1. Preseason- Washington
Actual- New York Rangers
The Caps started 7-0 and dropped off the Earth afterwards. Fought for 8th nearly all season long, fired coach, Ovechkin under-achieved, bad goaltending from Vokoun and still nearly stole the division title from the Panthers on the last day of the season. The Rangers went above and beyond expectations thanks to a rock solid defensive corps and the best goaltender in the NHL.
2. Preseason- Pittsburgh
Actual- Boston
The Bruins went through their "Cup hangover" in October, then proceeded to lose only 4 games from Halloween until New Years Eve, looked to make another run through the new year, but played barely better than .500 hockey in 2012.
3. Preseason- Buffalo
Actual- Florida
Buffalo was the sexy preseason pick with their big free agency splashes, but couldn't stay healthy once the season started, lost 4 out of 5 to finish season in 9th place, three points from the cutoff. Florida came out of nowhere, but finished the season poorly winning just 2 games in their last 10 and still held off Washington thanks to overtime and shootout results.
4. Preseason- Tampa Bay
Actual- Pittsburgh
Tampa lost in the conference finals last season to Boston and could not duplicate last year success into this year despite Stamkos scoring 60 goals and 97 points. Done in by poor goaltending. The Penguins could not overtake the Rangers despite having two winning streaks of 8 and 11 games in 2012. Came within just one point out of first in the Atlantic in mid-March but home and home losses to the Islanders in late March put the division title out of reach for good.
5. Preseason- Boston
Actual- Philadelphia
The Flyers were right there with the Pens and Rangers leading up to their Winter Classic matchup with the Rangers. Following the Rangers win, the Flyers could not keep up and settled into third place in the Atlantic following a bad February thanks to brutal goaltending by Ilya Bryzgalov and injuries along their blueline. Seemed to find their game in March but it was too little, too late.
6. Preseason- Rangers
Actual- New Jersey
Devils played .500 hockey through mid-December and improved as the year went on, still finished with a good enough record to settle comfortably in sixth place in the conference despite finishing 4th in the Atlantic with 102 points.
7. Preseason- Carolina
Actual- Washington
Carolina finished no where close in the playoff race due to the struggles of captain Eric Staal and goaltender Cam Ward in the beginning half of the year. Won just 4 games for the month of November and 5 games in December. Jeff Skinner struggled to duplicate his outstanding freshman season into a successful 2011-12 campaign.
8. Preseason- New Jersey
Actual- Ottawa
Ottawa won exactly 50% of their games and floundered around the bottom of the East for most of the season. Backed into the playoffs losing 3 straight and 6 out of their last 10.
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