Eastern Conference Preview

Today we preview the Eastern Conference.  (Again.  Please don't expect in depth previews here)
P.S. The Pens aren't previewed here.  They will be previewed tomorrow.

First off we have the Boston Bruins.  Last season the Bruins finished 2nd in the East.  The B's have one of the most talented line ups in the NHL.  They have a ton of talent up front and a solid blue line as well.  The one question going into this season for the Bruins will be goal tending.  Tim Thomas is being a tool and sitting out this season and no one knows what you're getting from Tukka Rask night in and night out.  Their back up goalie is Anton Khudobin.  Don't worry you aren't the onle one that said "who?"  Projected finish: 2nd

 Last season finish 12th.  The Canes were terrible last season.  And their moves in the off season said they weren't gonna let that happen again.  They acquired Jordan Staal from Pittsburgh, Kevin Westgarth from LA, as well as signed Alexander Semin.  The Canes success relies on their defense and the play of Cam Ward.  If Ward recapture his form from 09 they Canes could be scary good.  Projected finish: 6th

Last season finish 6th.  The Devils are the defending Eastern Conference Champions.  They saved us from being forced to watch the Rangers in the finals.  The departure of Zach Parise left a gaping hole up front for the Devils.  Marty Brodeur is another year older and that defense is up and down constantly.  You never know what you are going to get from New Jersey.  Projected finish: 11th

Last season finish 5th.  Last season the Flyers knocked the Pens out of the playoffs in the 1st round before getting bounced by New Jersey.  The Flyers have unlimited talent up front.  They have easily one of the top 5 groups of forwards in the league.  But Chris Pronger isn't coming back to this team which leaves a gigantic hole on the blue line for them.  Plus last year in the playoffs Ilya Bryzgalov was.....well there really isn't a word for how bad he was.  The Flyers will be good.  How good is the question.  Projected finish: 5th

Last season finish 15th.  The Habs were dreadful last season.  Boooooooooooooooooooooo.  The brought in Michel Therrien as the new coach this off season and booooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo other than Colby Armstrong didn't really bring in a big free agent.  Boooooooooooooooooooooooo.  I wouldn't want to play for a team who's logo looks like a toilet seat either.

 Montreal is probably booing something already.  Projected finish: 12th

Last season finish 14th.  If not for Montreal's dreadful season the Islols would have finished 15th.  But that didn't happen unfortunately.  The Islanders have a talented team but their defense is atrocious and Rick DiPietro is still a goalie there.  Have fun in the cellar again jokes.  Projected finish: 15th

Last season finish 11th.  The Jets started off the season fairly well and were in the playoff hunt for most of the season last year.  But they tailed off at the end and missed the playoffs.  The Jets didn't do anything in the off season and it seems like every other team got a little better.  Don't be surprised to see one of two things from the Jets this season.  1 they surprise everyone and make the playoffs.  2 the suck completely.  We are picking option 2.  Projected finish: 14th

Last season finish 13th.  The Leafs, just like they do every season started off hot last season.  And of course you heard "Toronto is finally making the playoffs" "Stanley Cup here we come" only to see the Leafs completely choke on their own sack and miss the playoffs again.  If a 48 game season is gonna benefit anyone its gonna be the Leafs considering they are used to only playing 48 meaningful games a season. But in typical Leafs fashion we expect them to miss the playoffs.  Again.

Projected finish: 10th

Last season finish 10th.  The Lightning had a down year last season  after making the playoffs the previous season.  The Bolts have some good talent up front but their defense is mediocre at best.  And is Andres Lindback really gonna solve their goalie issue?  Good luck stopping anyone with that defense.  Projected finish: 9th

 Last season finish 3rd.  The Panthers won their division last season mainly because the rest of their division was dreadful.  The Panthers are returning the same line up as last season with a few minor additions.  The Panthers will still be good but will they be as good as last year? Projected finish: 7th

Last season finish: 1st.  To add to last years vomit inducing season the Rangers finished 1st in the East as well as the Atlantic division.  If the Pens wouldn't have pissed away two late season games against the Islanders they would have finished 1st instead.  But it was the Rangers who eventually got bounced in the Eastern Conference finals by New Jersey.  The Rangers have a ton of talent.  They added to it this off season when they acquired Rick Nach.  Congrats New York.  You got the laziest player in the league.  Even with all their talent the Rangers defesne is shaky at times.  Henrik Lundqvist will have to bail them out a lot this season.

Can't wait for Rangers fans to bitch about this for years like they still bitch about Potvin.  Projected finish: 1st

Last season finish: 9th.  The Sabre missed out on the playoff last season by 3 points.  They traded away Derek Roy for........Steve Ott.  Yeah.  The Sabres do have some talent up front and on the blue line.  Key word there being SOME.  But after Tyler Myers, Buffalo's defense is shaky.  Ok does anyone outside of Buffalo think this team is making the playoffs?  Brett Hull couldn't be reached for input on the Sabres preview unfortunately. Ryan Miller sucks.

 Projected finish 13

Last season finish 8th.  The Sens are an up and down team if we've ever seen one.  They can either be really good.  Or really bad.  We saw a glimpse of how good they can be when they gave the Rangers all they could handle in the first round last season.  The question is what Sens team are we gonna see this season.  We think they make the playoffs....barely.  Projected finish 8th.

Last season finish 7th.  Although the Caps made the playoffs and took the Rangers to 7 games in the 2nd round last season could be considered a disappointment for the Caps who typically are in the top 3 in the East.  Last season was also very forgettable for Alex Ovechkin who posted his worst season in recent memory.  The Caps brought in Adam Oates as the new head coach and look to regain their form from a few years ago.  Projected finish: 3rd

So there you have it.  Again, if you don't like it, oh well.

Pens preview tomorrow

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