The SouthEast

Today i will be breaking down the sunny southeast division.

Washington Capitals
Without much surprise, the Cap's are leading their division and are 3rd in the east. A slow start for Ovechkin was a slight setback, but the explosion of forward Alex Semin has been the next best thing. Nicklas Backstrom hasn't left a step since his rookie season and the team as a whole seems to be clicking. Carolina is only 3 points back, but with the new coaching change and maybe a little bit of uneasiness, it seems that the Capitals just need to keep playing solid and the division is theirs.

Atlanta Thrashers
The Thrashers had an interesting November, going on a 5 game winning streak and yet finishing the month still below the .500 mark. The Thrashers are a desperate team in need of some major changes. Their playoff hopes are simply dwindling every game. Star Ilya Kovalchuk hasn't been his usual self and is on pace for one of his worst seasons yet. The Thrashers badly need to dismantle and rework their team and farm system. No playoffs in their near future.

Tampa Bay Lightning
Steven Stamkos. The oh so highly touted rookie has only 3 goals and 11 points in 24 games. So much for rookie of the year. This is kind of the story for the whole Lightning team. As neither Vinny Lecavalier or Martin St Louis are playing to their normal selves. The Lightning find themselves in the basement of the league once again at 14th in the east. It doesn't seem like there are any playoff hopes in "HockeyBay USA" this year.

Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes have fired head coach Peter Laviolette, and hired Paul Maurice. The Canes ha vent been all that bad so far this season, they are sitting in 8th place in the east, and have a winning record. They aren't surprising anyone, and look to be a playoff contender. The biggest problem in Raleigh is the fact they don't really have any one player stealing the show. Ray Whitney leads the team with only 17 points. Id keep the Canes in the playoffs, but they will need some more production out of their stars.

Florida Panthers
The brightest bit of sunshine in Florida these days is goalie Craig Anderson. He leads the league with a 1.99GAA and a Save Percentage of .943. The rest of the Panthers team has not been so sunny. Stephen Weiss, Nathan Horton, and Cory Stillman combine for only 14 goals. Weiss leads the team with only 14 points. David Booth has been a bright spot with a team leading 12 goals. The Panthers as a team have not been bad and are only 3 points out of a playoff spot. There is hope for the Panthers if some of their players can step it up like Anderson.

The Southeast division seems to be in slight turmoil right now, all except the leading Capitals, but the Lightning and Thrashers are in serious trouble and their lineups could look a little different by seasons end. Shakeups have already begun with the change of the head coaching job in Carolina. Should be an interesting last 60ish games.