Bolts By The Bay Mailbag: Who Are The Biggest Threats To The Tampa Bay Lightning In The Eastern Conference

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May 26, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (18) battles with New York Rangers right wing Jesper Fast (19) during the third period in game six of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports

Last weeks BBTB mailbag started with the Atlantic Division, this week we switch it up and see who will compete for the top three spots in the Metropolitan Division.

The Metropolitan division as I said before has six teams that will compete for the top three sports in the division that automatically send you on to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The teams that will be competing will be (in no certain order) the New York Rangers, New York Islanders, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Columbus Blue Jackets, and Philadelphia Flyers. Sorry Devils and Hurricanes fans, maybe next year.

Lets start with the Presidents Trophy winner of the NHL. The New York Rangers had an interesting offseason and probably lost the more pieces from their roster than any of the other teams we will mention later. The loss of Martin St. Louis to retirement, Carl Hagelin in a trade with the Anaheim Ducks, and Cam Talbot via trade to the Edmonton Oilers will hurt, but the Rangers are counting on their replacements to help fill those holes. Those names are Antti Raanta, Emerson Etem, and Jarret Stoll. With king Henrik Lundqvist in net they should be fine and find a spot in the top three.

With their first year in Brooklyn about to begin, the Islanders are bringing a talented group of players with them to Barclays Center. The loss of Lubomir Visnovsky on the back end will hurt, but with a young core of John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, and Ryan Strome leading the charge, the Islanders will still be a formidable foe.

The question is will Jaroslav Halak be able to sustain success between the pipes for the Isles? His 2.43 GAA and .914 SV% were impressive last season. They need him to once again be steller and have backup Thomas Greiss take some of the load so Halak is fresh come playoff time.

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Over in Pittsburgh, we all know about the addition of Phil Kessel that fills a need that the team had on their forward unit. They added Patric Hornqvist last year and he preformed well so they are hoping Kessel continues to score like he did in Toronto to solidify the team’s top six forward unit. Olli Maatta is also coming back and should play more than 20 games like he did last regular season, and Eric Fehr was a very underrated move that will perform very well on the team’s third line.

They have depth on both their forward and defensive units, but can they stay healthy this year? That is their biggest question. Other than as long as Marc-Andre Fleury plays well in net they should easily finish in one of the top three spots in the Metropolitan Division.

The most interesting team in this division arguably could be the Columbus Blue Jackets. The team made a big splash this offseason when they traded for Brandon Saad from the Chicago Blackhawks and signed him to a six-year, $36 million dollar contract. With a solid core of young players including Nick Foligno, Ryan Johansen, Saad, and Alexander Wennberg already in place and Sergei Bobrovsky between the pipes, Columbus could be a scary team if they can stay healthy.

Over in Washington, a team with the best powerplay last season may have just gotten better. With T.J. Oshie coming over from the St. Louis Blues, the loss of Joel Ward to the San Jose Sharks doesn’t seem so bad now. Along with having the best scorer in the game in Alexander Ovechkin and a star in the making in Braden Holtby between the pipes, the Washington Capitals may have the most complete roster in the Metropolitan Division.

A wildcard in this division race will be the Philadelphia Flyers. This team can light the lamp with the best of them on most nights, but their biggest questions come on the back end. Michael Del Zotto was a bright spot on the blue line last year and he was brought back on a two-year, $7.75 million dollar deal. The rest of the group is a question mark along with Steve Mason is net. If those two groups can provide above average play the Flyers could be a sleeper in the division.

Projected Final Metropolitan Division Standings

1. Y- Washington Capitals (112 points)

2. X- Pittsburgh Pittsburgh (108 points)

3. X- New York Rangers (101 points)

4. New York Islanders (99 points)

5. Columbus Blue Jackets (96 points)

6. Philadelphia Flyers (89 points)

7. New Jersey Devils (77 points)

8. Carolina Hurricanes (66 points)

Next: Over In The Atlantic Division

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