NHL Preview.

"I went to a fight the other night and a hockey game broke out." Rodney Dangerfield

There's more to it than that.

September saw the start of the NHL season in the states, and as my family only just got back from their yearly trip to New York, I've only just managed to get my mits on the Hockey News Yearbook for this season.

I've persevered for hours now and caught up with whose gone where, and I like to think I've made up my mind about who I expect to make the play-offs, and who I expect to perform. I disagree with THN quite a lot, it's a great book but it's predictions rely on trends and conventions in the NHL that have lasted over a decade being ended, and unless your Nick Howson, you can't break the rules at the click of a finger.

Winners - San Jose Sharks

How do you ensure a star like Joe Thornton prospers? Put two world-class defencemen in the first line with him to give him the freedom to play in the wingplayers, particularly Jonathan Cheechoo.

When Jumbo Joe switched from the Bruins, the world was shaken. Well, America, though it hit the news here, such was the rarity of trades as big-time as Jumbo Trade swapping the Big B for the California Strip. In all honesty, for all his ability he's not settled in San Jose, and in fact the once-impressive Sharks lost their way for a while.

GM Doug Wilson ran out of patience. Dan Boyle and Rob Blake are capable of giving Line One, Penalty Kill Lines and even PP's the toughest backbone possible. Both came from the Lightning, and their experience of the 03-04 Stanley Cup win will surely help them prosper. Add Brad Lukowich into the acquired pot, and the defensive cover stretches as far as the eye can see, despite losing top quality journeyman Sandis Ozolinsh.

Eastern Conference Winners - Washington Capitals

If you read a blog I did a while back, I mention Bury. A one man team. They are prospering now though. The Capitals are all about this approach. Alex Ovechkin is a phenomenon. Taking the world by storm in his rookie season, and repeating his success the next two years, the left-winger, if you can categorize the free-scoring floating hitman as that, has gone from strength to strenth but never let his success get to him and still celebrates every goal as though it was in OT in the 7th game of the Stanley Cup Final.

But Washington have both compliments and depth to support them this time round. Marcus Nylander returns from a long injury and can only support Ovechkin, grinding along and playing the Russian in. The fact that Victor Kozlov sits in the second line and Stanley Cup finalist Sergiy Fedorov sits in the third line speaks volumes for the depth in the squad.

The best bit of business for The Caps though is quite simply the addition of Jose Theodore, a keeper who has been around for a long time, and rejuvenated himself in the second half of last season with a stint at Colorado. He'll need to be a father figure to the young defence in front of him, and thus they will succeed.

West

1. San Jose
2. Dallas
3. Minnesota
4. Detroit (THN's pick)
5. Anaheim
6. Edmonton
7. Chicago
8. Calgary
9. Colorado
10. Nashville
11. Phoenix
12. Vancouver
13. Colombus
14. St. Louis
15. L.A Kings

East

1. Washington
2. Pittsburgh Penguins
3. Montreal Canadiens
4. Philly Fliers
5. Rangers
6. NJ Devils
7. Ottawaaaa
8. Tampa Bay
9. Boston
10. Carolina
11. Buffalo
12. Florida
13. Atlanta
14. Toronto
15. NY Islanders