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About the Author - rootman54
SteveS, MI
Male 18 years old
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Steve. 18. Absolutely love sports. I'll watch pretty much anything but Tennis. I love hockey the most, used to play in high school and miss playing it right now. Im at Kettering University studying to be a Mechanical Engineer. Anything else just message me.
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NHL Atlantic Divison 2008-09 Preview and Predictions; Penguins, Rangers, Devils, Flyers, Islanders
It's The Penguins Division To Lose And That's Not Going To Happen.
9/29/08
Wecome to the FanIQ NHL Season Previews. We'll be doing these division previews all week. First up, the Atlantic Division.
Last season, the Atlantic Division was among the most competitive divisions in the NHL as four of the five teams made the Eastern Conference Playoffs. Philadelphia and Pittsburgh made it to the Eastern Conference Finals and Pittsburgh moved on to lose in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Penguins, Devils, Rangers, and Flyers also made up four of the top five point getters in the Eastern Conference. This year may be a bit different, but still expect three teams from this division to make the playoffs. Can Pittsburgh do something that has not happened since the ’83 Oilers and win a Stanley Cup after losing it the previous year? Can Brian Rolston help New Jersey to the top again? Or will the star-studded Rangers finally take the top spot?
5th Place: New York Islanders
When the Head Coach and GM have major disagreements on how to run the team, you’re not going to do very well. That’s what happened last season when GM Garth Snow wanted to play many of the younger guys and give them experience while Coach Ted Nolan wanted to win right away. That problem no longer exists as the Islanders brought in a new Head Coach in Scott Gordon. The Islanders lost Miroslav Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, and Joseph Vasicek. However, the three were under performing and the new additions of Mark Streit and Doug Weight can hopefully fill the spots. Weight will return to play with former teammate Bill Guerin as the Islanders hope those two can have another productive season at the end of the careers. Mark Streit and Chris Campoli will secure the blue line as the team’s top defensemen. If the Islanders want to go anywhere, Rick Dipietro will have to perform as one of the league’s best goaltenders, which is easier said than done.
The youth on the team will be the future and none more potent than forward Kyle Okposo (right). A former Golden Gopher player, Okposo should have a season good enough to contend for the Calder Trophy. Still, I see the Islanders finishing around the same 79 points from a year ago, and another last place finish.
4th Place: Philadelphia Flyers
This was a tough one, putting the Flyers all the way down into fourth place. Although the Flyers made it to the Eastern Conference finals last year, they still finished sixth in the East and overachieved in the playoffs. Although predicted so low, don’t worry, they’ll still make the playoffs.
Remember, defense wins championships, and when looking at the goaltending here compared to the teams ahead of them, Martin Biron and JS Aubin just don’t stand up.
On the offensive side of the puck, the Flyers do return six 20-goal scorers. Danny Briere is expected to top his 72 points from last season, but a big deal will be improving his –22 rating. If Simon Gagne returns (providing he is healthy), this will boost the team as well. The development of younger players such as Mike Richards and Jeff Carter will influence the direction of the team too because they were two of the top four point getters last year in Philadelphia. The major loss was that RJ Umberger had to be shipped to Columbus for salary cap reasons.
The defense in the City of Brotherly Love is quite the opposite. Only one member of the starting six is below 6’ 2” and 200 lbs. The rough and tough squad proved to stand tall in last year’s playoffs, but this could hurt the Flyers against the fastest teams in the league. Only because they are part of one of the toughest divisions in hockey are they projected so low, but I still think they are good for another 90-point season. The brightest years are still ahead.
3rd Place: New Jersey Devils
Last season, the magic number was 11, and it wasn’t good. That was the number times they were shutout; one out of every seven games. It doesn’t matter how good Martin Brodeur plays in those types of games, they aren’t going to win. So what did the Devils do? They went out and spent money in the free agency market. Brian Rolston (right), with one of the hardest shots in the NHL, returns to New Jersey as well as Bobby Holik, who led them to two Stanley Cups. Brian Gionta will be expected to improve his 53 points from last season with help from the team leader in points, Zach Parise.
On defense, Paul Martin is the new Brian Rafalski, although only producing about half as many points. He is the puck moving defenseman that the Devils so desperately need. John Madden will no doubt be one of the best defenseman on the team too, even though he is a forward. Madden is always good for being one of the best defensive forwards as well as producing a decent amount of points.
The biggest question is if Martin Brodeur keep playing 76 games a season. Responsible of winning 44 of the team’s 46 games last season, he will have to do it again because the backups are not very good. I see the Devils producing around 95 points this year, down just a few from the ’08 season.
2nd Place: New York Rangers
The underachieving Rangers from last season took a second consecutive second round playoff round exit. Although Jaromir Jagr, Martin Straka, and Sean Avery are gone, expect this team to edge up in the division and produce closer to their full potential.
The Rangers were another team making a splash in the free agency market…yet again. They signed former 48-goal scorer Marcus Naslund and defensemen Wade Redden and Dimitri Kalinin. With the addition of Redden and Kalinin, the Rangers have one of the better defenses in the league. Along with the two big signings, youngster Marc Staal, Paul Mara, Michael Rozival, and Daniel Girardi bolster the tough Blueshirt’s defense. And of course in net is King Henrik Lundqvist and his 10 shutouts from a year ago.
The Rangers forwards must play at a higher level this year for the team to move anywhere up in the standings. Scott Gomez, Brendan Shanahan, and Chris Drury each experienced a decrease in their points total last year and the Rangers were 23rd in the league in scoring. These are the three veterans that will be expected to lead the way once again, and there is no reason why they can’t. The key addition was the trade for Nikolai Zherdev. The production from the speedy former Blue Jacket will be needed on offense as well.
The Mats Sundin rumors are still flying through the air, but who knows when he will ever make up his mind. The addition of him to this team could be enough to put them over the top. As for now, they are still a 2nd tier team in their division. The offense is the key to this year as the defense is solid enough. I see them finishing just around 100 points, a slight increase from last year.
1st Place: Pittsburgh Penguins
Winning the Stanley Cup the year after losing it has proved to be a very tough thing to do over the years. But why can’t the Penguins do it? They may have lost Marian Hossa, Gary Roberts, Ryan Malone, Adam Hall, Georges Laraque and Jarko Ruutu, but it seems as if every single one of those players has been replaced. Oh yea, and the Penguins still have Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, two of the top players in the league.Dipping into free agency, the Penguins signed Miroslav Satan to replace Hossa. Ruslan Fedotenko (right), a former Stanley Cup Winner, signed as well. Matt Cooke and Eric Godard were signed to replace the tough guys on the third and fourth lines.
The scoring of Jordan Staal will be expected to return to the likes of his rookie year (29 goals). Staal only scored 12 goals last season and his potential is so much more. If Sidney Crosby does not get injured again, he and Malkin could easily pass the 100-point mark which would be a first for any team in a while, with two 100-point scorers.
The defense remains pretty much the same for the Penguins. Ryan Whitney is injured and out until January, but there are a few prospects like Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski waiting in the wings. Sergei Gonchar is still one of the best defenseman in hockey and Hal Gill and Mark Eaton add for some veteran leadership.
Marc-Andre Fleury should produce numbers like he did in the second half of the ’08 season. His amazing numbers will be needed again as Ty Conklin left the team and Danny Sabourin is left as backup. This is the weakest point on the team, but it shouldn’t be a problem. The Penguins will finish first in their division and better their 102 points from last season.
1. Pittsburgh (26)
2. New Jersey(6)
3. NY Rangers(2)
4. Philadelphia(4)
5. NY Islanders
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