Last season, the Bruins struggled just to stay in playoff contention, but finished strong to earn the sixth seed with 91 points, 30 points behind first-place Washington.
Both of those seasons ended with painful Game 7 losses in the second round, but the Bruins hope for a longer playoff run this spring.
“Like I said, over the last two years we’re one of five teams that have been in the second round [both years],” said Bruins general manager Peter Chiarelli. “So it’s time to move on from the second round, right? … I’m optimistic. We have to improve. So how do we improve? By going to the next round.”
So what are the chances of that? How does this year’s Bruins squad stack up against the rest of the conference? Here’s a team-by-team look at the Bruins’ competition in the East in 2010-11.
Atlanta Thrashers
The Thrashers should be improved with defensive guru – and former Bruins assistant – Craig Ramsay at the helm, along with an infusion of talent thanks to Chicago’s cap purge, as Atlanta acquired Dustin Byfuglien, Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager and Brent Sopel from the Cup champs. They also upgraded in net by signing Chris Mason and could contend for one of the final playoff spots, but shouldn’t be a threat to the Bruins, who have won 10 straight against the Thrashers.
Buffalo Sabres
The Bruins got by Buffalo in the playoffs last year, but the defending division champion Sabres are still Boston’s biggest threat in the Northeast. Any team with reigning Vezina winner Ryan Miller in goal will be a tough matchup, especially when they also have towering youngster Tyler Myers, the 6-foot-8, 219-pound Calder Trophy winner, on defense and firepower up front with the likes of Thomas Vanek, Derek Roy, Jason Pominville and Tim Connolly.
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes couldn’t overcome a horrendous start last year, but could challenge for a playoff spot if they play like they did at the end of the year for the full season. Eric Staal is a legitimate star up front with support from Jussi Jokinen and Tuomu Ruutu, while Cam Ward is a proven playoff performer in goal. It’s just a matter of actually making the postseason for the former Whalers, who have qualified for the playoffs just once since winning the Cup in 2006. They did reach the conference final in that lone appearance in 2009, upsetting the top-seeded Bruins along the way.
Florida Panthers
There are changes aplenty in Miami this year, though the new Panthers aren’t likely to make the impact of the additions the basketball team in town made this offseason. New GM Dale Tallon helped construct a Cup winner in Chicago, but he has less to work with here. David Booth could be an elite player if he can stay healthy, while Stephen Weiss and Michael Frolik are decent complementary parts, but the Panthers lack the depth to challenge the top teams in the East. Goalie Tomas Vokoun is good enough to put a scare into a few of those clubs, but don’t expect it to be enough for the Panthers to end their 10-year playoff drought, the longest current streak in the NHL.
Montreal Canadiens
Regardless of the records, games between the Bruins and Habs always take on a special significance, and this year shouldn’t be any different. The Canadiens squeaked into the playoffs as the eighth seed last year, then shocked both Washington and Pittsburgh to reach the conference final. Jaroslav Halak was the main reason for that, but the Habs chose to stick with Carey Price anyway, trading Halak to St. Louis. Price had a nightmare start to the preseason, and the folks along Rue Sainte-Catherine could rue that decision if he doesn’t turn things around in the regular season. Price should at least get plenty of offensive support from forwards Mike Cammalleri, Scott Gomez, Tomas Plekanec and new captain Brian Gionta, while Andrei Markov and exciting youngster P.K. Subban headline the blue-line corps.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils will be top heavy this year, but will they still be a top team in the East? Re-signing Ilya Kovalchuk to go along with Zach Parise gives New Jersey a frightening pair of snipers to fuel the offense, but Kovalchuk’s 15-year, $100-million contract has put the Devils in salary cap hell. They are opening the season with the minimum 20 players, including just 11 forwards, on the roster. Kovalchuk may have to skate a double shift to earn that money. At the other end of the ice, heavy workloads are nothing new to goalie Martin Brodeur, and the NHL’s all-time leader in wins and shutouts is one big reason to never take the Devils lightly, regardless of the cap hurdles GM Lou Lamoriello still has to clear.
New York Islanders
Things have been bleak for a long time on Long Island, where the glory days of the four Cups won early 1980s are a distant memory. The Isles haven’t won a playoff series since 1993, and that isn’t likely to change this year. The Islanders do have some exciting young players to watch in John Tavares and Matt Moulson, but they’ve already lost standout defenseman Mark Streit and forward Kyle Okposo for long stretches with shoulder injuries, and can they really trust goalie Rick DiPietro to stay healthy?
New York Rangers
A shootout loss to the Flyers in the final game last year kept the Rangers out of the playoffs, but they have the talent to make some noise this year. Marian Gaborik is the key to the offense, and the Rangers added mammoth enforcer Derek Boogaard this summer to help keep his former Wild teammate healthy. Marc Staal is an emerging star on defense, while Henrik Lundqvist remains one of the top netminders in the league. The biggest question may be whether John Tortorella can get the most out of this lineup, or has the controversial and confrontational coach worn out his welcome on Broadway?
Ottawa Senators
The good news is that Jason Spezza remains in Ottawa after a summer filled with trade rumors, as does captain Daniel Alfredsson, Milan Michalek, Alex Kovalev and Mike Fisher, though the latter’s heart may now be in Nashville with his new bride, Carrie Underwood. The Senators also added Sergei Gonchar to bolster the defense, but a goalie tandem of Passcal Leclaire and Brian Elliott could be their Achilles heel.
Philadelphia Flyers
Bruins fans won’t like hearing this, but last year’s playoff nemesis could be even better this year. The Flyers stumbled through an inconsistent regular season before finding their footing under Peter Laviolette, who led them to the Cup final. Laviolette had a full camp to put his system in place this year, and Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Daniel Briere, Claude Giroux and Scott Hartnell are back up front, while Andrej Meszaros and Sean O’Donnell have joined Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn on arguably the league’s best defense. But Simon Gagne is gone and the Flyers didn’t upgrade their goaltending, with Michael Leighton, who’s already injured, and Brian Boucher both back.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Questions remain about the depth on the wings and Jordan Staal is still struggling to return from the foot injury he suffered in the playoffs, but as long as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are around, the road to the Cup will more than likely still go through Pittsburgh. Marc-Andre Fleury give the Penguins quality goaltending, and Matt Cooke gives everyone with a conscience a reason to root against them, but it won’t be easy to get past Pittsburgh.
Tampa Bay Lightning
New GM Steve Yzerman has embarked on an ambitious rebuilding project in Tampa. He’s already got a dominant set of top-six forwards in place with Steven Stamkos, Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis, Simon Gagne, Steve Downie and Ryan Malone. Despite the presence of emerging star Victor Hedman, the defense still needs work. The goaltending duo of Mike Smith and Dan Ellis also leaves some question marks, but the Lightning should be a team on the rise, though maybe a year or two away from being a real contender.
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Bruins have reason to thank the Leafs for their miserable showing last year (Tyler Seguin) and reason to hope those struggles continue this year (Toronto’s 2011 first-round pick). Toronto did improve by adding Kris Versteeg and Colby Armstrong up front, but even with that pair added to the likes of Phil Kessel and Tyler Bozak, the Leafs lack talent and depth at forward. Their defense is another story, as they held onto Tomas Kaberle and will have a full season with new captain Dion Phaneuf, as well as veteran netminder J-S Giguere around for the whole year. That’s enough to figure on some improvement, but not enough to hurt the value of that first-round pick too much.
Washington Capitals
The reigning conference champs rolled to the Presidents’ Trophy last year, but couldn’t make it out of the first round of the playoffs. The Caps didn’t panic, retaining almost the same lineup, with the biggest addition being acquiring enforcer D.J. King to protect the club’s stars. And this team does have plenty of stars, with Alex Ovechkin, Alexander Semin, Nicklas Backstrom, Brooks Laich and Mike Knuble leading the way up front and Mike Green, Tom Poti and youngster John Carlson the key players on defense. Washington will count on youngsters Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth in goal. Their inexperience, and the high-flying Caps’ struggles to handle the tighter checking and more intense physical play of the playoffs, are the only questions facing the team that should again be atop the East standings — at least for the regular season.
On Thursday, we’ll take a look at the Western Conference and how the Bruins stack up against the best the West has to offer to see what could await Boston if it gets out of the East for a shot to claim the franchise’s first Stanley Cup since 1972.
