NHL Preview: Atlantic Division

On this October 3, the official start of the NHL season (sorry Anaheim & LA), I thought I'd put together my preview of the upcoming NHL season. Over the next seven days I'll cover each division with my thoughts on each squad. On day seven, I'll show you who I think will be kissing the cup at the end of the season.

Please feel free to comment on what I think below. With all due respect to the good folks at TSN who believe this is Pittsburgh's year, and to the folks over at SI who have the Sharks winning the cup, you have it wrong and I'll tell you why.

Not as many people are following the NHL as in years past. It's a great game to watch. I particularly like the fact that Comcast has been broadcasting some games over @ comcast.net the last couple of years.

One way I'd fix the game to hopefully make it a little more entertaining is to open the rink to the size of the international rink. Owners, that means sacrificing a few seats, but how many seats are you filling now? That being said, here is how the Rant sees the Atlantic Division of the NHL this season.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

1. New York Rangers OK. This team has question marks, but who doesn't (just ask my wife about mine...). I think letting Nylander go was a mistake as he and Jagr had terrific chemistry. Drury and Gomez should be apt replacements though. The reason why the rant chooses the Rangers to be on top in the Atlantic Division:: King Henrik as in Henrik Lundquist, lit it up , turning in a 1.89 goals-against average and .929 save percentage over his last 44 games. I think he'll be the main reason why the Rangers go a long way this year.

2. Pittsburgh Penguins Few teams enter this season with greater expectations than the Pittsburgh Penguins. Everywhere I read it seems like the Pens have suddenly become the NHL's version of 'America's Team?'. Did I miss the news somewhere? Although, the Pens were ousted last year by Ottawa (5 games was it?) in the first round, just being there in the playoffs will have a great impact on this club. The team improved greatly on defense. Remember, defense wins championships (just ask the Devils...). The key to this team though is the play of Theo Fleury. As goes Theo, so go the Pens.

3. New Jersey Devils Martin Brodeur (best of all time?) in net and hard-nosed Brett Sutter behind the bench. The Devils will be hard to score on, but can they score? How will the loss of Rafalski, Gomez affect the team? Zubrus was a good signing however, he's no Gomez. We'll soon see how the Colin White and Jamie Langenbrunner injuries affect the team's start.

4. Philadelphia Flyers They got Briere from Buffalo (didn't he score like 15 points in the playoffs last year?) and they still have Simon Gagne. They also re-tooled when they acquired Ryan Parent from Nashville and netminder Martin Biron from Buffalo. Kimmo Timonen, Scottie Hartnell, Jason Smith and Joffrey Lupul all joined the ranks in the offseason. The talent is there; the question is whether coach John Stevens can put it all together and get the Flyers back into the postseason.

5. New York Islanders As goes Rick DiPietro, so go the Islanders. Rick DiPietro last year signed a 15-year-deal with the Islanders that might turn out to be one of the worst contracts ever proffered a pro athlete. He should be applauded for his effort as Rick turned in a 32-19-9 record with a decent 2.58 GAA. The Isles chances are all on Rick's shoulders. Can he repeat last year's performance? He's going to need some help. A lot of their top stars (kozlov, Poti just to name two) bolted and the Isles, thanks to their wacky GM and owners replaced their top stars with some unknowns.

Tomorrow, the NorthEast Division. Enjoy tonights opening night (if you can watch it...).