With the Devils and Penguins leading the Division with 28 points, the Flyers, Rangers, and Islanders are all tied with 23. That being said, the entire division is separated by only five points.
Even though we’re only a quarter of the way into the NHL season, if it ended today, the entire division would make the playoffs along with Northeast Division leader Buffalo Sabers and Southeast Divisions Washington Capitals.
The Devils are on their game and proved to be a tuff road team with a 9-1 record away from their building led by Z. Parise with 24 points and legend M. Brodeur between the pipes with a 12-5 record and an average of 2.21 Goals Against. With Parise and Brodeur on their game and their great record on the road, you can see why they’re tied for the top of the Atlantic with the defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Stanley Cup champions picked up where they left off by winning it all last season. They started this season at 9-1. They lost E. Malkin for a few games and skidded, but got back to winning ways with him back in the lineup winning the last two and keeping that top spot with the Devils with a 14-7 record.
The Philadelphia Flyers are 11-5-1 and were the first team to hand the New Jersey Devils their first road loss of the season. The Flyers also have games pending with every team in the division with two games remaining with the Devils and four games remaining with the Penguins, Rangers and Islanders. The midfielders are led by one of the best, if not the best, defenseman in the league, Chris Pronger. Jeff Carter leads the team in scoring with 19 points while Pronger and Mike Richards have 17.
The Rangers who started the season hot with a 7-1 record have calmed down of late since. Even though the Rangers have been on the losing end of their games of late, they’ve been in all of them. Led by M. Gaborik with 27 points, he currently ranks second in the overall league points standings with 15 goals and 12 assists. If the Rangers can get the rest of their guys to work and stay healthy, they’ll be a threat as well.
The surprise of the division has once again excited the fans on Long Island. Starting the season, they were unable to get a win, but managed to get points in a bunch of losing games over time. The Islanders began their season at 1-4-5 earning their first win of the season against the Carolina Hurricanes in a shootout eventually earning their first win of the season in regulation against the NY Rangers and finished 7-2-2 since that victory. The Islanders are getting the job done with their youthful explosion of No. 1 pick John Tavares in the 2009 draft and with M. Moulson and K. Okposo connecting. Goaltender D. Roloson has been getting the nod between the tubes of late and has a 6-1 record in goal with a 2.77 GAA. Their captain D. Peso is out of the lineup along with goalie R. DiPietro. This team will get some leadership back when those two suit up again and the Islanders kids should only get better.
Simply put, this division could be up for grabs, but right now the Penguins, Flyers, and Devils seem to be the best. With the Rangers and Islanders right there, this is going to be an interesting run to watch as it unfolds. It’s very difficult to pick one, but there’s really no denying the team’s debt to the defending champions.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this article as we hit the middle of the season in early January 2010.
