Russo's Eastern Conference preview

1. BOSTON BRUINS

2013-14: 54-19-9, 1st in East (117 pts.)

Cap issues forced them to purge Johnny Boychuk, but this team is so good and deep and stellar in goal, it belongs in the West.

2. PITTSBURGH PENGUINS

2013-14: 51-24-7, 2nd (109 pts.)

Different-looking team with James Neal and Matt Niskanen gone and Patric Hornqvist and Steve Downie in, but any team with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin still will be elite.

3. TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Steve Stamkos is happy. Jonathan Drouin will be a star. Victor Hedman broke out. And plenty of weapons. Watch out for this team.

4. PHILADELPHIA FLYERS

2013-14: 42-30-10, 6th (94 pts.)

Led by Hart Trophy finalist Claude Giroux, the Flyers were red-hot in the second half and bought completely into coach Craig Berube. Look for them to build on what they started.

5. MONTREAL CANADIENS

Coming off a surprising playoff run last season, the speedy Habs will continue to be an Eastern force behind Max Pacioretty, PK Subban and Carey Price.

6. NEW YORK RANGERS

2013-14: 45-31-6, 5th (96 pts.)

Stanley Cup finalist is one of the NHL's best defensively thanks to Henrik Lundqvist in goal and Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi on the blue line.

7. NEW YORK ISLANDERS

The Isles were mostly derailed last season when John Tavares was injured. This team is talented up front and improved on the back end and in goal.

8. COLUMBUS BLUE JACKETS

2013-14: 42-32-7, 7th (93 pts.)

Hardworking team gave Pittsburgh a scare in last season's playoffs. Once Ryan Johansen gets in game shape, they'll be a handful.

9. WASHINGTON CAPITALS

Alex Ovechkin has won four Rocket Richard trophies. The question is whether new coach Barry Trotz can get him to play defense. A bubble team again.

10. DETROIT RED WINGS

2013-14: 39-28-15, 8th (93 pts.)

Twenty-three years and counting in the postseason for the Wings, but they were an injury-riddled team last season and it's showing with aging star Pavel Datsyuk already on the shelf.

11. TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Lots of pressure on curmudgeon coach Randy Carlyle with Brendan Shanahan running things. They'll miss the playoffs for the ninth time in 10 years.

12. OTTAWA SENATORS

2013-14: 37-31-14, 11th (88 pts.)

Jason Spezza asked out and triggered an offseason of change. Lots of firepower with Bobby Ryan and Erik Karlsson, but they'll go nowhere unless they improve on defense.

13. NEW JERSEY DEVILS

The Martin Brodeur era is officially over. Corey Schneider is at the helm, but there are many offensive shortcomings, and it's unlikely Martin Havlat and Mike Cammalleri solve them.

14. FLORIDA PANTHERS

2013-14: 29-45-8, 15th (66 pts.)

The NHL's most unstable team will miss the playoffs for the 13th time in 14 years despite talented youngsters such as Nick Bjugstad, Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov.

15. BUFFALO SABRES

New GM Tim Murray has done a sensational job stockpiling kids and draft picks, but despite the Matt Moulson and Josh Gorges pickups, they're still in full-fledged rebuild mode.

16. CAROLINA HURRICANES

2013-14: 36-35-11, 13th (83 pts.)