Southeast Division Preview: Capitals Ready for Revival
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Dale Perth
As the Pacific Division was once an afterthought in the Western Conference, the Southeast Division has long been regarded as the weak link in the East. A couple of teams have made moves to improve, and that should hold them in good stead.
Carolina Hurricanes
Jim Rutherford was a busy general manager in the off-season. He acquired Jordan Staal to pair up with brother Eric, and he’s also banking on a revival from inconsistent winger Alexander Semin. Jeff Skinner appears ready to step up his game, if he can stay healthy. Chad LaRose is still a diamond in the rough, but may have more upside than Jussi Jokinen. Rutherford even added some toughness with a recent pickup, bruising forward Kyle Westgarth. Hip surgery will sideline Tuomo Ruutu until at least April, so it opens up opportunities on left wing for the likes of Jiri Tlusty, Drayson Bowman and Andreas Nodl. Cam Ward will take the majority of starts in net, with Dan Ellis providing a capable backup. Unless Rutherford can pull another rabbit out of his hat, it looks like they’ll have to make do with an unexceptional group on defense which includes Joni Pitkanen, Tim Gleason, Joe Corvo and Justin Faulk. Their path to the playoffs contains one big speed bump in the form of a six-game road trip in February; the rest of their schedule is well-balanced. Prediction: second or third in the division, and middle of the pack in the conference.
Florida Panthers
Which team finished first in the Southeast last season? The correct — but shocking — answer is the Panthers. How did they do it? Smoke and mirrors, combined with timely scoring. Only four teams (Blue Jackets, Flames, Kings, Wild) tallied fewer goals in the regular season than Florida’s 203, and they were the only division winners with a negative goal differential (-24). Florida also led the league in overtime losses with 18, yet they still managed to get 94 points. The unsung hero is goaltender Jose Theodore, who had a 22-16-11 record, 2.46 goals-against average, .917 save percentage and three shutouts. With an aging defense that traded Jason Garrison but is still headed up by Brian Campbell, Ed Jovanovski and Mike Weaver, it seems likely that Theodore and Scott Clemmensen should face more shots. They have some firepower with Tomas Fleischmann (27 goals) and Kris Versteeg (23) and they brought in tough guy George Parros to anchor the fourth line — but vagabond Peter Mueller has a lot to prove, as does the rest of the team. The schedule should be easy to manage, with only a five-game road march near the end of March to deal with. Nonetheless, it wouldn’t take much to derail their playoff hopes. Prediction: anywhere from third to fifth in the division, and eighth to 10th in the conference.
Tampa Bay Lightning
Defense, defense, defense. Tampa Bay has no trouble putting the puck into their opponents’ net, but they run into a world of trouble in their own end of the ice. So they acquired Anders Lindback from Nashville and expect him to shoulder the load as the No. 1 goaltender. That puts Mathieu Garon where he belongs, as a backup. The Bolts also picked up Sami Salo and Matt Carle to shore up a porous defense which lost Mattias Ohlund to knee surgery last season. Up front, they still have one of the most dangerous combinations in the league with the Macedonian Assassin, Steven Stamkos, along with reliable mighty mite Martin St. Louis. If they can get 48 games out of Vincent Lecavalier, and if Teddy Purcell can build on his 24 goals, and if Lindback can be a top-of-the-line netminder… well, then they’d still need to work on their penalty killing and defensive play in general.They have a very manageable schedule, with no road trips or home stands longer than four games and few back-to-back sets. Prediction: Anywhere from second to fourth in the division, and fifth to eight in the East.
Washington Capitals
Remember Braden Holtby? The young goaltender repeatedly stood on his head as the Capitals, who were given no chance by anyone to advance, nearly made it to the Eastern Conference championship. Now Holtby will have to prove that he can repeat those performances: if that doesn’t happen, Michal Neuvirth can step into the breach. The players also have to get used to another head coach, Hall of Famer Adam Oates. Playmaking center Mike Ribeiro could be the tonic to cure Alex Ovechkin’s ailing offense, if they find any kind of chemistry together. Sputtering offense has also been Wojtek Wolski’s issue, and maybe center Nicklas Backstrom can help with that. Having defenseman Mike Green at full strength would go a long way to shoring up their back end, which includes John Carlson and Karl Alzner. If the tumblers click into place, they could unlock a division winner. Each week in March contains consecutive games, with one of the strangest schedule glitches ever seen: they play the Jets in Winnipeg three times that month, with back-to-back games on Mar. 21-22. Prediction: first or second in the division, and top four in the conference.
Winnipeg Jets
It’s unclear when Zach Bogosian will return to the lineup after wrist surgery, but the sooner the better for a team which really needs him on the blueline. Until then, they’ll have to make do with Dustin Byfuglien, Tobias Enstrom and, well, Ron Hainsey. Olli Jokinen and Alexei Ponikarovsky were signed to add depth to a forward crew led by captain Andrew Ladd, 30-goal man Evander Kane, Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, Nik Antropov and, well, Kyle Wellwood. Ondrej Pavelec has journeyman Al Montoya backing him up in net. So not much has changed, and not much is expected to change. The loudest fans in the league will continue to give them a distinct advantage at home, but it’s an open question whether they can be any better on the road. They’ll have to sharpen up by the time they leave for a five-game trip near the end of February. Seven of their last nine games will be at the MTS Centre, so the home fans will have plenty opportunities to cheer the Jets in a run for the playoffs. Prediction: fourth or fifth in the division, and anywhere from eight to 11th in the conference.