Around the Eastern Conference will do its best to give you as much information as possible, and if there is anything I miss or you have any additional questions please e-mail me. This article covers a week-by-week analysis of each Eastern Conference team including; injury updates, transactions and the upcoming schedule.
Washington Capitals 32-16-6 70 points (4-0-0 this week)
Washington is currently on a five-game winning streak and enjoyed a perfect week including good wins over Pittsburgh, Detroit and Philadelphia. Mike Green was absent from Thursday’s game, but should return to the line-up either on Saturday or Tuesday. Semyon Varlamov’s injury status continues to be somewhat undetermined, but he is also still expected to be back in the not too distant future. Alex Ovechkin has been quick to show that captaincy is not affecting him in the slightest with an incredible four goals and six assists this week, he now has 68 points in just 42 games this season! Jose Theodore posted four solid starts up this week, the Capitals will be extremely pleased to see their veteran goaltender get into a groove and expect Bruce Boudreau to ride this hot hand for as long as possible.
New Jersey Devils 33-15-1 67 points (1-3-0)
New Jersey are enduring possibly their worst form of the season so far as they finished a difficult road trip 1-3, they’ve now lost four of their last five. Don’t expect this cold streak to last though even as they begin another three-game road trip this weekend. Patrik Elias suffered a concussion after being hit by Ryan Wilson in a game against Colorado, the loss of Elias is a blow for the Devils, but it is hoped that he will be back in time to captain the Czech Republic in the upcoming Olympics. It was a dry offensive week for all of New Jersey’s offense, rookie Niclas Bergfors has gone pointless in his last eight games, but with Elias out expect him to step it up before the Olympic break.
Buffalo Sabres 30-12-7 67 points (1-1-2)
Buffalo is 2-1-2 on their current seven-game road trip with trips to San Jose and Vancouver to come. The Sabres have no injuries at the moment and are competing well on what is a difficult road trip. Arguably Buffalo’s three most offensively talented forwards produced to keep the team competitive this week. Tim Connolly had a goal and seven assists, Tomas Vanek had two goals and four assists, while Jason Pominville broke out of some bad form with two goals and four assists. The Sabres are building up a lead in the Northeast and I still expect even more scoring from this team with the likes of Derek Roy and Drew Stafford still holding the potential to break out offensively.
Pittsburgh Penguins 31-20-1 63 points (1-2-0)
Pittsburgh conceded 16 goals in just three games this week and endured a losing week as a result. Sidney Crosby enjoyed an incredible six-point game with two goals and four assists against the Islanders on Tuesday, while Evgeni Malkin showed some signs of breaking out of his own slumber with four goals and three assists this week. However, a lack of secondary scoring did hurt the Penguins this week and GM Ray Shero will almost certainly be looking to add a scoring winger at the trade deadline. Part of the problem for Pittsburgh has been an injury to Marc-Andre Fleury, which has left Brent Johnson and John Curry to man the pipes, not a disaster, but it is quite possible that Fleury won’t return until after the Olympic break. A weekend on the road in back-to-back games against Philadelphia and the Rangers will be a good test of this Pittsburgh’s team character.
Ottawa Senators 27-21-4 58 points (4-0-0)
All Ottawa needed was for their captain to return; now the Senators are on a five-game winning streak and have jumped up to fifth in the Eastern Conference standings. Daniel Alfredsson returned with four goals and four assists this week, his return also triggered a Mike Fisher hot streak, Fisher had two goals and six assists. Milan Michalek also scored on his return to the line-up in a 3-2 win over St. Louis on Thursday night. Jason Spezza could complete the good news on the injury front with a return to the line-up this weekend. Pascal Leclaire’s status is unclear at the moment, but both Brian Elliot and Mike Brodeur have contributed good performances for the Senators in the last week and the team appears to have confidence in its goaltending for now.
New York Rangers 24-20-7 55 points (2-2-0)
The Rangers offense is not easy to figure out, they scored 14 goals in two of their games this week while only managing one in the other two. Brandon Dubinsky has generally impressed since returning from a recent injury, but he enjoyed a very strong offensive week with three goals and two assists, Dubinsky has 28 points in 38 games so far this season and he should have a good second half. Ryan Callahan has also been gradually showing signs of offensive life as he potted two goals and added three assists this week. Marian Gaborik broke out of his cold streak this week with a goal and six assists. The Rangers had a physical, battling week and are showing signs of life as we get to the critical point in the season.
Boston Bruins 23-18-8 54 points (0-2-1)
Boston has lost seven of their last nine and is now struggling to maintain a playoff position. Defeats at home to Columbus and Ottawa would have been particularly disappointing for a depleted Bruins line-up. Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci both returned to action this week, but the forward group is still missing Marc Savard, Byron Bitz, Steve Begin and Marco Sturm. Boston will be particularly buoyed by the return of Savard to practice this week; the sooner the team’s top offensive player returns the better. Michael Ryder scored two goals this week as he tries to re-discover his scoring touch; Daniel Paille added a goal and an assist as he has handled top six duties handily during the Bruins injury troubles. Boston has four days off after a back-to-back this weekend, and will need to use the rest to try and head into the Olympic break on good form.
New York Islanders 23-20-8 54 points (3-1-0)
The Islanders have won six of eight in 2010 so far and are playing their best hockey of the season. Holding onto a playoff place is no easy task though and New York finishes January with home games against New Jersey and Washington followed up by a three-game road trip. Rick DiPietro posted up two good starts early in the week, including a shutout in a 4-0 win over New Jersey. Coach Scott Gordan is still being cautious though as he gave Dwayne Roloson the other two starts this week. Matt Moulson scored two goals in the victory over New Jersey, but both he and John Tavares are still not quite firing and the Islanders success this week was actually based on strong defense and shared scoring responsibility.
Philadelphia Flyers 25-21-3 53 points (2-1-0)
It’s only a matter of time before Philadelphia make their way back into a playoff position as this talented team is finally playing up to potential. They have played two games so far on a six-game home stand to finish January. Ray Emery returned to the net this week and improved with each outing, including a shutout in a 2-0 win over the Rangers on Thursday night. Jeff Carter scored three goals this week, James van Riemsdyk scored two goals this week and added an assist as he continues to show improved form. Chris Pronger had another good week with a goal and two assists and has almost gone unnoticed while amassing 35 points in 49 games so far this season. There is no better time for this Flyers team to make their move as they have a fully healthy forward group and are just missing Ryan Parent and Danny Syvret on the back-end.
Montreal Canadiens 24-23-5 53 points (1-2-1)
Montreal broke a three-game winless streak with an assured 3-1 win over New Jersey last night. The Canadiens have just three wins in nine games so far in 2010 after finishing 2009 red-hot. Injuries have not been too much of a problem with Andrei Kostitsyn and Sergei Kostitsyn the only players sidelined at this time. Benoit Pouliot had a very good week scoring four goals,. Pouliot has been a useful addition to this Montreal team, he has 11 goals on the season and has looked good playing on a line with Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez. Mike Cammalleri also scored three goals this week to extend his team-leading figure to 24. Montreal finishes January with a three-game road trip including back-to-back matches against Florida and Tampa Bay mid-week.
Atlanta Thrashers 22-21-7 51 points (2-2-0)
Atlanta would have looked at their schedule over the last seven days and considered it to be an opportunity, however they managed just a 2-2 record and continue to struggle for consistency with a difficult schedule leading up to the Olympic break. Kari Lehtonen has been assigned to a conditioning stint in the AHL, but goaltending has not really been the problem for the Thrashers so far this season. Depth scoring continues to be too inconsistent with Ilya Kovalchuk once again producing a strong week with three goals and two assists. Rich Peverley scored three goals and added an assist as he looks to be returning to form after a dry spell, Zach Bogosian also contributed offensively this week with a goal and two assists. Atlanta needs to keep in touch with the playoffs, their schedule is challenging leading up to the Olympic break and if they fall out of contention then don’t be surprised to see Kovalchuk dealt at the trade deadline.
Florida Panthers 21-21-9 51 points (2-1-1)
Florida is playing some determined hockey to stay in playoff contention and could be the team to take advantage as Atlanta and Tampa Bay flounder. Tomas Vokoun has given Florida the sort of stability in net that could make them forget even Roberto Luongo. Vokoun enjoyed another dominant week giving up just six goals in four games while making huge numbers of saves. He boasts a .929 season save percentage and a 2.42 GAA to put him up with the best in the league statistically. It was a quiet week for the Panthers offensively with Nathan Horton and Stephen Weiss registering just one point each. Rositislav Olesz continues to impress though, he scored two goals and added an assist, and he now has 26 points on the season. A major concern for Florida over the next couple of weeks will be Horton leaving Thursday’s game with an apparent leg injury, and he is expected to be out for 4-6 weeks.
Tampa Bay Lightning 20-20-10 50 points (2-2-0)
This has been a frustrating season for a talented Tampa Bay squad that started with high expectations. The playoffs are still well within reach, but the Lightning has simply not been able to perform consistently. Part of the problem for Tampa has been some poor goaltending with Mike Smith on injured reserve. Antero Nittymaki has struggled since Smith’s injury with a save percentage of under .850 in his last five games. This has been surprising considering Nittymaki’s superb early season form, but with only the inexperienced Dustin Tokarski as back-up, expect Coach Rick Tocchet to ride Nittymaki. Vincent Lecavalier tallied two goals and added three assists this week, Lecavalier has slowly worked his way into good form and is now at PPG pace with 50pts in 50 games. Tampa has three games left on a four-game home stand; they will want to take advantage of this heading into the Olympic break.
Toronto Maple Leafs 17-25-10 44 points (1-2-1)
Toronto is slowly sliding out of the playoff race; they have one game left on a five-game road trip, five of their next seven will be at home. The Maple Leafs need to find some form if they want to avoid falling out of the playoff picture all together. On the bright side, Phil Kessel has started to produce offensively again with a goal and three assists this week. Alexei Ponikarovsky had a good week as well with three goals and one assist; Ponikarovsky now has 18 goals and 33 points on the season. Goaltending continues to be a conundrum for Coach Ron Wilson as neither of Vesa Toskala or Jonas Gustavsson have been able to find form, reports suggest that Wilson might well ride Gustavsson for the rest of the season with the Leafs winning and losing based on his performances.
Carolina Hurricanes 15-27-7 37 points (1-2-0)
The abysmal form of Edmonton means that Carolina could be deprived of the #1 pick in the 2010 draft, either way their playoff ambitions are all but mathematically impossible. The team is now looking towards the future starting with the naming of a new captain in Eric Staal; Staal has long been the team’s franchise player and now gets the chance to lead in the dressing room following on from Rod Brind’Amour’s tenure. Staal had three goals and three assists this week, since a poor start and an injury he has been on fire offensively and now has 36 points in 37 games. Jussi Jokinen has also been enjoying a good second half to the season; he had three goals and one assist this week. Cam Ward has been doing a fine job in net; he continues to be one of the building blocks for this franchise and could replace Marc-Andre Fleury for team Canada should he be ruled out through injury.