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Inside the Eastern Conference Standings - November 25

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James O’Brien

Every now and then, we’ll take a look at each conference’s standings to see if there are any trends or quirks that explain why some teams are failing and others are overachieving. Obviously, these results will reveal bigger truths once we advance later into this season … but it’s still fun and interesting to take a peek at bigger picture numbers.

Check out last month’s edition of the Eastern Conference Standings here.

Which teams are the hottest and coldest? Which teams are road warriors and who depends too much on home cooking? Let’s take a look.

Washington might require the Presidents’ Trophy.

The Capitals are easily one of the most dangerous and talented teams in the NHL once again. Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are their usual all-world selves, but the real highlight is that Alexander Semin is (gasp) playing some defense and generally acting like a guy who can make a lot of money this season.

That being said, much like Superman, the Capitals are a little too dependent on The Phone Booth. They are 10-1-1 at home and 5-5-1 on the road.

The road hearty Bruins

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James O’Brien

At home, Boston is the definition of mediocre: 4-4-2. Yet away from Beantown, the Bruins are bold: 8-2-0 so far. There’s a chowder joke somewhere here, but I’d rather not make it.

The almost equally road hearty Atlantic

The Philadelphia Flyers (6-2-2), Pittsburgh Penguins (8-3-1) and New York Rangers (7-4-0) are all above .500 on the road. So what’s the difference? While the Penguins and Rangers come in at-or-below .500 at home, the Flyers are a robust 9-4-0.

Why the Flyers might be the best in the East

The Caps and Flyers boast identical 15-6-2 records, but Philly’s goal differential (+28) grossly outclasses Washington’s (+11).

The Islanders are lonely

It might not be by much, the Devils have a lot more hope than the Isles right now. If you combine all the other Eastern teams’ losing streaks (nine in a row overall) they don’t match the 14 game drought in Long Island.

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Florida must improve at losing

Look, it’s really sad that charity points exist, but that doesn’t mean that a team shouldn’t exploit them. The Panthers are 9-11-0, the only Eastern team without an overtime or shootout loss. Perhaps that explains why they’re the third worst team in the conference despite having a +2 goal differential.

(To be fair, they’ve only played 20 games so far.)

Tampa Bay cannot be ignored, Toronto might get worse

The Lightning played four more games on the road than at home, with only the Islanders suffering from the same negative disparity at this point. That difference might not be enough for them to catch up with the Capitals in the Southeast, but it will certainly help them stay ahead of the other division runner-ups.

Meanwhile, the Maple Leafs might tumble even more going forward, having played 12 games in Toronto and only eight on the road.

Mild Devils rebound?

If one seemingly hopeless team can turn things around (aside from the short on games played Panthers), it might be the Devils. For them, a 4-5-1 run in 10 games is actually pretty solid. Small victories, right?