Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers have had a few injury problems this year as star center Danny Briere has only played in 9 games. Mike Richards and Jeff Carter continue to play well and lead the team, and having Simon Gagne back in the lineup this year has been the cherry on top. Gagne, Richards, and Carter have 31, 27, and 25 points respectively, and Carter leads the NHL in goals with 18. There is no problem for this team in the goal department, its the pucks heading the other way that's the problem. Sitting at 20th in the league with a 3 goals per game average. Martin Biron has not been as solid as needed with a GAA of 2.94. The Flyers are an exciting team to watch, and have the players to make a hard push for the division title.
New York Islanders
The Islanders are more or less where they are supposed to be, 13th in the East. There hasn't been many surprises if any for the Islanders. The injury of Rick Dipietro hampers the Islanders a lot, no question. Maybe the only bright spot for the Islanders is the play of aging vet. Doug Weight. With 23 points in 25 games Weight leads the Islanders in scoring and is only 8 points off of 1000 on his career. The Islanders have a long way to go before they start to make any headway, especially in such a tough division. Don't watch this struggling team, there isn't much good going on.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins had a little bit of a slow start through October, however a red hot month of November put them in within 4 points of the division lead behind the Rangers. Crosby and Malkin have been everything and more for the Penguins. However the biggest problem has been the depth behind them. Miro Satan, Petr Sykora, and Jordan Staal, all are not playing up to expectations and are reason for the Penguins not leading the division. Also the injuries to Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney has hampered the powerplay and the strength on defense as a whole. The Penguins have proved to be a strong team even through some hard times. Look for them to keep on trucking, and push hard for the division lead.
New York Rangers
The Rangers have played well almost all season. Their off season moves of acquiring Markus Naslund, Nik Zherdev, and Wade Redden have all proved to be quality acquisitions. Zherdev and Naslund are one and two in team scoring, while Redden has been solid on defense. The team as a whole is having a successful season, and continue to see that success. The Rangers aren't incredibly deep in forwards, but a strong goaltender (the best in the NHL right now) and a solid defense has combined for 38 points, good for second in the East. The Rangers are also an exciting team to watch, they have been a little up and down as of late, but should continue to see lots of success.
New Jersey Devils
The Devils knew they were in trouble the moment Martin Brodeur grabbed his left elbow. Since Brodeur went down the Devils have gone 7-6, which isn't too bad considering they lost possibly the best goalie in NHL history. Zach Parise and Patrik Elias are enjoying good seasons with 27 and 23 points respectively (Elias has only played 23 games). The injury to off season acquisition Brian Rolston also has hurt the team, as he was looked on for being an important piece. The Devils are still in the playoff picture for now, and will be as long as they can stay above the .500 mark. The Devils have proved to be a strong team as a whole and look to stay strong as they will not be getting Brodeur back til sometime in March.
The Atlantic is probably one of the more fun divisions to watch, with great high energy teams like the Rangers, Flyers and Penguins, there are lots of good games. As for the division lead, the Rangers have a good hold on it for now, but the Penguins and Flyers should both put in good strong pushes.
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