Horton, Dimitri Kulikov, and Stephen Weiss has been quite encouraging; however, they have suffered with their fair share of injuries, especially to key players like David Booth and Nathan Horton.

They have really missed the scoring touch of these guys and I don't believe that the others have stepped up their game sufficiently to eradicate this problem. I don't think they will make the playoffs this year but I think that they may receive quite a high draft pick, which may mean the future is bright for the Panthers.

Moving on to the New York Islanders, who I don't think will make the playoffs this year, but an strong finish in the standings will provide some confidence for players and fans alike. There have been some positives coming from Long Island this year, such as the play of John Tavares, Matt Moulson, and Rob Schremp.

These players have played quite well this season, but they haven't been consistent enough for the Islanders to make a splash. I think this goes for some of the other players as well, who have the odd brilliant game, but not often enough.

Someone who has been brilliant for the Islanders this season though is Dwayne Roloson. The 40 year old goaltender, who signed a two year deal in the summer, has been superb all season. Roloson (22-15-6) was released by the Edmonton Oilers in the summer, as they did not want to offer him longer than a one year contract due to his age.

The Islanders did make that gamble and the rest, as they say, is history.

Finally, I am going to look at the two teams fighting it out for the Northeast Division, the Ottawa Senators and the Buffalo Sabres.

First, the Ottawa Senators, who I thought were going to struggle to reach the playoffs this year, especially when they traded Dany Heatley to the San Jose Sharks. It's been quite the opposite for the Sens, thanks to players like Milan Michalek, who came from the Sharks, and also their goaltender Brian Elliott.

However, the whole team deserves credit for the franchise record they set in January-February with an 11-game winning streak. This propelled them to the top of the Northeast Division, but the Buffalo Sabres have since caught up and are now fighting them down the stretch for home ice advantage.

Last, but no means least, are the Buffalo Sabres, who are having a much better season than they did last year. I would say this is due, in part, to both Tyler Myers and Ryan Miller.  

Tyler Myers, the 6'8" rookie defenseman, has been awesome for the Sabres this year, leading all rookies in average TOI (23.44 mins/game) and fourth in points (37). He has been a breath of fresh air for the Sabres' blue line this year, and I believe he is one reason for the playoff push mounted by the Sabres.

Finally, I have to talk about the stellar play of Ryan Miller this year, more so before the Olympics, but still stellar nevertheless. Miller leads the league in save percentage (.929), second in GAA (2.21) and fifth in shutouts (5).

He has been nothing short of awesome for the majority of this year, and he continued this play through the Olympics, helping the USA come so close to winning gold.

However, I do believe that he is quite tired as a result of the Olympics and this is the reason for his mini-slump. But don't worry Sabres fans, because I do genuinely believe he will be back to his best in the playoffs, if not before.

That's my review of the season so far, and this is how I believe the regular season will end up:

1. Washington Capitals

2. Pittsburgh Penguins

3. Buffalo Sabres

4. New Jersey Devils

5. Ottawa Senators

6. Philadelphia Flyers

7. Montréal Canadiens

8. Boston Bruins

9. New York Rangers

10. Atlanta Thrashers

11. Tampa Bay Lightning

12. New York Islanders

13. Florida Panthers

14. Carolina Hurricanes

15. Toronto Maple Leafs

We've already seen the moves that were made in the Western Conference, so it's time to move east.

Simple enough, right?

1. Washington Capitals, 90 points

Arrivals: Scott Walker—F, Eric Belanger—F, Milan Jurcina—D, Joe Corvo—D

Departures: Seventh round pick (2010), Second round pick (2010), Sixth round pick (2010), Brian Pothier—D, Oskar Osala—F, Second round pick (2011)

What does it mean for them?

The Capitals did exactly what they needed to do: They got some depth, presence, and experience at forward with the acquisitions of Belanger and Walker, and they also went out and provided the blueline with some offensive depth in Joe Corvo.

That depth on the blueline is something this team desperately needed, going back to last season, and the Caps' second power-play unit can now have a true quarterback. As far as between the pipes, the goalies dealt today wouldn’t have gotten the Caps ahead, but so long as Jose Theodore and Semyon Varlamov don’t get injured, the Caps have solidified themselves as an East contender.

2. New Jersey Devils, 79 points

Arrivals: Martin Skoula—D

Departures: Fifth round pick (2010)

What does it mean for them?

Performance or not, the Devils made their biggest impact in acquiring Ilya Kovalchuk before the Olympics. The presence that was lost in the trading of Johnny Oduya was replaced in the acquisition of Skoula who, while nothing special, is a steady, experienced presence, landing in a defense that thrives off of guys like that.

It will be interesting to see though, if the Devils could have used an established puck-moving guy on the blueline.

3. Ottawa Senators, 76 points

Arrivals: Andy Sutton—D

Departures: Second round pick (2010)—OTT

What does it mean for them?

The Senators added to a strength, getting a strong defenseman that can block shots and really dominate alongside Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. Already adding some scoring punch with Matt Cullen before the Olympics was a great move, and the Sens have a good, physical defense.

Like some of the other teams in the league, the Sens could use some insurance in net for Brian Elliot and in case Pascal Leclaire gets injured. Again.

4. Pittsburgh Penguins, 78 points

Arrivals: Alex Ponikarovsky—LW, Jordan Leopold—D, Sixth round pick (2010)

Departures: Luca Caputi—LW, Martin Skoula—D, Second-round pick (2010), Chris Peluso—D

What does it mean for them?

Another year, another winger for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

For all of the flack he took in Toronto, Alex Ponikarovsky is a finisher. Put him on the wing of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, or Jordan Staal, and with those guys feeding him the puck, Poni could hit 25 goals by the end of the season. Because of that all-world ability, they may have an outside shot at pushing him to 30.

In Leopold they add a defenseman who can get the puck out of his end, along with some experience—in other words, a much more mobile Martin Skoula. The Pens only solidified themselves as the biggest roadblock in the Easter Conference (for a team hoping to contend).

5. Buffalo Sabres, 75 points

Arrivals: Raffi Torres—F, Third round pick (2010)—ATL, Fourth round pick (2010)—ATL

Departures: Nathan Paetsch—D, Second round pick (2010), Clarke MacArthur—F,

What does it mean for them?

Nothing really exciting here. The Sabres added some grit and experience with Raffi Torres, being a guy who could produce some healthy numbers down the stretch.

Other than some grit upfront, the Sabres could’ve used some tweaking on the back end, especially from an offensive prospective.

 

6. Philadelphia Flyers, 69 points

Arrivals: None

Departures: None

What does it mean for them?

Everybody’s offended (or I guess “surprised” would be a better word) at the inactivity on the Flyers’ front.

Honestly though, it’s hard to find a spot to add to that wouldn’t just be rounding out the depth on this team.

So instead, for those who watched TSN, let’s just remember the fact that Pierre MacGuire and Darren Pang nearly came to fisticuffs because they couldn’t agree on Washington’s depth chart.

7. Montreal Canadiens, 66 points

Arrivals: Aaron Palushaj—F

Departures: Matt D’Agostini—F

What does it mean for them?

People will continue to take sides on the goaltending battle until one of Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak are gone, but the Habs were able to address their faceoff needs earlier with the acquisition (and over-payment) of Dominic Moore.

Are they gritty enough to hang in the playoff race and then hang tough in the second season if they get there? I guess we’ll see.

8. Boston Bruins, 65 points

Arrivals: Steve Kampfer—D, Cody Wild—D, Fourth-round pick (2011)—PHX, Dennis Seidenberg—D, Matthew Bartkowski—D

Departures: Conditional pick, Mark Marquardt—F, Derek Morris—D, Craig Weller—F, Byron Bitz—F, Second round pick (2010)

What does it mean for them?

While Dennis Seidenberg is having a good season, the Bruins are no better when you essentially swap him with Derek Morris and may, in fact, have taken a step backwards.

They lost a few fringe forwards in Weller and Bitz, but there’s still no Brad Boyes/Phil Kessel type scoring threat there. None of the teams behind them in the standings got better by leaps or bounds, however, so if the Bruins can come together and get some key contributions down the stretch, they should be able to stay in the playoff picture.

 

9. New York Rangers, 65 points

Arrivals: Kris Newbury—F, Anders Eriksson—D

Departures: Jordan Owens—F, Miika Wiikman—G, Seventh round pick (2011)

What does it mean for them?

Anders Eriksson won’t be getting the Rangers into the playoffs, but the Rangers are also hoping that Olli Jokinen can gel with his new team can really generate some more offense.

Even with Jokinen though, the Rangers could have looked at acquiring a little more production up front, as they’ve already solved their issues in-behind Henrik Lundqvist (by claiming Alex Auld off of waivers).

 

10. Atlanta Thrashers

Arrivals: Evgeny Artyukhin—F, Clarke MacArthur—F

Departures: Nathan Oystrick—D, Conditional pick (2011), Third round draft pick (2010), Fourth round draft pick (2010)

What does it mean for them?

The Thrashers added some toughness and depth up front, which is good: They’ve now thrown themselves into the post-Kovalchuk era and they’re going to be relying on a lot of young forwards. Acquiring guys to ensure their youngsters don’t get pushed around is a great step to take.

They’ve still got a crowded blue line and no real game-breaking forward—although a few are developing—but if the Thrashers were only selling Kovalchuk to get something in return and not as a give-in on the season, there’s not many other moves they could’ve made.

 

11. Tampa Bay Lightning, 63 points

Arrivals: Teddy Purcell—F, Third round pick (2010)—LA

Departures: Jeff Halpern—F

What does it mean for them?

The Lightning didn’t do much: Basically, their depth got younger by swapping out Halpern for Purcell, but the Bolts could’ve gone a little deeper, perhaps getting a few more assets and finding a suitor for Mike Smith.

The Vincent Lecavalier questions may never go away and just keep coming up every couple of months, but the rumors were fairly quiet around the deadline. Tampa simply needs to keep building through the draft and getting their young players the ice time they need.

 

12. New York Islanders, 60 points

Arrivals: Dylan Reese—D, Second round pick (2010)—OTT

Departures: Greg Moore—C, Andy Sutton—D

What does it mean for them?

Not a massive sell-off from a team that’s seen a lot of growth from their younger players this season.

There can be something said for teams low in the standings holding on to veteran players at the deadline. For the Islanders, it’s a good idea. While Richard Park brings talents to the game that could be valuable in a depth role on a playoff team, the young Isles need someone to learn from, and he’s an ideal teacher.

13. Florida Panthers, 58 points

Arrivals: Second round pick (2010)—PIT, Craig Weller—F, Byron Bitz—F, Second round pick (BOS)—2010, Mathieu Roy—D

Departures: Jordan Leopold—D, Dennis Seidenberg—D, Matthew Bartkowski—D, Matt Rust—F

What does it mean for them?

The Florida Panthers have said that there will be a changing of the guard. With that, they opened up some space on the blueline for younger players (Dmitri Kulikov and Keaton Ellerby), brought in some younger, tougher players in Byron Bitz, and are hoping they take a new attitude into the last quarter of the season.

Florida did a good job of clearing out some of the roster and cap eaters, providing themselves with the beginning stages of an opportunity to move forward.

To put the process in full force though, a few more players could’ve been sent out, like Steve Reinprecht and Cory Stillman.

 

14. Carolina Hurricanes, 57 points

Arrivals: Seventh round (2010)—WASH, Justin Pogge—G, Fourth round (2010 or 11)—ANA, Brian Pothier—D, Oskar Osala—F, Second round pick (2011)—WASH, Third round pick (2010)—VAN, Cedric Lalande-McNicoll—F, Sixth Round Pick (2010)—COL

Departures: Scott Walker—F, Stephane Yelle—F, Andrew Alberts—D, Aaron Ward—D

What does it mean for them?

The Hurricanes did what they wanted to do: Utilize some key players in a disappointing season to bring in some draft picks and get some wiggling room.

What they could really use (and weren’t going to get) is that No. 1 defenseman. However, they’ve now got the cap space and roster space to bring one in.

15. Toronto Maple Leafs, 49 points

Arrivals: Luca Caputi—LW, Fifth round pick (2010)—NJ, Fourth round pick (2010)—PHX, Seventh round pick (2010)—PHX, Seventh round pick (2011)—ANA, Chris Peluso—D, Matt Jones—D

Departures: Alex Ponikarovsky—LW, Martin Skoula—D, Lee Stempniak—LW, Joey MacDonald, Sixth round pick (2010)

What does it mean for them?

Basically, it’s more of the same for the Leafs: Get space on the roster, get guys out of the system that were part of the unsuccessful years, and bring in guys that are going to contribute.

Luca Caputi is going to get the rest of the season to strut his stuff, and it won’t be in a minor roll—with two more forwards getting dealt, expect him to get scoring minutes.

The Leafs got more depth on the blueline (Chris Peluso, not Matt Jones, who may not play ever again), and some picks to use in the draft (or use to move up in the draft) in June.

Nothing you didn’t expect out of the Blue and White.

Bryan Thiel is a Senior Writer and NHL Community Leader for Bleacher Report. Want more? Check BT out on Twitter at BT_88 , take a look at his archives , or go over to Hockey54.com—The Face of the Game! to see more.

As the Olympics wrap up and the NHL season gets back in gear, the Boston Bruins are looking forward to getting back on the ice.

With Team USA losing to Canada, what better way to start the second part of the season than with back-to-back home games against the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs?

Anybody that follows hockey knows the Canadiens and Bruins are sworn enemies. As two of the "Original Six" teams, they have a long history of hatred for each other and have no problem showing it. Virtually every game consists of at least one fight and is very chippy from start to finish.

The Maple Leafs and the Bruins made a trade before the start of this season with the Bruins sending Phil Kessel to Toronto for a first-round and a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and a first-rounder in the 2011 draft.

Boston and Kessel did not end their time together on the best of terms, and some players remaining on the Bruins feel Kessel didn't believe the team was good enough, so there is a little chip on some of their shoulders. Not to mention the Bruins can help their future by beating Toronto; the more losses the Leafs have, the higher the draft picks will be in the draft.

Prior to the Olympics, the Bruins had some troubled times. Over their last 10 games, the Bruins went 4-6-4, earning 12 points out of a possible 24 and slipping down to seventh place in the Eastern Conference.

However, the Bruins' remaining schedule looks to be very favorable, and, with a little rest and a trade or two, the team's playoff chances look to be back in their hands.

With 22 games remaining on the regular season schedule, the Bruins play 12 against teams behind them in the schedule, including two against Carolina and three against Toronto, the worst two teams in the Conference.

The Bruins play 10 of their last games on home ice at the TD Garden, but they have won 14 of 29 on the road and only 13 of 31 at home, so that may not be as troublesome as it may first appear. The one problem that does arise from this is that the Bruins have two games at league-leading Washington, against whom the Bruins are 0-2 this year.

As far as trades, GM Peter Chiarelli likes the core, so he will not do much to rip it apart. He does have plenty of draft picks due to previous trades, and, coupled with some of the young talent the Bruins have plenty of in the minors, Bruins fans could see a top-six forward on his way in before the March 3 trade deadline. Names like Peter Mueller of Phoenix and Ray Whitney of Carolina have been thrown around in rumors.

Don't be expecting a huge deal or something that could put the Bruins on the same caliber as Washington or Pittsburgh, but look for a good playoff push.

Granted, the Bruins were chosen by some to be in the Stanley Cup Finals, but not all is lost yet. They are only 12 points behind New Jersey, which sits in second place in the East, and with 44 points up for grabs in the last 22 games, the Bruins can definitely make a strong push for a decent seed for the playoffs.