Eastern Conference Power Rankings Position 4

[Inferno]

I've been doing this for like 4 or 5 years now, so let's get this party started.

Rank what will be the best teams in the Eastern Conference. You can choose to pick what team you think will win the East and be in the SCF, OR what team you think will finish 1st overall at the end of the regular season, use whatever criteria you think is most applicable...as this poll goes, just keep going based on who is left.

Here are the current Division setups:

Division C
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Detroit Red Wings
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Tampa Bay Lightning
Toronto Maple Leafs

Division D
Carolina Hurricanes
Columbus Blue Jackets
New Jersey Devils
New York Islanders
New York Rangers
Philadelphia Flyers
Pittsburgh Penguins
Washington Capitals


Here are the current results of our polls

Division C
1) Boston Bruins
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Division D
1)Pittsburgh Penguins
2)New York Rangers
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Here are the current Eastern Conference Power Rankings:
1)Boston Bruins
2)Pittsburgh Penguins
3)New York Rangers
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Here are the current Playoff Matchups:
Boston Bruins VS Worst Wild Card Team (8)
Pittsburgh Penguins VS 2nd Worst Wild Card Team (7)
Division C #2 VS Division C #3
New York Rangers VS Division D #3


Poll to come shortly....

Click to read more...

 

[Kokoschka]

DET/OTT, then a wild race between NYI, WSH, TOR, CBJ and perhaps PHI and MTL. Gonna vote Islanders after OTT, overall a good team, IMO.

 

[Net Front Presence]

Going with the Red Wings.

 

[SKS]

Perhaps more by heart than head I believe that CBJ will be a surprise this year and utilize their strong lineup - to put them ahead of Detroit may be a stretch, but I think they will put it together.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

Lirl at Rangers at 3. What homerism.

If that is serious I think some people are in for a rude awakening. Oh wait I forgot AV alone will bring out a top 5-10 offense with a PP to match and zero defensive tradeoffs.

Although part of me envies all of you who suck down the hype.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Lirl at Rangers at 3. What homerism.

If that is serious I think some people are in for a rude awakening. Oh wait I forgot AV alone will bring out a top 5-10 offense with a PP to match and zero defensive tradeoffs.

Although part of me envies all of you who suck down the hype.

How is it that ridiculous? We won the East the year before.

I think the ranking is fine. We can finish anywhere from 1-8, IMO.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Detroit for me.

Then Montreal/Tor/Ott in some order.

 

[iamitter]

Ottawa, then Detroit. Don't think the Rangers should be before 5th.

 

[HatTrick Swayze]

How is it that ridiculous? We won the East the year before.

I think the ranking is fine. We can finish anywhere from 1-8, IMO.

I mean, it's fine to hope I guess. The team that won the division and last years team pretty different in terms of personnel and effectiveness. It's not like what worked in 11-12 carried over to 13 and can be expected to again make an impact in 13-14.

I think they could finish anywhere from 3-5 in the division depending on injuries and players stepping up. But 3 overall is a real stretch IMO.

 

[Florida Ranger]

Lirl at Rangers at 3. What homerism.

If that is serious I think some people are in for a rude awakening. Oh wait I forgot AV alone will bring out a top 5-10 offense with a PP to match and zero defensive tradeoffs.

Although part of me envies all of you who suck down the hype.

It does seem high, but is Detroit CLEARLY better than us? Is Ottawa? Montreal?

Boston and Pittsburgh are the two clear cut teams that are better than us at the moment. 3-6 is a toss up.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

I mean, it's fine to hope I guess. The team that won the division and last years team pretty different in terms of personnel and effectiveness. It's not like what worked in 11-12 carried over to 13 and can be expected to again make an impact in 13-14.

I think they could finish anywhere from 3-5 in the division depending on injuries and players stepping up. But 3 overall is a real stretch IMO.

And this team is completely different from last year's. We have a new coach and a new philosophy. I don't think it's "a real stretch" at all and I think it's ridiculous to say it's a stretch. We have no idea how this team will react with a new coach.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

It does seem high, but is Detroit CLEARLY better than us? Is Ottawa? Montreal?

Boston and Pittsburgh are the two clear cut teams that are better than us at the moment. 3-6 is a toss up.

This. The Rangers, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa are all similar teams. So I'd say that 3-7 is a complete toss-up. And, hell, Washington can probably be thrown in that group as well (since no one has any idea how they will play in any certain game).

 

[Hunter Gathers]

By the way, why is everyone so high on Ottawa? What a random team to see a lot of people wanting to rank so high. I'd rank them below Toronto. Booby Ryan is going to have his work cut out for him replacing what Alfie brought to that team.

 

[Emptyvoid]

By the way, why is everyone so high on Ottawa? What a random team to see a lot of people wanting to rank so high. I'd rank them below Toronto. Booby Ryan is going to have his work cut out for him replacing what Alfie brought to that team.

Imo, I think people are ranking them this high based on if they're healthy. Their forward group looks good in terms of high end talent and depth. I think the depth on D leaves a good amount to be desired, but it's hard to argue with EK, he alone will make them have a great PP and good transition game (for atleast 25 mins a game). Anderson, when healthy, has shown to be a capable #1 in Ottawa. I think their potential is pretty high, if they stay healthy (but that's a huge if).

 

[adam94]

Detroit, followed by the Canadian teams.

 

[Matt4776]

I think Ottawa should've went third. Rangers fourth. Red Wings fifth.

 

[Inferno]

only the caps had a better record than us last year in our current division (other than the pens)

so, for seeding purposes, i think its just fine.

i would have gone Detroit 3, Rangers 4, but its all the same to me.


I think Washington got worse.

 

[iamitter]

I see the Caps' PP dropping a bit due to them losing Ribeiro and thus Ovechkin's effectiveness dropping.

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Ottawa is officially the most overrated team in the league, as per this thread.

 

[Gardner McKay]

By the way, why is everyone so high on Ottawa? What a random team to see a lot of people wanting to rank so high. I'd rank them below Toronto. Booby Ryan is going to have his work cut out for him replacing what Alfie brought to that team.

Anderson would have won the Vezina un contested last year if not for injury. If he even resembles that form, Spezza is healthy, Karlsson is 100%, guys like Zibenajad are older... etc. I think they will be a force.

I could very well be wrong but just my opinion based on the team.

 

[Gardner McKay]

How is it that ridiculous? We won the East the year before.

I think the ranking is fine. We can finish anywhere from 1-8, IMO.

Not to mention I think Staal being back will be a huge help. I think Nash will have a better year and if Kreider is finally unleashed under AV's watch he may provide some addition scoring (although I just don't ever see Kreider amounting to more than a 15G scorer).

 

[Inferno]

Anderson would have won the Vezina un contested last year if not for injury. If he even resembles that form, Spezza is healthy, Karlsson is 100%, guys like Zibenajad are older... etc. I think they will be a force.

I could very well be wrong but just my opinion based on the team.

they lost about 20 goals in 48 games last season in Alfie and Silfverberg..so Bobby Ryan basically matches that. it's a wash.

Having Spezza, Michalek and Karlsson healthy for the full year would be huge for them.

They could be a real powerful team....very well coached.

 

[kovazub94]

Ottawa is officially the most overrated team in the league, as per this thread.

Excellent coach, very good system and deep roster. Vezina level goaltender, potential MVP and Norris candidate in Karlsson. Spezza and Michalek back for the full season. I saw them more as a dark horse in the East but given the amount of votes the are getting here - probably more of a grey horse.

 

[Kakko]

Ottawa is officially the most overrated team in the league, as per this thread.

Not really looking for an argument today, but if anything, Detroit is overrated

 

[Hunter Gathers]

Excellent coach, very good system and deep roster. Vezina level goaltender, potential MVP and Norris candidate in Karlsson. Spezza and Michalek back for the full season. I saw them more as a dark horse in the East but given the amount of votes the are getting here - probably more of a grey horse.

Vezina level goalie over a small sample size (whenever he has played a full season he has fallen on his face). Karlsson has a HUGE thing to prove coming back. Spezza is another year older.

So there are a lot of factors that they need to go right to be where people think they will be. Again, they are not any real step ahead any of the teams ranked from 3-7.