After what was a terrific Olympic tournament and an amazing gold medal game (congrats to Canada), the two-week break from NHL hockey is officially over. The trade deadline is looming, the playoff races are in full swing and the Stanley Cup playoffs are just a tad over two months away. Where did the season go?
We’ve spent plenty of time in this space the last few months chatting about the Islanders’ and Rangers’ fortunes, but this week we thought we take a peek at what’s happening around the rest of the NHL. What teams have surprised? What teams have disappointed? And most importantly, who has a truly legit shot at Lord Stanley’s silver bowl come June?
We’ll get back to dissecting the locals next week, but as the league prepares for its last quarter season we’ll breakdown the Eastern Conference today and take a look at the West tomorrow. Keep in mind that there are some fairly wild trade rumors swirling around that could dramatically change the playoff landscape, but for now we’ll operate on the status quo.
The Beasts of the East
The easy answer to who rules the east is to simply state that it’s wide open this season, perhaps more so than it’s been in years, and several teams could break through to late May. While the Capitals have separated themselves from the pack, you have to wonder about the goaltending situation with Jose Theodore taking over for the disappointing Semyon Varlamov. The Caps aren’t exactly airtight defensively either, but Alex Ovechkin’s amazing skills and remarkable will to win might be enough to get the Caps through to the finals.
Sidney Crosby’s defending Cup champ Penguins certainly can’t be counted out, though they’ve played inconsistently to this point. Don’t forget the fact they didn’t get going till the last month of the season last year and rode a hot streak all the way to the title. They’re that talented. Evgeny Malkin has yet to shift into high gear and Marc-Andre Fleury hasn’t hit his stride, but this club seems to be biding its time till spring. However, they still don’t get nearly enough scoring from the wings (after Bill Guerin’s 17 there’s little else) and they’ll need a boost from the flanks to get past the high powered Caps’ attack.
OK, we’re not dissing the Devils, as Jersey will be a dangerous draw once the playoffs start, but we just think Ilya Kovalchuk would have been a bigger factor had he been dealt to any team other than the Devils. With Marty Brodeur in the twilight of his great career coupled with the fact they are missing the depth on D that they’ve always enjoyed, we just don’t see a long run here. (Though we’re never right with anything we say about the Devils.)
However, the other team to watch in the east is Ottawa. This club has always been solid on the back line led by the talented Chris Phillips but they’ve displayed a balanced attack up front that will make them difficult to match up against come playoff time. Daniel Alfredsson has awoken for his coma and is playing with a renewed vigor, Jason Spezza is on fire since returning from an injury and Mike Fisher has blossomed into one of the league’s top two-way forwards (maybe it’s the Carrier Underwood factor).
The question mark, as has always been the case in Ottawa, will be in net. Brian Elliott has emerged as the No. 1 as Pascal Leclaire has been a bit of a disappointment. If Elliott’s play stays consistent the Senators could pose big problems for the top seeds.
With regard to disappointments there has been non bigger than the Boston Bruins. Currently clinging to the seventh spot in the conference, the Bruins have battled injuries to key players all year (Milan Lucic, Marc Savard) and inconsistency from others (Michael Ryder, Denis Wideman) but seem to be getting it together of late. If the worst is behind them and Tim Thomas gets hot this is another team that could be peaking at the right time.
This isn’t to say we don’t think teams like Buffalo (with a hot Ryan Miller), Philadelphia (with size and a balanced attack) and the Rangers (one word “Hank’) can’t pull off a first round upset or two but it’ll be tough for anyone to prevent a Caps/Pens semifinal in the East—which would be a dandy.
Isles/Rangers Notes:
Rangers made a smart move in picking up veteran back-up netminder Alex Auld off re-entry waivers over the weekend. The 29-year-old had made 19 starts for Dallas this season, going 9-6-3 with 3.00 GA and an .894 save percentage. While not dazzling, Auld has been a solid keeper the last few seasons and had his best year back in 2006 as the No. 1 in Vancouver, going 33-26-6 with a 2.94 GA and a .902 save percentage. They needed a reliable, veteran back-up for Lundqvist for these final 20 and they got one real cheap as Dallas is picking up half of Auld’s remaining salary (about $250,000).
On the Isles’ front—an Andy Sutton deal appears imminent as the Wednesday, 3 p.m. trading deadline fast approaches. Other recent rumors include the possibility of dealing Dwayne Roloson instead of Martin Biron. When you consider how much greater Roloson’s value is right now compared to Biron’s it certainly makes sense. A Sutton/Roloson package becomes intriguing and the return would likely exceed just a draft pick. As “feel good” as the season has been to this point there are some important missing ingredients and right now might be the best time to go shopping for them. Stay tuned.