1.   Washington Capitals (54-15-13) The Presidents' Trophy, 318 goals scored, a goal differential of plus-85 and the most wins in franchise history. After all that, this season will be an unmitigated failure if they're not parading Lord Stanley's chalice around the beltway this summer.

2.   San Jose Sharks (51-20-11) The Sharks decided to get their annual slide out of the way before the playoffs this season, which might bode well for the franchise. There is added pressure on the Sharks to perform this postseason, as rumors persist that coach Todd McLellan's job might be on the line with another lackluster playoff showing. Our thoughts? With another lackluster playoff showing it might just be every player's job that is on the line.

3.   Detroit Red Wings (44-24-14) What more can be said about the Detroit Red Wings? Their record since the Olympic break is 16-3-2, they're averaging 3.33 goals for during that time and giving up just 2.48 goals — proving that they are, indeed, part of the Borg collective.

4.  Chicago Blackhawks (52-22-8) Chicago wins its first division crown in almost 20 years and, for all intents and purposes have been one of the best teams in the NHL all season long. Looking to improve on last season's Conference Final performance, the Blackhawks have karma working against them with perpetual Stanley Cup jinx Marian Hossa on their side.

5.   New Jersey Devils (48-27-7) It's starting to feel eerily like 1995 in New Jersey again. Jacques Lemaire is behind the bench, Martin Brodeur is in net and Brian Rolston is still missing the net with his booming slapshot. The difference? This time the team is flying under no one's radar.

6.   Vancouver Canucks (49-28-5) There's a new King Henrik in the NHL and he ain't playing for the Rangers. With his 112-point season, Henrik Sedin's name has been put in the pot for the Hart trophy, and what a case he has made. The big question is whether or not he will be able to continue his dominant play in the playoffs, where he has been a woeful underachiever.

7.   Phoenix Coyotes (50-25-7) Can you feel the good vibes coming out of Glendale? We can, and we are in full support of the movement coming out of Arizona to toss a rubber snake on the ice prior to their first game against the Detroit Red Wings. We'd suggest a live snake, but Jim Balsillie isn't available.

8.   Los Angeles Kings (46-27-9) Don't look now, but SoCal has a new representative in the NHL playoffs, one that hasn't been there for eight years. All we've got to say is that we're in full support of the Drew Doughty playoff beard, in hopes that it eclipses the Niedermayer in its glory.

9.   Pittsburgh Penguins (47-28-7) Another season, another second place finish behind the New Jersey Devils. Sure, a division crown would have been nice but, hey, it worked out well for them last year, right?

10. Boston Bruins (39-30-13) Boston has remembered it has had a pretty darn good team the last couple seasons, while David Krejci remembered that he's a talented player. With the two-headed beast of Rask and Thomas in net, Boston could be a surprise team in the first round.

11. Nashville Predators (47-29-6) The spunky Preds just refused to go away this season and surprised many by making the big dance. For those who think that Nashville will be nothing more than cannon fodder for the Blackhawks, we've got two words for you: Barry Trotz. Those two words give the Preds a chance against any opponent.

12. Ottawa Senators (44-32-6) The Senators and the Pens have a nice history in the playoffs. And for anyone who thinks Ottawa is going to be a cakewalk for the Pens, Jarkko Ruutu (121 PIM), Chris Neil (175 PIM) and Matt Carkner (190 PIM) would like to have a word with you.

13. Buffalo Sabres (45-27-10) Buffalo might have backed into the playoffs, but there are a lot of reasons why they are a dangerous, dangerous playoff team. Namely, Ryan Miller and the fact that Thomas Vanek has five goals and six points in his last three games.

14. Colorado Avalanche (43-30-9) If it weren't for the Coyotes, this young band of misfits would be the talk of the NHL. For a team that was expected to have a miserable season, Colorado has come out and set the bar high.

15. Philadelphia Flyers (41-35-6) In a fortuitous turn of events, the Broad Street Bullies jumped from battling the Rangers for the eighth seed to sitting in seventh and facing off against a New Jersey team that they're 5-1-0 against this season. We know it's a pipe dream, but hoping that there is at least one marshmallow fight during the series isn't a stretch, is it?

16. Montreal Canadiens (39-33-10) Thanks in large part to a series of stellar performances by Jaroslav Halak, the Habs hung on to get the eighth spot in the East. A whole new slew of challenges now face Montreal, though, as they'll get a plate full of Alex Ovechkin in the first round.

17. St. Louis Blues (40-32-10) It was a valiant effort by the Blues but, ultimately, all for naught. This off-season will see the departure of a St. Louis mainstay in Keith Tkachuk and, most likely, the removal of Davis Payne's interim tag. Also, David Backes is rumored to be heading to Canada in search of Canadians to fight.

18. New York Rangers (38-33-11) If there are two things that Rangers fans can take solace in this off-season, it's that Marian Gaborik played more than 70 games, and their team almost made the playoffs with virtually no secondary scoring. Henrik Lundqvist ought to plead with Glen Sather to spend on quality defensemen this summer, not another high-priced forward.

19. Anaheim Ducks (39-32-11) There's no doubt the Ducks will be a much different team come next season, with the likely retirement of Teemu Selanne and possible departures of Saku Koivu and Scott Niedermayer. With their top three players intact, however, Anaheim will be a dangerous team once again, with Ryan Getzlaf and Bobby Ryan teaming up to protect Corey Perry while he punches kittens in the corner.

20. Calgary Flames (40-32-10) Expect big changes in Calgary, as the Flames "flamed out" this season. With no secondary scoring, Calgary struggled to maintain its strong pace at the beginning of the season. They might have finally found a center for Jarome Iginla in Matt Stajan, who came in and tallied 16 points in 27 games as Iggy's pivot.

21. Dallas Stars (37-31-14) The biggest question mark for the Stars is in net. Marty Turco likely won't be back, so Kari Lehtonen will be the man for the Stars. He showed flashes in Atlanta, and his workload in Dallas will most definitely be less, but without a strong season next year for Lehtonen, the future looks bleak for the Stars.

22. Tampa Bay Lightning (34-36-12) The biggest problem for the Lightning this season? Five 20-plus goal scorers and just one double-digit goal scorer after that. There shouldn't be any question why Rick Tocchet and Brian Lawton were released after the team's final game. The front-runner candidate for the GM job is likely going to be Doug Risebrough, while the search is underway for a head coach.

23. New York Islanders (34-37-11) Man, is the future bright for the Isles. The three-headed beast of Moulson, Tavares and Okposo will keep this team in the hunt. Throw in the continued development of players like Frans Nielsen and Josh Bailey, and this team is looking good. The biggest question is in net: Is next season finally the season that their phenom goaltender Matt Lawson gets his shot in the bigs?

24. Atlanta Thrashers (35-34-13) Rumor has it that Rick Dudley will take over the general manager spot, with Don Waddell moving upstairs. If this is the case, Thrashers fans have something to look forward to. They've got young players like Bogosian, Bergfors and Kane — get talented players to surround them, and Atlanta could be on the right track.

25. Minnesota Wild (38-36-8) It was a rough season to be a Wild fan. Minnesota showed flashes of greatness, surrounded by streaks of ineptitude, as they struggled in their first season under coach Todd Richards. Youngsters Casey Wellman, Nate Prosser and Cody Almond gave them plenty to look forward to next season and Guillaume Latendresse was easily the surprise of the season.

26. Carolina Hurricanes (35-37-10) It's hard to say that the ‘Canes got what they deserved this season, as they put up a valiant fight heading down the stretch. But you can't win three of your first 20 games and expect a playoff spot to be yours at the end of the season. Remove their 14-game losing streak, and they're looking at a playoff berth.

27. Toronto Maple Leafs (30-38-14) Toronto has now missed the playoffs for five straight seasons after an expected, but disappointing, season. The upside is that they at least have a lottery pick to – oh, wait. Never mind.

28. Columbus Blue Jackets (32-35-15) General manager Scott Howson has said that interim coach Claude Noel isn't a shoe-in for the head coaching job next season, but with a 10-8-6 record and the wonderful job he did with the youngsters on the team, you can't help but wonder why not. One can only guess that Howson has a coaching candidate in mind already if Noel isn't their man.

29. Florida Panthers (32-37-13) The new management of the Panthers has a lot of work to do this off-season, including figuring out what to do with Stephen Weiss and Nathan Horton. They're going to need to figure out a plan soon, though, otherwise it could be a few more long years of ineptitude surrounding the franchise.

30. Edmonton Oilers (27-47-8) What else can be said about the Oilers, other than their one remaining big decision is this: Taylor Hall or Tyler Seguin? A long off-season and some hard decisions await this proud franchise.

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