The Aftermath - 2008 Edition: Part 3

The Eastern Conference will be wrapped up for the series as the Southeast Division will be covered.

Atlanta Thrashers

Final standings: 34W, 40L, 8OTL, 76 points, 4^th Southeast, 14^th Eastern Conference, 28^th NHL

After making the playoffs for the first time in franchise history last season (and being swept in the process), the Atlanta Thrashers somehow sank right down into the bottom of the league standings. Their season began with a six game losing streak which resulted in head coach Bob Hartley being fired, and GM Don Waddell replacing him as an interim coach, possibly to avoid forcing the team to be coached under an entirely unfamiliar face. Afterwards, whilst they continued to play poorly all season long they were able to enjoy the occasional three to four game winning streak, which unfortunately didn’t stop the team from being the third-worst in the NHL… oh, and they hosted this year’s All-Star game.

Carolina Hurricanes

Final standings: 43W, 33L, 6OTL, 92 points, 2^nd Southeast, 9^th Eastern Conference, 16^th NHL

The Carolina Hurricanes, celebrating their 10^thAnniversary season in Carolina, as well as the 35^th Anniversary of the franchise, had a fairly good 2007-08 campaign. They won 14 of their first 26 games during October and November, with 3 other games being lost in overtime, still earning them points. However, they started entering a slump where they lost the majority of their games in December but started to show signs of turning things around in January. The team enjoyed plenty of wins during the last months of the season, and then missed the playoffs by just two points. Had they won just one more game, they would have taken the number 8 spot in the Eastern Conference, as they scored 40 more goals than Boston, who finished 8^th in the Conference standings this year.

Florida Panthers

Final standings: 38W, 35L, 9OTL, 85 points, 3^rd Southeast, 11^th Eastern Conference, 22^nd NHL

This year’s Florida Panthers improved their performance over last season, unfortunately for them however, it wasn’t by very much: their play this season would only end up moving them up by one place, both in the Southeast Division and Eastern Conference, and once again the Panthers missed out on the playoffs. The best time of the year for the Panthers this season was definitely March, in which the team went on a nine game points streak, which included a seven game winning streak and an overtime loss, followed by another win. Another positive thing for Panthers fans to look back at this season was that, despite having only the 5^th worst attendance record in the NHL, they still ended up attracting more fans than two of the NHL’s longer established teams, the Boston Bruins and New York Islanders.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Final standings: 31W, 42L, 9OTL, 71 points, 5^th Southeast, 15^th Eastern Conference, 30^th NHL

Before the season began, the Tampa Bay Lightning unveiled a new team logo to go along with the league’s switch to the RBK EDGE uniform system. The logo was an immense improvement over the team’s previous one, which some people complained looked too “clip-arty”. Unfortunately for the Lightning, that’s about as good as this past season would get. While key players such as Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards played well, they didn’t get much support from the rest of the team, resulting in poor results throughout the season. The team made plenty of changes at the trade deadline, but unfortunately this didn’t help them much as the Bolts finished with the worst record in the league. If fans want something to be pleased about, they still earned more points than any 30^thplace team over the last eight years.

Washington Capitals

Final standings: 43W, 31L, 8OTL, 94 points, 1^st Southeast, 3^rd Eastern Conference, 12^th NHL

Last year’s Caps were the worst team in the Southeast Division, also being one of three teams that didn’t make the playoffs. This season however, they managed to turn that right around, by finishing in first place in the Southeast Division, being the only team from that division to make the playoffs, and having one of the best records in the Eastern Conference. Washington was also one of the very first teams to unveil their new RBK EDGE uniform, which pays tribute to the team’s past by including a modernised version of the logo they used between their inaugural season in 1974 and 1995, and also uses the same red and blue colours from the days of old. The Capitals didn’t have it very easy at the start of the season, losing the majority of their games during the first two months of play, but after that, they were almost unstoppable for the rest of the season, losing only 15 games (not counting OT losses) between December and April, and made the playoffs for the first time in five years. Unfortunately, and surprisingly for them, they lost in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers in seven games.

That’s it for the Eastern Conference now. Next part will begin the coverage of the Western Conference, starting with the Central Division.