NHL Eastern Conference: Season Preview and the story so far

The NHL season is a few weeks old so with the teams settled into their schedules now, we are going to take a look at each team and what their prospects are for the season. We start with the Eastern Conference with the West to come later in the week. 

The East was spoken of as the powerhouse last season and while that was true in the regular season with higher point totals for teams, ultimately it was the West who won the war courtesy of the Vegas Golden Knights. Lots of our betting sites have the NHL priced up so be sure to check them out for all of your Stanley Cup bets.

The Presidents’ Trophy winners set a new NHL record with 135 points. Linus Ullmark won the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the league but it was not enough to get past the Florida Panthers in the playoffs. That defeat, the retirement of captain Patrice Bergeron and the loss of further players could have caused a serious hangover. 

Instead, they have got off to a flying start. They have taken on weak enough opponents overall but they remain an Eastern juggernaut and it is still likely that the route to the Stanley Cup goes through TD Garden.

Topped the Metropolitan with 113 points last season which was an excellent effort given they didn’t have any player with more than 71 points. Their defensive prowess couldn’t save them from a sweep in the Eastern Finals against the Panthers, however. They are more high-powered offensively early on this season but they are shipping goals at a worrying rate compared to last season. 

Dmitry Orlov has come over from the Bruins but has made a horrible start to the season including a -5 effort at the Ducks despite only logging 15:25 on the ice. He spent the first 10 years of his career with the Capitals and has looked like a fish out of water away from there. The blue line needs to step up to make it back to the heights of last season.

What the Devils lack in experience, they more than makeup for in sheer talent. The young team set a new team record for points in a season and have made a strong start again. Jack Hughes has made a spectacular start to the season but all the goals scored are covering up the goals that they have been letting in. 

Both Vitek Vanecek and Amira Schmid have struggled in net, that should come right but it will need to as the rate that Hughes has set will be a very hard one to maintain. They need to find a better balance but are young enough to figure things out quickly.

The long wait for a Stanley Cup goes on but a series win over the Tampa Bay Lightning got that particular monkey off their back. Ilya Samsonov is off to a disappointing start between the pipes but it has allowed Joseph Woll to take his chance. 

Auston Matthews got off to a flying start with a pair of hat-tricks but he has slowed up since. The class is there for a deep run but there still seems to be that block whether it’s mental or physical that will stop them from lifting a Stanley Cup.

It’s been a great start to the season for the Rangers, their longest road trip of the campaign is behind them and they smashed it, winning all five games and outscoring their opponents 17-7 in the process. That should give the team plenty of confidence early in the season. 

They boast an excellent powerplay with Chris Kreider and Artemi Panarin doing the majority of the damage so far this season. Igor Shesterkin is off to a slow start but Jonathan Quick is an excellent backup and can play his part in making the Rangers a genuine contender.

Had made three consecutive trips to the Stanley Cup Finals prior to a playoff series loss to the Leafs last season. They are off to a steady start but without Andrei Vasilevskiy for a large chunk of the first half of the season, anything above .500 will suit them until their brick wall returns from his surgery. 

Capable of scoring at a scary rate when Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov are on song, the core is heading towards an age where they need to win now. Other teams look stronger but they will make the playoffs again and cement themselves as the most dominant team in recent years.

Always been thereabouts in recent seasons but without ever looking like genuine Stanley Cup contenders. In Ilya Sorokin and Semyon Varlamov, they have one of the best goalie tandems and this is crucial as they have looked goal-shy this season so far. 

Mathew Barzal is yet to really find his stride but Bo Horvat looks far more comfortable with the Isles than he did in the second half of last season after being traded over from the Vancouver Canucks. They will probably make the playoffs again but it’s hard to see them topping the NHL tree.

The 2021/22 Presidents’ Trophy winners were the last Eastern team to make it into the playoffs last season. That did not stop them from being the last team standing in the conference, losing to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup finals. 

Sam Reinhart is already well on track for his third 30-goal season in a row while Evan Rodrigues has looked a solid pickup after turning into a better player in Pittsburgh and Colorado the last two seasons than when was in Buffalo. Hard to know how far they will go but they have the talent to make an impact again.

Missed out on a playoff spot by a single point last season, that should be all the drive they need to try and make the playoffs this time around. The issue was on the blue line, simply conceding too many goals for their powerful offence to outscore opponents. 

This season has seen an improvement at the back but they have not been quite so proficient in front of the net. Tage Thompson came of age last season, collecting 94 points in the process but he is off to a slower start. The Sabres will need their talisman to find his groove if they are to get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2011.

Missed the playoffs last season for the first time since the 2005/06 season. Reilly Smith came over from the Stanley Cup champion Golden Knights and he has slotted in well on the second line with Evgeni Malkin. That is a rare bright spark for an ageing team who are teetering on the edge of a rebuild. 

Set to be on the outside looking in once more in the spring unless their stars can find a way to carry this team on their backs. Sidney Crosby continues to add points to his Hall of Fame career but even his exceptional talent has not looked enough with the 3rd and 4th lines looking toothless.

Adding Claude Giroux and Alex DeBrincat last season should have produced better results and with the latter now in Detroit, it’s to Vladimir Tarasenko that the Sens turn to try and lift them back to the playoffs. 

The tools are there going forward with young stars like Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle while the addition of Jakob Chychrun late last season looks like it will pay dividends on the blue line. It is between the pipes that the Senators have their biggest problem and it is one that will see them miss the playoffs again if they can’t find a way to address it.

Off to a flying start this season, well worth a watch for neutral fans. Offensively they look superb, Alex DeBrincat linking up with Dylan Larkin on the top line has been poetry in motion with the ex-Blackhawk and Senator clearly enjoying playing for his ‘home’ team. 

On the blue line they have struggled a bit but that has meant games full of goals. They are an entertaining team to watch and with Moritz Seider and Lucus Raymond only 21 and 22 years old, they have the potential for better to come. No surprise if they make the playoffs this year.

Alex Ovechkin’s quest to surpass Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals continues with the ‘great eight’ closing in. The Caps have been goal-shy so far this season, especially at home, adding more pressure to their captain. 

Last season they finished below .500 with the same problem as the Penguins, an old squad that is still dining out on past glories. Spencer Carbery is the youngest head coach in the NHL and will be a success in time but their playoff hopes look slim this season.

It’s season two behind the bench for John Tortorella, a coach who has always divided opinion. He managed to get the Columbus Blue Jackets to the playoffs in four consecutive years so Flyers fans will be hoping that he can work some of that type of magic again.

Carter Hart is off to an exceptional start in net this season. The 25yo has always been well thought of but has scuffled the last few years. A return to his rookie season form would be a big help. Speaking of rookies, Bobby Brink still has that tag despite a handful of games in the 2021-22 season. He looks to be up to NHL speed now and can help the Flyers to a respectable season.

Finished bottom of the very tough Atlantic division last season. Injuries played a big part of that, losing 751 man games, the most in the NHL. Things have started brightly this season with Jake Allen having a great time of things between the pipes, he is a player who has always been streaky with confidence so the Habs need to keep him sweet.

With Nick Suzuki and Cole Caulfield now a little more established in the NHL yet still young enough to have their best days ahead of them, there is cause for optimism in Montreal. Martin St Louis had a long career as an undersized RW, his influence on Caulfield especially can see this team become much more competitive.

Bottom of the East last season, just the Anaheim Ducks picked up fewer points in the entire league. The 2023 edition looks underpowered on both the offense and defense so it has the makings of a long season for fans in Columbus.

Johnny Gaudreau had a poor first season for the team and is on the way to having an even worse second one while Patrick Laine has struggled to stay on the ice since joining the club early in the 2020-21 season. Columbus is a mess so the only green shoots to hold onto are the kids like Adam Fantilli who has looked promising in limited action so far.

The East looks like a fascinating battleground once more. The Bruins are still the team to beat despite the change in personnel with their main chasers from last season looking the threats again. Both the Devils and Hurricanes need to shore things up at the back to be serious contenders for all that Jack Hughes might just be good enough to lift the Devils to the Stanley Cup playoffs on his own. 

The Red Wings look like the potential surprise package so far but don’t sleep on the Canadiens who have made a very solid start to the season. A little more luck in terms of injuries (or lack of them) this season, could see them in contention at a bigger price.