Total Pro Sports – With the start of the 2009-10 NHL Season upon us it’s time to take a look and see how each team stacks up. As per the norm, each preview will be broken down by division in order of how we think the team will finish.

Lets take a look at the Atlantic Division for the 2009-10 NHL Preview.

1. Pittsburgh Penguins

Obviously not a big surprise here. As seems to be the trend, the Penguins did loose some players to free agency during the summer but they’ve managed to keep their core together which is huge.

Sidney Crosby and Bill Guerin showed some nice chemistry playing together in last year’s playoffs and will look to continue that success for the 2009-10 season. Evgeni Malkin unfortunately lost his linemate in Petr Sykora to Minnesota, but Malkin is too good of a player to let that stop him from collecting 100+ points. Jordan Staal leads a group of players looking to provide some secondary scoring with Matt Cooke, Maxime Talbot and Michael Rupp adding some sandpaper.

Defence is probably the one weak spot for the Penguins but when looking at their blueline it’s anything but. Sergei Gonchar, Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski supply the offence from the back end while Mark Eaton, Jay McKee and Brooks Orpik hold things down in the defensive end.

Marc-Andre Fleury showed in the playoffs that even though he may not be one of the top goaltenders in the league, he is capable of making the key save at the right time which is all Pittsburgh needs with their fire power. Despite some injury issues, Brent Johnson had a solid season with Washington last year and is a solid back-up.

2. Philadelphia Flyers

Bit of a disappointing season for the Flyers last year after making it to the Eastern Conference Finals in the 2007-08 season. However, like the Pens, Philly has managed to keep their core players and with the addition of Chris Pronger will be one of the harder teams to play against.

The great young duo of Mike Richards and Jeff Carter will look to lead the Flyers offence yet again this season. If Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne can stay healthy for longer than 40 games and Scott Hartnell can duplicate his 2008-09 campaign Philly could challenge the likes of Pittsburgh, Washington and Detroit as the league’s highest scoring team. Claude Giroux will look to build off a successful rookie season and highly touted prospect James Van Riemsdyk looks poised to make the opening day roster and possibly compete for the Calder Trophy.

The Flyers defence looks solid with Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen and Matt Carle playing the point on the power play and also very capable in their own end. Ryan Parent, Braydon Coburn and Ole-Kristian Tollefsen are three big young defencemen that’ll bring a solid defensive presence.

As per the norm since Ron Hextall left, the Flyers goaltending is a big question mark. Ray Emery has looked good so far during preseason but it’s only preseason and a lot can happen between now and early/mid April. Brian Boucher played great for the Sharks last year but at 32-years old will probably start running into some injury problems.

3. New Jersey Devils

After a disappointing end to their 2008-09 season in the game 7 loss to Carolina, New Jersey will look to rebound with a solid 2009-10 campaign.

Zach Parise leads the Devils offence with another young player in Travis Zajac looking to improve off of a  great 2008-09 season. Brendan Shanahan, Patrik Elias Jamie Langenbrunner and Brian Rolston will look to help put the puck in the net as well but with Jacques Lemiare behind the bench, don’t look for it to happen as often as it did last year.

The Devils defence doesn’t stand out as great, but they do have some solid players and should end up working well together as a unit. Paul Martin, Johnny Oduya and Cory Murphy will be looked upon to supply a majority of the scoring from the point. Players such as Colin White, Mike Mottau and Bryce Salvador will be looked upon to keep things simple and play solid in their own end.

Martin Brodeur will look to build on what will be a Hall of Fame career and Yann Danis will have a great time watching from the bench. If Marty misses a handful of games due to injury like last year things could get interesting as they don’t have a guy like Scott Clemmensen currently in their system that’d be able to help bail them out.

4. New York Rangers

Unlike some people I actually like the look of the Rangers this year and think they have enough to finish ahead of the Devils and possibly compete with the Flyers for second in the division. However, the Atlantic is a very tough division so I have them in the four spot, but I expect them to make the playoffs.

Just like the past few years, the Rangers have a solid forward group heading into the season. However, there is one big question…can Marian Gaborik stay healthy? If he can, adding him to the likes of Chris Drury, Chris Higgins, Brandon Dubinsky, Ryan Callahan and Vincent Prospal New York could surprise.

The biggest question mark has to be on defence. Wade Redden needs to step it up big time and Matt Gilroy will have to show why he won the 2009 Hobey Baker Award. Daniel Girardi, Michal Rozsival and Marc Staal are all good bets to have a solid 2009-10 season.

Henrik Lundqvist is one of the top goalies in the league and should have himself another 30+ win season. Steve Valiquette played well when relied upon last season and is one of the more underrated backups in the league.

5. New York Islanders

I don’t think I’m blowing anyone’s mind here with this pick. The Islanders have some decent young players coming up, but it’ll still be another 2-3 years before you can even think about the playoffs with this team.

As it looks right now the Islanders offence will live and die by John Tavares. Josh Bailey, Jesse Joensuu, Blake Comeau, Jeff Tambellini and Kyle Okposo make up a solid but inexperienced core of young players. Doug Weight, Richard Park and Trent Hunter will try to help the young players adjust to life in the NHL with their experience and leadership while also chipping in a few goals in the process.

With Brendan Witt, Mark Streit and Bruno Gervais the Islanders defence doesn’t look terrible. It doesn’t look great, but it isn’t horrible.

Goaltending is definitely New York’s strength for the 2009-10 season. With Garth Snow unconvinced about Rick DiPietro’s health he went out and signed both Dwayne Roloson and Martin Biron. Both upgrades over Yann Danis and Joey MacDonald from last year.

Total Pro Sports – With the NHL  regular season over and the NHL playoffs now under way it’s time to take a look back at the 2008-09 the NHL season and see who some of the top players were in terms of fantasy.

This entry will take a look at some of the players, 10 to be exact, who increased their value or surprised during the season. We’ll be keeping out the usual suspects, so if you’re looking for Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin you wont find them.

Lets take a look at the 2008-09 NHL Fantasy Studs.

LW – Zach Parise – New Jersey Devils: These weren’t your typical New Jersey Devils this year as they finished in the top 15 for goals for with 238 and were lead by the young gun Zach Parise. In 82 games this year Parise scored 45 goals and had 49 assists for 94 points with 30 of those points coming on the power play. Zach also registered 24 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-30, 364 shots on goal and 8 game winning goals.

C – Jeff Carter – Philadelphia Flyers: The Philadelphia Flyers were a goal scoring machine this year finishing 5th for goals for with 260 and a large part of that had to do with the great play of  the young goal scorer known as Jeff Carter. In 82 games this year Carter netted 46 goals and had 38 helpers for 84 points with 24 of those points coming while on the power play. Jeff also registered 68 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-23, 342 shots on goal and 12 game winning goals.

C – Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks: The Anaheim Ducks had a disappointing season this year but still managed to make it into the playoffs and Ryan Getzlaf was a major reason why. In 81 games this year Getzlaf scored 25 goals and had 66 assists for 91 points with 37 of those points coming on the power play. Ryan also had 121 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-5, 227 shots on goal and 2 game winning goals.

C – Marc Savard – Boston Bruins: The Boston Bruins surprised everybody this season by winning the Northeast Division and finishing 1st in the Eastern Conference and Marc Savard ‘s top notch playmaking abilities were a big reason why. In 82 games this year Savard scored 25 goals and had 63 assists for 88 points with 30 of those points coming on the power play. Marc also registered 70 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-25, 213 shots on goal and 5 game winning goals.

RW/LW – Alexander Semin – Washington Capitals: The Washington Capitals finished 3rd for goals for with 268 and, aside from Ovechkin, Alexander Semin was a key factor in Washington’s offence. In 62 games this year Semin scored 34 goals and added 45 assists for 79 points with 30 of those points coming on the power play. Alexander also had 77 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-25, 223 shots on goal and 8 game winning goals.

D – Mike Green – Washington Capitals: In what will surely be a Norris Trophy season for the offensive d-man, Mike Green played a big role in the Washington Capitals winning the Southeast Division and finishing 2nd in the Eastern Conference. In 68 games this year Green scored 31 goals and had 42 assists for 73 points with 38 of those points coming on the power play. Mike also registered 68 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-24, 243 shots on goal, and 4 game winning goals.

D – Dan Boyle – San Jose Sharks: Definitely a big rebound year for Dan Boyle who was instrumental in the San Jose Sharks winning the Pacific Division, finishing 1st in the Western Conference and winning the Presidents Trophy as the league’s top team. In 77 games this year Boyle scored 16 goals and added 41 assists for 57 points with 32 of those points coming on the power play. Dan also registered 52 penalty minutes, a plus/minus rating of plus-6, 213 shots on goal and 4 game winning goals.

D – Shea Weber – Nashville Predators: The Nashville Predators weren’t quite able to make the playoffs this year but it was a great breakthrough year for their #1 d-man Shea Weber. In 81 games this year Weber scored 23 goals and added 30 assists for 53 points with 19 of those points coming on the power play. Shea also registered 80 penalty minutes, a plus/mius rating of plus-1, 251 shots on goal and 4 game winning goals.

G – Steve Mason – Columbus Blue Jackets: A terrific season for the Columbus Blue Jackets as they made the playoffs for the first time in franchise history and the shoe-in for the Calder Trophy goalie Steve Mason had a lot to do with it. In 61 games this year Mason recorded 33 wins while posting a 2.29 GAA, .916 SAV% and a league leading 10 shutouts. The future obviously looks bright for this young goaltender and is a must have for the 2009-10 fantasy season.

G – Niklas Backstrom – Minnesota Wild: A disappointing season for the Minnesota Wild as they failed to make the playoffs but it wasn’t from a lack of effort by their goaltender Niklas Backstrom. In 71 games this year Backstrom recorded 37 wins while posting a 2.33 GAA, .923 SAV% and 8 shutouts. Niklas also made a whopping 1900 saves during the season. Although things appear to be up in the air with the Wild right now, Backstrom is still a solid fantasy option and should be good for at least 30 wins again next season.

Remember to check back tomorrow to take a look at our 2008-09 NHL Fantasy Duds.

This week’s honorable mention goes to Dwayne Roloson of the Edmonton Oilers. Last week Roloson collected 3 wins while posting a 1.62 GAA, .954 SAV% and made 103 saves. After a shaky 2007-08 campaign Dwayne has been rock solid since taking over as the full-time starter this season refreshing people’s memories as to why the Oilers traded for him back in 2005-06.

Lets take a look at the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars for Week 19.

3rd Star – Ilya Kovalchuk (LW), Atlanta Thrashers

Looks like someone forgot to tell Ilya Kovalchuk that the Thrashers are out of the playoff hunt. Last week Kovalchuk scored 5 goals and had 1 helper for 6 points with 3 of those points coming on the power play. He also registered 14 shots on goal, a plus/minus rating of plus-1 and one game winning goal.

2nd Star – Tomas Vokoun (G), Florida Panthers

If the Panthers make the playoffs you can bet that Tomas Vokoun will be their MVP. Last week Vokoun had 3 wins with a 1.96 GAA, .946 SAV% and 1 shutout. He also stopped 140 pucks, 42 of which came in his shutout win over the Hurricanes. After a rough start briefly losing his starting job to Craig Anderson, Tomas has provided all-star calibre goaltending for Florida and is a lock fantasy wise for the rest of the season.

1st Star – Zach Parise (LW), New Jersey Devils

As one of the bright young stars in the league Zach Parise has “Fantasy Stud” written all over him. Last week Parise scored 4 goals while adding 4 assists for 8 points with 4 of those points coming on the power play. He also registered 15 shots on goal, a plus/minus rating of plus-2 and one game winning goal. With players such as Zach Parise, Patrik Elias, Jamie Langenbrunner and Travis Zajac the Devils are no longer seller dwellers fantasy wise. That standing would go to the Minnesota Wild.

Remember to check back in next week to see who the NHL Fantasy 3 Stars will be for Week 20.

Ending ( Feb 15th)

Total Pro Sports – This week’s NHL Power Rankings sees the defending Presidents Trophy Champion Detroit Red Wings take over top spot with the Boston Bruins taking a bit of a dive but still remaining in the top 5.

NHL Power Rankings Movers And Shakers

The biggest Shakers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Boston Bruins falling 4 spots landing at #5.

The second biggest shaker was the Carolina Hurricanes, Anaheim Ducks, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild and Pittsburgh Penguins all dropping 3 spots to end up at #15, #16, #17, #19 and #20 respectively.

The biggest Movers in our NHL Power Rankings this week were the Columbus Blue Jackets climbing up 6 spots to sit at #14.

Lets take a look at the rest of the league: NHL POWER RANKINGS for Week 19.

Rank	Team	Record	Change	Comment
1		37-12-8	3	Saw their 6 game win streak come to an end vs. Columbus.
2		37-8-9	-	Have gone 4-2-4 in their last 10 games.
3		36-16-5	-	Alexander Ovechkin picked up his 3rd hat-trick of the season in the Caps 4-2 win over the Panthers.
4		37-17-3	1	On a 4 game win streak thanks to the solid play of Zach Parise and Scott Clemmensen.
5		39-10-8	4	Currently on a 4 game winless streak.
6		31-15-8	-	Will be in tough with injuries to Patrick Sharp and Nikolai Khabibulin.
7		33-18-5	2	Went an impressive 3-0-1 last week including a 2-0 shutout victory over the Kings.
8		30-16-9	1	Mike Richards set a NHL record scoring shorthanded for the third time while his team was on a 5-on-3 PK.
9		30-21-6	1	How big of an impact will Mathieu Schneider have on the Habs? My guess is not a big one.
10		30-21-6	1	With only 2 wins in their last 10 games the Rangers need to turn things around before they drop even further.
11		29-22-6	1	Lost to the Senators and were shutout 3-0 to Cam Ward and the Hurricanes.
12		28-20-8	3	Had a nice 3 game win streak going before losing 4-2 to the Capitals.
13		27-21-8	5	Appear to be turning things around going 5-1 in their last 6 games.
14		28-23-5	6	Faired just fine without their rookie starter winning all 3 of their games including a surprising 3-0 victory over the Avalanche with Dan LaCosta recording his first career NHL shutout.
15		28-24-5	3	Were shutout 5-0 by the Panthers then got hammered again by the Blue Jackets losing 5-1.
16		28-25-5	3	Were embarrassed by the Thrashers losing 8-4.
17		27-21-7	3	Shutout in their 1-0 loss to the Coyotes then were handily beaten by the Blackhawks 6-2.
18		28-23-4	1	Won both their games including a 7-2 beating of the Montreal Canadiens.
19		28-24-3	3	Gave up 9 goals against in their loses to the Red Wings and Senators.
20		27-25-5	3	Now we’ll see if coaching really was the main issue in Pittsburgh.
21		27-26-3	1	Managed to sneak out two wins in close games against the Blues and Bruins.
22		24-22-8	1	Have lost their last two games including a 2-0 shutout loss to the Flames.
23		25-27-5	-	Recorded a much needed 1-0 shutout win over the Stars.
24		23-25-7	1	Lost a tough one to the Predators but rebounded with a 1-0 shutout win over the Blackhawks.
25		26-30-1	1	Managed to snap a 4 game losing streak with a shootout win over the rival Red Wings.
26		21-25-8	2	Currently on a 4 game win streak thanks to some solid goaltending by Brian Elliot.
27		21-25-10	1	Beat the Penguins but also lost to the Lightning and blew a 4-1 lead to the Panthers.
28		19-26-11	1	Beat the Leafs but were outscored 8-2 in their two loses.
29		20-32-5	-	Solid week winning 2 of their 3 games and Ilya Kovalchuk being named the NHL’s 3rd Star.
30		16-33-6	-	Currently on a 5 game win less streak.

Be sure to check back next week with our NHL Power Rankings for Week 20.

This entry will take a look at some of the players, 10 to be exact, who either increased their value or surprised many of us. So, if you’re looking for Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin you wont find them on this list.

Lets take a look at the 2008-09 NHL First Half Fantasy Studs.

C – Ryan Getzlaf – Anaheim Ducks: It’s no surprise he’s one of the bright young players in the league, but no one expected him to do this well. He currently sits tied for 4th overall in the league for points with 56 (17 goals & 39 assists). He’s also managed to rack up 85 penalty minutes and 26 power play points.

C – Jeff Carter – Philadelphia Flyers: Carter had a promising rookie campaign back in 2005-06 but had troubles improving on it the last two seasons. That all changed this year as he’s currently 2nd overall in the league for goals scored with 30.  He’s also managed 21 assists for 51 points on the season so far.

LW – Zach Parise – New Jersey Devils: For being on a team not known for scoring, Parise is having himself one helluva season. Zach is tied for 5th overall in the league for points with 55 (28 goals & 27 assists). He also has a +/- rating of plus-20, 193 shots on goal and averaging 1.17 points per game.

C – David Krejci – Boston Bruins: Look up the word “surprising” in the dictionary and you’ll see a picture of this man right beside it, although most people probably don’t even know what he looks like. Krejci has played a big part in the Bruins success thus far and if you don’t believe me just look at his stats. He’s in the top 10 in the league for points with 52 (17 goals & 35 assists), has a +/- rating of plus-25 and has put up 15 power play points.

RW – Devin Setoguchi – San Jose Sharks: A team like the Sharks already stacked with players like Thornton, Marleau, Michalek and Boyle no one really expected anything out of sophmore Setoguchi. However, he’s already more than doubled his points from last season in the same amount of games, 44 points in 44 games, and has a +/- rating of plus-16.

D – Dennis Wideman – Boston Bruins: Just like Krejci, Wideman has played a big part in the turn around of the Boston Bruins this season. He’s tied for 6th amoung defencemen in the NHL for points with 31 (9 goals & 22 assists) and has a +/- rating of plus-26.

D – Shea Weber – Nashville Predators: On what has been an up and down season for the Predators they’ve been able to rely on one constant the whole season, Shea Weber. Weber is tied for 5th amoung defencemen in the NHL for points with 32 (14 goals & 18 assists). He’s also managed 11 points on the power play and has a +/- rating of plus-6, which is pretty good for being on a not so good team.

D – Rob Blake – San Jose Sharks: Just when it seemed like Blake was on the decline of his career he goes and proves everyone wrong. Blake currently has 29 points (7 goals & 22 assists) and a +/- rating of plus-13.

G – Steve Mason – Columbus Blue Jackets: Not even the Blue Jackets expected this one. He started out the season in the AHL but due to an injury to Pascal Leclaire he was called up and never looked back. Mason has collected 17 wins, and posted a league leading 2.05 GAA, .926 SAV% and also leads the league with 6 shutouts. Oh, and I forgot to mention he’s done all of that in just 30 games so far on a weak Columbus team who are fighting for 8th in the West because of his great play.

G – Scott Clemmensen – New Jersey Devils: When Martin Brodeur went down due to injury everyone thought the Devils season went down with it. However, a man by the last name of Clemmensen had something to say about that. In 30 games so far he’s collected 19 wins while posting a 2.29 GAA and a .922 SAV%.

Remember to check back tomorrow to take a look at our 2008-09 NHL First Half Fantasy Duds.

The NHL has yet to suspend Chris Pronger and we highly doubt that he will be suspended, if you look at the replay below you can tell that the elbow is unintentional.  As Chris steps onto the ice Zach Parise runs into him, being only 5’11″ and Chris at 6’6″ it is no wonder why the hit looks like an elbow.  But if you watch closesly all Pronger is doing is pushing him off him as he jumps onto the ice.

What do you think, Elbow or Not?

4.  New Jersey Devils Season Preview

Even with Brodeur in net I don’t see this team making a lot of noise, especially in this tough division.

The Devils forward group is pretty solid with Patrik Elias, Brian Gionta, Zach Parise and Brian Rolston making up parts of the top 6. Dainius Zubrus, David Clarkson, Jamie Langenbrunner and rookie Petr Vrana will look to add some secondary scoring. Guys like Bobby Holik, John Madden and Jay Pandolfo will look to do their usual thing and play solid defensive hockey.

Once the strength of New Jersey, the defence isn’t looking so strong nowadays. Paul Martin and Johnny Oduya will provide the offence from the blue line on the PP and will be looking to get some help from rookie Anssi Salmela. Colin White, Andy Greene, Sheldon Brookbank, Mike Mottau and Bryce Salvador round out the blue line.

Of course Martin Brodeur is in net for the Devils after yet another 40+ win season and Kevin Weekes is a solid backup option.

Despite having one of, if not the, best goaltender in the league, the Devils lack of scoring up front and lack of a stand out defenceman will keep them from challenging for 1st or 2nd in the division.