The NHL season is finally starting to gain some momentum, and the comfortable familiarities are starting to make this lockout year feel like just any other. The Penguins look to have found their stride as their power play ranks among the league’s most lethal—as well it should. The Bruins power play is about as organized as a game of Afghani Buzkashi (a form of polo played with the carcass of headless goat, look it up). The Flyers woes can once again be diagnosed to their plethora of porous net minders… and the fact that they still shirt-up more pugilistic punks than the Charlestown Chiefs. Will anyone ever beat Chicago in regulation? San Jose has finally begun to exhibit the fatal flaws that will ultimately undo them in the playoffs’ first round. And can the overachieving Canadian teams of Toronto and Montreal keep riding their fans fanaticism or will jingoistic fervor make way for sullen realities? The best moments of the season are head of us. Let’s run down the East’s biggest contenders.
New Jersey Devils
I can’t believe I left this team off the radar in the last blog I wrote. They’re everything that epitomizes a strong Eastern Conference squad: scrappy, defensive, imposing, and clutch. So far this season the Devils have continued to exemplify just that. The team boasts the best goals against average in the league and all the while doing it with two goalies that have more collective tree rings than a CCM lumber yard. The Devils are among the hottest teams right now, and as long as they can remain balanced in the power play and penalty kill, along with getting production from Kovalchuk and other star forwards they could very well be a top three seed when all is said and done.
Boston Bruins
It seems a disappointing early exit in last year’s playoffs and extended offseason has made for a well-rested Bruins squad. The black and yellow have had one of the best season starts in franchise history, which is made even more impressive by the fact that Boston folk hero Tim Thomas went into self-imposed political exile, only to be traded in the dark of the night to the New York Islanders for half-eaten capicola sandwich-- a strange ending for one of the sport’s most beloved characters.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Just so everyone is aware of this, I did not say that Pittsburgh was a bad team or in need of panic in my last blog. I merely implied that the team was a bit sluggish out of the gate, and their mediocre performances were below the expectations that most have for what is usually considered the crème de la crème of the NHL. I’m glad to see that the Pens have rounded into form and Sidney Crosby is quickly climbing the ranks of this year’s points’ leaders, and it isn’t because I’m a Penguins fan by any stretch. Rather, as we’ve seen in the last few years, the only way hockey can really succeed outside of regional markets is if it’s only translatable star, a mustachioed debonair from Nova Scotia (no, not the front man from The Mamas and Papas), is healthy and scoring often. In a sense, when Crosby wins, we all win… even if that kind of sucks.
New York Rangers
After struggling to find consistent scoring from places other than their top line, the latest stretch in the Blue Shirts schedule has shown a much improved offensive squad. We already know that the Rangers can play defense and Lundqvist is a stalwart that almost any team would willingly swap their current net minder for without hesitation, not to mention he’s a pretty impressive axe man. I don’t expect the Rangers to remain in the 8th seed for long, especially as this team is just beginning to molt the carapace of their offseason hibernation.
