NHL Team Summaries: Atlantic

New Jersey Devils:

This team starts with Martin Brodeur, but the real questions are about the people who play right in front of him. Brodeur had such good communication with defencemen Stevens and Niedermeyer that it looked like telepathy. The group that's there now does not.

Rookies Zach Parise (forward) and his goalkeeper older brother Jordon (goalie) could be the future of the franchise.

Johnny Oduya is vastly underrated because rather than being excellent at any one defensive skill, he's very good at everything.

Among the stars that remain, there are huge questions about Elias -- will he be healthy this year? Everyone expects big things from Gionta again. Langenbrunner's injury will hurt the team.

Madden and Pandolfo are a huge part of the team's defensive success, but the Devils have to avoid giving up short handed goals this year.


New York Islanders

The Islanders are playing their first game tonight in Buffalo and the team came out motivated. That's great, but they've also come out a little sloppy. Sillinger will take more penalties than he needs to. The defense seems to sleep occasionally. The Islanders are doing well because the Sabres also seem to be a little sleepy, with passes missing and pucks hopping over sticks. The comentators say it's due in part to unseasonably warm weather in Buffalo.

DiPietro looks very good. Perhaps his irregular performance last year was due more to a team that didn't play every night.

HAT TRICK FOR MIKE COMRIE. That guy is looking excellent tonight. Keep an eye on him. I can see the opening sentance of tomorrow's articles: The Islanders played the Sabres last night but it took a Senator to win. Former Senator Mike Comrie led the Islanders with a hat trick. . . of course, the Sabres have this tendancy to fall behind and win in the third period. That meshes well with the Islanders' tendency to lose games they should win (though the problem is bigger with the Rangers).

The Islanders are built more for the playoffs than the regular season and should do well whatever position (even 8th) they enter the playoffs.


New York Rangers

All that cash seems to be paying dividends. Drury had a great night, and Gomez will do well in a defensive role, if that's what the Rangers want him to do. Jagr remains one of the best players in the world, although for a time in Washington he lacked motivation. Shanahan remains a leader. Lundqvist won a gold medal for Sweden and could win a Stanley Cup. But the Swedish national team's defence is far better than the Rangers'.

The Rangers need a better defence, but if they can keep scoring five goals, as they did in their opener, perhaps they won't need a defence. Rangers Islanders games could see more goals that we've seen since Gretzky left the Oilers.

One more thing: the Rangers don't really have a backup who can replace Lundqvist.


Philadelphia Flyers

Bobby Clarke hates goalies. Playing in Philly has ruined more goalies than I can count on two hands. We'll see how Biron survives the pressure. He's started off well.

The list of new players in Philadelphia is as impressive as it's ever been, but we've seen lists like this fail before. So far, one part that won't fail is clear: the Gagne-Briere-Knuble line, two skill plus one brute who can skate with them, will do well.

The questions here are about defence. Kimmo Timonen captained Nashville last year and was one of the best all-around. Derian Hatcher can still KO opponents, but that's a skill that's more valuable in the postseason, and Philadelphia has to get there.

I have no idea how well this team will do this year. It could be anything from bottom of the barrel to top of the heap.

Given the number of ex-Nashville and ex-Buffalo players on the Flyers this year, games against those two will be particularly interesting.


Pittsburgh Penguins

In their opening game, the Penguins are not doing well. But there are new players in the mix, and perhaps they'll need some time to learn to work together. Sydor was a great defensive addition, but Petr Sykora, brought in from Edmonton, hasn't been the same since Hatcher elbowed his head to the ice in the 2000 Stanley Cup Finals. The Devils brought the Stanley Cup to his hospital bed that night, as he fought off the concussion. I'd like to see him succeed.

Another jinxed player is Mark Eaton. Nobody had a worse season last year. He broke his wrist, he accidentally put the puck in his own net, he was injured for most of the season. But Eaton has a lot of potential and could become one of the best defencemen in the league -- if he survives this season long enough to play. Eaton took the first hit of the season in the opening night game.

Last year, the Penguins mixed up lines a great deal. With everybody gunning for Crosby (a potential Crosby injury makes the title of this blog) the Penguins have to protect him.

The Penguins have other extremely young stars: the goalie Fleury, the phenom Malkin, and the defensive forward Jordan Staal. I have both Staal and Crosby and at the moment they're on the same line, which should work well some nights even though it's not a good thing tonight. But I don't expect Staal to play every shift with Crosby this year.

If the rookies don't get this team going, the veterans who were on the team last year, Gonchar, Recchi, and Roberts, will have to start things up.