National Hockey League’s Eastern Conference’s teams’ standings at the All-Star Game break
What a wild season it has been, all teams have nearly played 45+ games, so it’s quite easy to judge as to where they stand right now.
As the players go into the NHL All-Star Game break, everybody has one question in mind, which team is ready and capable of winning the Stanley Cup this season?
Knowing that for sure is impossible, analyzing past seasons there have been much upsets and amazements so taking a look at the top three and bottom three teams, an educated guess can be made at what might turn out this year.
Philadelphia Flyers
Standing strong at the moment is Philadelphia Flyers at No.1 in the Eastern Conference. 33-12, and 1st in the NHL in goals, Flyers is like an unstoppable force.
Having All-Star players like Danny Brier and Claude Giroux is a surety of success.
Philadelphia seems to be motivated mainly by the disappointment of losing the finals last year to Chicago Blackhawks, performing poorly this season, standing 7th in the Western Conference.
Tampa Bay Lightning
After 5 consecutive wins who wouldn’t be happy. Going from being the fifth worst team to the third best has shown that Tampa Bay can improve from within when needed.
Leaders of the Southeast division, leading NHL scorer, Steven Stamkos, and Marty St. Louis, both, are candidates expected to win the Hart Trophy.
Lightning might get even better as the deal for Dwayne Roloson by its General Manager, Steve Yazerman, is another positive sign for Tampa Bay.
Boston Bruins
In third place, Boston might have some problems. Key player, Marc Savard, is injured again but has others for offensive replacement.
Bruins’ defence is doing well but can be better if it wants to win and grab a Finals’ berth after losing to Philadelphia last season.
Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators has disappointed its fans significantly this season. Having an embarrassing losing streak going into the weekend by losing its last six consecutive games has made Senators one of the worst overall NHL teams.
Instead of improving its game this year, it has a 69-point season as compared to 94 last season. There is no explanation for this situation, just poor performance and planning.
New York Islanders
Having a declining fan base and a series of bad events including trades and injuries, the rookies don’t have anyone to guide them on the art of winning.
Changing coaches and players has caused more shockwaves to the already weak base. Having the time off should be utilised to end its losing streak and find a strategy that works for the team.
New Jersey Devils
It’s hard to believe that New Jersey is at the last position of the Eastern Conference.
A team which was once so high and mighty is now at the bottom, but work has been started for uplifting the team as Jacques Lemaire replaced John MacLean to improve the condition and confidence of the team.
That turned out to be a smart move as Devils started to win and showed a great increase in performance, having a 6-3-1 record in the past 10 games is a positive sign for Devils.
Final Thoughts
With a little less than half of the season left, who will hold the Stanley Cup high in the 93rd NHL season is still a blur.
The Eastern Conference is performing slightly better than the Western, but the Canadians, namely Vancouver Canucks, seem to be giving it all it has got to win this year.
The lower half of the Western Conference is performing much better than the Eastern as Calgary has improved its game quite significantly.
We’ll have to wait to find out what awaits us in the postseason and following the All-Star Game break.
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