NHL 2010-11 Season Preview: Eastern Conference

The NHL season is just days away and it is time for some prognosticating for the 2010-11 season.  The Flyers made a miraculous run to the Stanley Cup Finals as the 7th seed last season and are poised to do so again this year.  Will the road to the Stanley Cup go through Philadelphia again?  Here are my predictions for all three divisions in the Eastern Conference with each teams playoff seeding in parentheses

Northeast Division

1. Buffalo Sabres (3): With Ryan Miller in net, the Sabres will be the most consistent team in the division.  However, Thomas Vanek and Tim Connolly will need to stay healthy for Buffalo to win the Northeast.  Look for rookie Tyler Ennis to become a household name by season's end.

2. Boston Bruins (5): Thanks to the acquisitions of Nathan Horton and Tyler Seguin in the offseason, Boston will be much improved offensively even if C Marc Savard misses significant time   The key for the Bruins will be how their blue line performs in front of goalie Tuukka Rask.  Besides Zdeno Chara, the Bruins have many question marks on defense.

3. Toronto Maple Leafs: The Maple Leafs will be deeper, healthier, and more potent offensively this season.  If they find a consistent goalie, this could be the first time post-lockout that Toronto makes the playoffs.

4. Ottawa Senators: Sergei Gonchar was a big signing for the Senators but they should have used their money to resign Anton Volchenkov.  With trade rumors floating around about Jason Spezza, expect the Senators to take a step back this season.

5. Montreal Canadiens: In one of the most puzzling offseason moves in recent memory, the Canadiens traded playoff hero Jaroslav Halak away in favor of the enigmatic Carey Price.  The change between the pipes is enough to keep the Canadiens out of the playoffs and at the bottom of the Northeast Division.

Atlantic Division

1. New Jersey Devils (2): As much publicity as the resigning of RW Ilya Kovalchuk received, the bigger signing may have been D Anton Volchenkov.  The Devils now have the lock down defenseman they need in a division with Crosby, Malkin, Richards, Carter, and Gaborik.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (4): Like the Devils, the Penguins bolstered up on defense with the signings of Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin.  If they could find a consistent winger to play with Sidney Crosby and/or Evgeni Malkin, this team could be as scary as the Stanley Cup winning team two seasons ago.

3. Philadelphia Flyers (7): Philadelphia sports arguably the deepest offense and defense in the NHL, but they failed to obtain a legitimate #1 goalie in the offseason. Unless the Flyers makes a deal for top flight netminder, they will have trouble keeping up with New Jersey and Pittsburgh.

4. New York Rangers: Outside of star winger Marian Gaborik, the Rangers offense leaves a lot to be desired.  Expect goaltender Henrik Lundqvist to lose a lot of tough 2-1 and 1-0 games.

5. New York Islanders: With all of their young talent, the Islanders aren't far off from becoming a legitimate contender.  But with long-term injuries already suffered by Kyle Okposo and Mark Streit, the Isles will struggle out of the gate.

Southeast Division

1. Washington Capitals (1): After last season's collapse in the first round of the playoffs to Montreal, Alex Ovechkin and Co. better have the goods this time around. Alexander Semin is in the final year of his contract and Semyon Varlamov has yet to establish himself has an elite goaltender so if Washington falls short again, serious changes might be made.

2. Tampa Bay Lightning (6): GM Steve Yzerman has this team going in the right direction.  With the offseason signings of G Dan Ellis and LW Simon Gagne, and D Pavel Kubina, the Lightning have what it takes to get back into the postseason.

3. Atlanta Thrashers (8): Atlanta went for a change of pace this offseason by acquiring talent instead of trading it away. In the process they became "Blackhawks East" bringing in Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, Ben Eager and Andrew Ladd. But their best signing during the summer was G Chris Mason. His veteran presence in net combined with the young talent up front will be enough to push Atlanta into the playoffs.

4. Carolina Hurricanes: The Hurricanes got off to a wretched start last season but finished strong the last two months.  This team may still be a year or two away, but with a healthy Cam Ward for the 2010-11, Carolina will be in the mix for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

5. Florida Panthers: They traded away star winger Nathon Horton in the offseason and Tomas Vokoun, David Booth, and Stephen Weiss might not be far behind.  We may be looking at another complete overhaul for the Panthers.