An improved Pittsburgh Penguins team in
Sidney Crosby's second year might make things more
interesting, and maybe Ted Nolan will have the
coach-of-the-year season he needs to help the Islanders
overcome all their distractions, but the race for the top
postseason seed that goes with the Atlantic title is
essentially between three teams.
The bigger challenge in the Atlantic is
for its teams to go deep into the playoffs. Last year, New
Jersey bounced the Rangers in the first round before quickly
succumbing to Carolina, while Philadelphia was scurried away
by the Buffalo Sabres in Round 1.
Those quick exits gave rise to
questions about whether the teams had the right stuff for
the new fast-paced, offensive-minded NHL, and they remain
relevant heading into the new season.
New Jersey was certainly the best of
the Atlantic bunch and arguably the entire league from New
Year's on, going 30-9-5 after Jan. 1 and then easily
sweeping the Rangers. But even if they can write off their
embarrassing loss to the Hurricanes as a wakeup call, the
Devils head into the season with the potential for serious
lineup disruptions because of budget concerns. Cornerstones
Martin Brodeur and Patrik Elias will be there, but beyond
them, the opening night lineup is anyone's guess.
The Flyers and the Rangers, meanwhile,
will both continue to function around their superstars --
Peter Forsberg in Philadelphia and Jaromir Jagr in New York
-- hoping they stay healthy and get the necessary support
from the cast around them.
Both former free-spending organizations
have had to adapt to new salary cap realities, but they've
still managed to assemble talented rosters, albeit ones with
some holes that tend to show up in the postseason. In
Philadelphia, it's goaltending and mobility along the blue
line that's a problem, while in New York, the lack of
offensive depth and roster toughness is an issue.
Barring some sort of miracle, neither
the Penguins nor Islanders will have a sniff at the
playoffs, so they won't have to worry much about those kinds
of specific issues. Instead, they both have bigger-picture
concerns to deal with.
For Pittsburgh, it's the future of the
franchise at stake because of problems involving the sale of
the team and the building of a new arena. On Long Island,
well, there are a lot of issues, all of them combining as
unintended comedy by a regime that seems intent on getting
nowhere.
Then again, if the best teams in the
Atlantic turn out to be only regular-season wonders again
this year, they won't be the only ones.
