The Western Conference has had the reputation of being clearly superior set compared to the East, but that may not be the case any longer. After the top four teams in the West – Nashville, Anaheim, St. Louis, and Chicago – there is a considerable drop-off of true championship contenders. Beyond that, a top power of the Western Conference, the Los Angeles Kings, are a mere shell of their former selves.
Sweet Music City
The Predators may prove to end up being the new power of the West with goaltender Pekka Rinne and the top defensive corps in the game. With rookie Center Filip Forsberg igniting first year head coach Peter Laviolette’s more up-tempo attack the Preds are emerging as a team that nobody will want to face come playoff time as they are built, much like then defending Cup champion Kings were, from the goal out.
[related_post_two]
Emerging East
The Eastern Conference now can boast several legitimate Stanley Cup contenders with the Tampa Bay Lightning, Montreal Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers. If Boston can get a finishing scorer they could also be added to this list.
Lightning Strikes Contender Pose
Tampa Bay in particular has a strong future with plenty of upside based on young stars Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson. Head coach Jon Cooper is a perfect fit for the Bolts as he is one of the bright young minds in the game and a brilliant motivator. The one thing that may hold down the Lightning is a defense that does not yet have the quality of depth for a long run in the playoffs.
Falling Leafs and Miscast Coach
It is impossible to feel sorry for the Toronto Maple Leafs and their insufferable and entitled fans, but their recent play does at least vindicate fired head coach Randy Carlyle. Despite being a star NHL defenseman and a successful shut down coach when he won the 2007 Stanley Cup at Anaheim, Carlyle let the Leafs run and gun on his watch with good reason.
As it turns out, Toronto does not have a roster built for a shutdown type of game as interim head coach Peter Horachek is discovering, much to his dismay. Toronto has gone 2-11 under Horachek and was held to one goal or less nine times in that span. Horachek continues to slam his head against the brick wall with no success.
Meanwhile, Carlyle has come off as looking wiser by the day. Now with team captain and top defenseman Dion Phaneuf out with a hand injury, whatever hopes Horachek had of implementing more structure defensively are gone. Should Phaneuf return, he may soon be dealt. The Los Angeles Kings are in desperate need of blue line depth and are rumored to have a shot at the unfortunate and ill-equipped Leaf captain.
[related_post_one]
Penguins Living off Past
Don’t look now but the Pittsburgh Penguins may be a team that ends up on the outside looking in come playoff time. With just eight wins in their last 21 games and a lack of scoring depth the Penguins are falling fast from their once high perch as the team to beat in the NHL. The reputation of the Penguins as a top contender is based on their past and former dominance of Sidney Crosby, who is now a good but no longer great player. Crosby cannot carry a team anymore and the Pens look ill-prepared for this new reality.
Capital Gains
After a sluggish and inconsistent start, as they adjusted to the new system of first year head coach Barry Trotz, the Washington Capitals and left winger Alex Ovechkin look like a team that will be a threat to win it all. A big part of the Capitals improvement is goaltender Braden Holtby, who is having the best season of his career.
Holtby has a save percentage of .929 with six shutouts and has played with a level of consistency previously unseen in his career. And then, of course, there is Ovechkin himself. The Great Eight has 33 goals and 18 assists with a plus-11 and has set a stellar example as team captain with a complete 200 foot game after being AWOL on the back end last year. Ovechkin had a long rivalry with Crosby and often came up on the short end against the Penguins. Now, however, Ovechkin has proven that he can still dominate a game while Crosby is not.
