Atlantic Finale

New Jersey - Los Diablos seem to be everybody's favorite to make at least the conference finals year after year, no matter if they've made a miraculous second-half run of if they've dominated from start to finish. There's no reason to think this year won't be the case.
The Devils grew their reputation from getting the most out of the least, in talent and financially. I think they can finally shed that perception and lay waste to that backhanded compliment for good. Other than shucking Alexander Mogilny and unloading Vladimir Malakhov to San Jose in salary cap moves, New Jersey is a team that is confident standing pat. And why not? They have 48-goal scorer Brian Gionta back in the fold, and his EGG Line (with Scott Gomez and Patrik Elias) intact as well. Jamie Langenbrunner, Dan LaCouture, Jay Pandolfo and John Madden are charged with holding down opponents' top lines and adding clutch scoring touch. The defense, (while it will never return to its Chinese Wall glory days with Stevens and Daneyko) are young, mobile, agile and hostile. More is expected of Brian Rafalski after an up-and-down season last year, but he should have no trouble being the guide for the remainder of the eager but inexperienced defensive corps. Of course, there's always Martin Brodeur if all else fails. You can expect the usual 70 games, 2 to 2 1/2 goals against, a host of shutouts, and competitiveness the same as in the previous 12 seasons.
The Devils made great strides once again transforming their team into one that has as much firepower as staying power. With a weaker division and competition from the Rangers and Flyers less likely, Jersey will come out on top once again. Prediction: First place, two seed in playoffs.

NY Islanders - They should be re-named the "eye-slanders." Seriously, the ownership and front office shenanigans that marked the Islanders offseason will make watching games at the Nassau County Mausoleum even more offensive to the sighted ticket holder than in that late 1990's dip - and they'll do it without the Gorton's Fisherman jerseys.
Where to start? Alexei Yashin, who bears the captain's "C" as if it were drawn on with a dark blue magic marker? Rick DiPietro, the man who was such a "can't miss" in the 2000 draft, that the team gave up on Roberto Luongo, given a 15-year contract?? A roster predominantly stocked with last year's Bridgeport Sound Tigers?? I feel bad for Brendan Witt, Mike Sillinger, and Chris Simon, three players who signed onto Long Island in the summer. They will be looked upon to be the calming influence for a green Isles team. Even the sum of their parts won't be able to steer New York through bad waters. I feel even worse for Mike Dunham, a goaltender who has learned from Martin Brodeur, built a solid career in Nashville alongside Tomas Vokoun, now relegated to back-up behind the Golden Boy of Boston University. The Islanders may be able to steal a few games in the division or the conference at times, but the only purpose they will serve within the Atlantic will either be the pillow upon which the Flyers will rest after they've been run through by the Rangers and Devils, or the ceiling by which Pittsburgh measures the success of its youth movement.
The angry curses of every team the Isles beat on their way to four Cups are now coming back around to haunt this broken-down nag of a franchise. Prediction: 4th place. Will send flowers to the Penguins at the end of the season.

NY Rangers - More than big-name offensive talent and bone-rattling brawn on defense, the one thing that held the Rangers back last season was a player with heart and a tough-love approach to the game. Lucky for the Blueshirts, they found their man.
Brendan Shanahan is not the force of nature he was, scoring 46 goals between Hartford and Detroit back in 1996-97, but he's the closest living facsimile to Mark Messier the NHL has to offer. For a team on the verge of making noise in the regular and postseasons, the Rangers signed the most important player to push their squad over the hill. He'll more than make up for the combined losses of Martin Rucinsky (to St. Louis) and Jed Ortmayer (to a pulmonary embolism). The addition of forward Matt Cullen and defenseman Aaron Ward, both fresh from a Cup win in Carolina, adds depth and grit on the backline and another second-or-third-line threat. If Darius Kasparaitis remains free of the groin injuries that plagued his starts and cost him a big chunk of the season, and if the Jagr-Straka-Nylander-Prucha axis of scoring still spins as deadly as it did one season ago, the Rangers can be a top-flight team once again. Also, I'm not expecting Henrik Lundqvist to turn into the second coming of Pelle Lindbergh, but he's capable enough of making great strides this year against offenses that won't enjoy as much free rein. What's going to hold back the Manhattanites is, they will inevitably lose ground against at least Philly, the Devils, Buffalo and Ottawa in the conference. Prediction: 2nd place.

Philadelphia - In the course of three years and two seasons, Bob Clarke has once again indulged in hyper-rationalization of league philosophy. Fresh from the scorch marks Buffalo left all over the orange and black, Clarke has turned a predominantly veteran team who took Tampa Bay to seven games in 2004, into a predominantly youthful one.
There are several big problems in the mix for this season. First, the forward signings of Mark Cullen, Marty Murray, and Randy Robitaille. Next, the trade of durable fan favorite and space-creator Michal Handzus to Chicago for Kyle Calder. Finally, the promotions of Boyd Kane, Riley Cote, the retention of Niko Dimitrakos, and the inability to grab back two undervalued snipers from last year: Patrick Sharp and Jon Sim. Geoff Sanderson, another of the league's Ageless Wonders, gets a pass, because, even at age 36, he's worth three Brian Savages with his speed and scoring touch. Let's not even discuss the conversion of Petr Nedved into a checking winger. These minor disasters are counterbalanced by the success of the Gagne-Forsberg-Knuble first line, and the Carter-Richards-Whoever second line. The defense lost two of its best players - Kim Johnsson to Minnesota, and Eric Desjardins to retirement. In their place, a hopeless amalgam of spare parts: Nolan Baumgartner, Lars Jonsson, Freddy Meyer, and (depending on the injury situation) a nameless Phantom of the Week. The Terrible Twosome of Hatcher and Rathje figures to be on the receiving end of several thousand boos over the course of a 41-game home schedule. Joni Pitkanen and Denis Gauthier provide excellent counterpoint with their specialties, and will be the brightest spots through some tough times.
The goaltending issues in this city will never be resolved, as long as every Swede, Finn, Canuck and Yank who come down the pike are force-wedged into the Parent-Lidbergh-Hextall hero mold. The combined talents of the monster labelled "Roberto Eschimaki" are at best, a one-a and a two. Together, they will hold up fine, but "fine" doesn't cut it for a team that will fall short of the Cup for the 31st season. The Flyers are a team with so many puzzle pieces, you look at the whole and might see the Eiffel Tower sticking out of the side of the Taj Mahal, set inside the Grand Canyon. Prediction: 3rd place, with a lower win and point total than last year.

Pittsburgh - I don't know whether it will be due to the new owner, or the reluctance of the people of the Golden Triangle to welcome slots or pay for a new arena with public funds or taxes, but the Penguins will not be in Pittsburgh three years from now. Hartford, Hamilton, Winnipeg, wherever they land, will get to see some up-and-coming young talent as good as when the Nordiques came up in the mid 1990's.
In the final absence of Mario Lemieux on the ice, Mark Recchi and John LeClair are capable veterans who will provide on-and-off ice guidance and some needed offense to a team barely out of diapers. Crosby, Staal, and Letang are full of promise, but we only know that Crosby is the real deal. Ryan Malone, Michel Ouellet, Colby Armstrong, and Dominic Moore are a good young secondary nucleus. Sergei Gonchar gets the unfair task of presiding over a young defense that was left with a gaping hole once Dick Tarnstrom was dealt to Edmonton down the stretch last season. Marc-Andre Fleury and Jocelyn Thibault are competent enough in net to cut down on the number of potentially embarrasing losses. There's really not much left to say about a team that's been "On Notice" for ten years, now most likely playing out the string in a city that will be devastated without their presence. Prediction: 5th place.