Last year, the Philadelphia Flyers had to beat the New York Rangers in a tiebreaker to qualify for the Stanley Cup Final; the tiebreaker ended in a shootout that Philadelphia won; had the Flyers lost that game, the Rangers would have appeared in the final.
Eighth place, last, went to the eleventh seed Carolina Hurricanes; The 12th-seeded Tampa Bay Lightning missed it by a hair of eight points.
Meanwhile, the number one seed went to the Washington Capitals, with the Presidents’ Trophy to boot.
This year, the Eastern Conference will see tougher competition, with quite a few teams eager to get going. Let’s take a look at the various teams in the Eastern conference to decide who are the best:
New Jersey Devils:
This year the Devils could have one of the most effective attacks, after signing Ilya Ivanchuk. The Russian will have ample company in Travis Zajac and Zach Parise. Add to that Martin Brodeur guarding the net, and you see the picture of a balanced team emerge.
Pittsburgh Penguins:
Like the Washington Capitals, the Penguins also have their center intact despite an all-too-long summer, and everyone is resting well. The Consol Energy Center will witness Pittsburgh kick off this year’s season with Evgeni Malkin and Sydney Crosby leading the way. The attack has been bolstered by off-season blue line members Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin.
Philadelphia Flyers:
The presence of Chris Pronger, Jeff Carter and Mike Richards will excite the Flyers to build on last year’s great season, emerge as a consistent team early in the season and show that last year’s performance was not a flash.
Washington Capitals:
As they did last year, the Washington Capitals will look to Alexander Ovechkin to lead their offense, with the trio of Mike Green, Alexander Semin and Nicklas Backstrom in attendance, plus old warhorse Mike Knuble. These key players will be backed by the usual complement of support players.
Atlanta Thrashers:
Last season, the Thrashers barely missed the playoffs by a slim five-point margin after Ilya Ivanchuk went to the New Jersey Devils. This year, the Atlanta team will have last year’s cup winners in Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager, Brent Sopel and Dustin Byfuglien to provide the youngsters on the team with invaluable guidance on how to win the championship.
Tampa Bay Lightning:
Steven Stamkos had a terrific first season with Tampa last year, and new general manager Steve Yzerman’s signing of Simon Gagne will only add to the team’s offensive force that is further embellished by the presence of Ryan Malone, Vincent Lecavalier and Martin St Louis.