1. Washington- The signing of Tomas Vokoun makes this team scary if Ovechkin can pot 50+ goals like he is capable of doing and gets the secondary scoring from guys like Semin and Backstrom. It'll be interesting to see if the Caps go back to the run and gun offense now that they have a top 10 goalie.
2. Pittsburgh- We already know what Pittsburgh is capable of, and depending on Crosby's health, the Pens could really finish anywhere from 2 to 6.
3. Buffalo- I'm buying this team as a potential dark horse to come out of the East. Alot of free agent moves however have put the team 3.5 million over the cap as of this writing so moves still have to be made. Plus any team that boasts Ryan Miller in goal has a chance.
4. Tampa Bay- An elite goaltender is just about the only thing holding back the Lightning from potentially winning a cup. I'm not saying they can't do it, but the Lightning just remind you of a Washington Capitals team before this year with elite scoring but with an average and in Tampa's case, aging netminder.
5. Boston- I debated whether or not I wanted to put the Bruins or the Rangers here at 5. The only reason I give Boston the slightest of edges here is because of recent Conn Smythe award winner Tim Thomas despite the fact that the Rangers are deeper on offense.
6. Rangers- Quite frankly this is the lowest end of the spectrum I expect the Rangers to finish the season. However I do expect the Rangers to strongly compete for the top spot in the division. Getting there is do-able however its much easier said than done.
There are a number of teams that could make up the final two spots in the Eastern Conference. I'm leaving out the Flyers and the Canadiens for a variety of reasons and inserting two teams that didn't make the playoffs last year.
7. Carolina- As we all know the Hurricanes missed the playoffs when they lost the last game of the season at home against the Lightning and put the Rangers in the playoffs. I'm sure those guys have had to endure a long offseason after that loss and have been chomping at the bit to get back on the ice. Besides, with Eric Staal, super rookie Jeff Skinner entering his second year and underrated goalie Cam Ward, the Canes will make it back to the playoffs.
8. Devils- This year could mark the end of an era for the Devils. With Martin Brodeur entering the last year of his contract, I can't see the Devils not in the mix for the eighth seed and perhaps sneaking in on game 82. The talent is there, its up to Marty and how much he has left.
As I wrote in Part 2, I don't like the Flyers this season at all. Montreal is too inconsistent, you never really know what to expect out of Carey Price. I'm not going in depth into the Winnipeg Jets since they aren't going to be in the conference next season although I don't think they are too far away from returning to the playoffs. Florida, Toronto and the Islanders are light years away from contending.
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