NHL Playoff Predictions: MassMutual East Division
With the NHL re-aligning all 31 teams into 4 geographically specific divisions this year, we are bound to see some surprises when it comes to who will make or miss the playoffs this season.
The 4 divisions, sponsors and all, include the MassMutual East, Discover Central, Honda West, and Scotia North.
For the first of this four-part series, we’ll be taking a look at the MassMutual East division.
East Division Playoff Predictions
Boston Bruins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
No Pittsburgh or Washington? Crazy, I know. But the Penguins main core is far from what it used to be. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang will all be 33 or older by the end of the season. All the years of long playoff runs, and injuries are bound to catch up to them, and I believe this is the year for it. Both Washington and Pittsburgh are turning to new goalies in net to take over the reins in 25-year-old Tristan Jarry and 23-year-old Ilya Samsonov. I just don’t see these 2 teams having their regular success this season.
Washington’s window for success is closing, and it’s happening quickly. Alex Ovechkin is 35, Nick Backstrom is 33, and there aren’t too many high-end prospects in the pipelines. They just drafted Hendrix Lapierre, a very talented Center who can play a high-end game when healthy. While I don’t think the Capitals make the playoffs this season, it still would not surprise me if they did end up squeaking into the 4th spot.
The Boston Bruins should run away with this division, but I can certainly see it being a battle with the Flyers for 1st. Boston and Philly are two very good teams who only got better this offseason. They should be slam-dunk locks for the playoffs. Boston’s defense is not the powerhouse it used to be. Subtracting Torey Krug and Zdeno Chara from the group will certainly have a noticeable impact. Charlie McAvoy is now the #1 guy and will shoulder the bulk of the work on the back end. The Bruins still have arguably the best goaltending duo in the league with Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak.
The Flyers will be a very deep, talented team this season. The mix of youth and veterans seems to be a perfect balance on this team. There are younger guys like Carter Hart, Joel Farabee, Travis Konecny, and Ivan Provorov. Then there’s the veteran core of Claude Giroux, Sean Couturier, Kevin Hayes, and Jakub Voracek. This is clearly one of the best teams that the Flyers have had since they made the Stanley Cup Finals in 2010 where they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks. I would not be surprised in the least if they ended up being 1st in the East, and potentially making a deep run.
The Rangers and Islanders are who I expect to round out the East Division playoffs. They are both young, talented teams who play the type of hockey you need for a 56-game sprint. I believe the goalie tandem of Igor Shesterkin and Alexander Georgiev for the Rangers, as well as Semyon Varlamov and Ilya Sorokin for the Islanders, will be fantastic.
The Rangers are very talented on offense, featuring Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Chris Krieder, Alexis Lafreniere, and Kaapo Kakko. The defense certainly leaves a lot to be desired. Adding Jack Johnson is the exact opposite of what the Rangers needed to do. Jacob Trouba has been decent since coming over from the Winnipeg Jets. Tony DeAngelo had a good season last year but has yet to find consistency in his career. K’Andre Miller will be a key part of the defense this year, as he has the skills to be a talented two-way defender. It comes down to who is paired with him, as well as the time on ice he will receive as a rookie.
The Islanders are also poised to have a stellar season. Forwards Mat Barzal, Anders Lee, Brock Nelson, and Anthony Beauvilier will look to build on last season’s success and try to make another deep playoff run. The defense is led by Ryan Pulock, Adam Pelech, and Scott Mayfield. Unfortunately, due to the cap not rising this past offseason, the Islanders were forced to deal Devon Toews to the Colorado Avalanche. Toews had a very strong 2019-2020 season, and will certainly continue to build upon it. I think the defense will be fine though. After all, this is a system led by Barry Trotz.
Now, in the case of the Devils and Sabres, meh. The Sabres definitely improved this offseason with the signings of Taylor Hall and Cody Eakin, as well as trading for Erik Staal. But I do not think this is enough to make the playoffs in this division. The Sabres defense is suspect at best. Rasmus Dahlin is a stud, but that’s about it. Rasmus Ristolainen is solid, but after his previous trade requests, who knows if he really still wants to be in Buffalo. Finally, the goaltending is just not good at all. Carter Hutton is on the back end of his career and should not be in a starting role. He’s much better suited as a back-up. Linus Ullmark is decent, but still very much unproven in the NHL. In the pipeline, Buffalo does have Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from Finland who looks like he will be a star.
And then there’s the New Jersey Devils. While the future certainly looks very bright, the current team is far from a contender, let alone a playoff team. GM Tom Fitzgerald made some moves to help bolster the defense, as well as the middle 6 of the forward group. Additions like Sami Vatanen, Ryan Murray, Andreas Johnsson, and Dmitry Kulikov should help this team tremendously. Ty Smith is finally going to get his chance to play for the team, and rookies Yegor Sharangovich, Janne Kuokkanen, Michael McLeod, and Nathan Bastian will look to solidify a regular role with the team.
However, this team is still a year or two away from being a playoff team again. I expect them to be towards the bottom of the East division with the Buffalo Sabres.