5 NHL Teams That Will Return to the Playoffs in 2013-14

The lockout-shortened season left a lot of teams wondering what could've been had there been a full 82-game schedule played.

There were those that missed the playoffs by tiebreakers, and there were others that unfortunately got cold at the wrong time of the season, as others went on hot streaks during the final playoff push.

In all, five teams that made the final 16 in 2011-12 missed the cut in April.

Here are five teams that will forget about 2012-13 and make it back to the playoffs in 2013-14.

Columbus Blue Jackets

The Blue Jackets might have had the best offseason in the NHL.

Early on, there was talk that Vezina Trophy-winner Sergei Bobrovsky might bolt for the KHL, as reported by R-sport in June.

Priority No. 1 was taken care of when Bobrovsky re-signed for the next two years.

Power forward Nathan Horton joins a roster that will flourish with Marian Gaborik and James Wisniewski healthy headed into the 2013-14 campaign.

Horton had a bit of a slow year for his standards—13 goals and nine assists in 46 games with the Bruins—but if he can add 20 goals, the Blue Jackets will be in great shape offensively.

Look for alternate captain Brandon Dubinsky to have a great year. In 10 games after Gaborik and Dubinsky were reunited, he had one goal and 10 assists in 10 games. His last three games included the game-winning goal against Nashville when Columbus knew it had to win to stay alive in the playoff race. This is the kind of clutch performance the team will need moving forward.

Scoring was an issue last season, as the Jackets finished 25th in goals a game. It's hard to imagine they'll have similar results next season. Their roster is equipped with five forwards who have scored 20-plus goals in a season—including Gaborik, who's scored 40-plus three times. Additionally, Artem Anisimov and Cam Atkinson were both on pace to eclipse the 20-goal mark.

The Jackets tied the Minnesota Wild in points but fell short because of a tiebreaker for the No. 8 seed in the West.

Now in the Eastern Conference, things don't get any easier for them. Four teams in their new division made the playoffs last year, and with the Detroit Red Wings also moving to the East, nine teams in the conference made it past the regular season. 

This won't matter if they can stay healthy. On paper, the Jackets have one of the better, younger teams in the NHL.

The team has only made it to the playoffs once since joining the league in 2000, and they are still winless. However, they're ready to take the next step toward returning to the playoffs and being a little more competitive this time around.

Tampa Bay Lightning

"They" say the best offense is a good defense, but general manager Steve Yzerman has chosen to tune "them" out.

With an opportunity to draft the top defenseman in the draft, Seth Jones, he instead opted for winger Jonathan Drouin.

With this kind of added firepower, combined with star scorers Steven Stamkos and Martin St. Louis, there's no doubt the Lightning will score goals—a lot of goals.

They were third to only Pittsburgh and Chicago in goals scored a game—not bad company—however, they were in the bottom five in goals against. Of the 10 teams that finished worst in goals against per game, only one, the New York Islanders, made the playoffs last season.

Lightning fans need not fret. There's hope for them in the defensive end. 

Ben Bishop went 3-4-1 with a 2.99 GAA and .917 save percentage—a better GAA and save percentage than Mathieu Garon and Anders Lindback had. He was the only goaltender to have a shutout for the team.

A full season under head coach Jon Cooper should help, too. Cooper has enjoyed great success in the American Hockey League. In 2011-12, the Norfolk Admirals won the Calder Cup. The team was great offensively, but perhaps the stat that stands out the most is that only two other teams gave up fewer goals than the Admirals.

Teaming up with new assistants Rick Bowness and George Gwozdecky, Cooper should bring the Lightning back to the postseason in 2013-14.

Nashville Predators

One team's pass was another team's opportunity.

Nashville was probably hoping for Jonathan Drouin at fourth overall to address their scoring issues at the NHL draft in April, but instead, 6'4", 205-pound defenseman Seth Jones fell to them and management felt he was just too good to pass up.

Jones joins arguably the deepest defensive unit in the NHL. Lead by captain Shea Weber, the unit boasts underrated defensemen Roman Josi and Kevin Klein to round out their projected top four on the blue line—a top four capable of shutting down the best offensive teams in the league.

Factor in two-time Vezina Trophy nominee Pekka Rinne, and the Preds will be one of the toughest teams to score on in the league.

The question is, have they done enough to address their offensive woes?

Nashville tied the Florida Panthers for dead last in goals a game last season. The team revamped its roster up front, bringing in Matt Cullen, Matt Hendricks, Eric Nystrom and Viktor Stalberg via free agency.

Stalberg could easily hit 20 goals in the right situation, and the rest will provide some much-needed secondary scoring from the bottom six.

There's also rookie Filip Forsberg, who should add some modest scoring for the Preds, too.

Look for head coach Barry Trotz to lead his team back to the playoffs in a weak Central Division.

Edmonton Oilers

Edmonton Oilers fans have been waiting and waiting for the young talent on the roster to develop and lead them back to the promised land.

Third-year forward Taylor Hall had his coming out party last season, as he tallied 16 goals and 34 assists in 45 games.

Not to be overlooked was Sam Gagner's breakout season. He had 14 goals and 24 assists in 48 games. In an 82-game season, Gagner was on pace for 23 goals and 41 assists.

It won't come as a huge surprise if Jordan Eberle, Nail Yakupov and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins follow suit and have a big year of their own. 

Key offseason additions David Perron and Andrew Ference should help captain Ryan Smyth and 30-year-old Ales Hemsky provide veteran leadership. 

If goaltender Devan Dubnyk can have a good year, there's no reason this team couldn't go deep into the playoffs.

Phoenix Coyotes

The weight has been lifted. The Phoenix Coyotes finally have a real owner. Now the question is, can they get back to the playoffs and try to make that push past the conference finals and earn a Stanley Cup berth?

Much of the core from the 2011-12 team that made it to the Western Conference Final is still intact. 

The Coyotes were not bad in five-on-five situations. They had a goal differential of 1.06, good for 11th in the league. The problem for the Coyotes was special teams.

The 'Yotes finished 25th on the power play and 22nd on the penalty kill. The addition of Mike Ribeiro should help drastically with the former. On the man advantage, the free-agent acquisition had six goals and 21 assists in 48 games with the Capitals last season.

New assistant head coach Newell Brown should also bolster the power play. Brown spent the last three seasons working on the Vancouver Canucks' power play, which finished first in 2010-11 and fourth in 2011-12. 

As for the penalty kill, well, perhaps coach Dave Tippett is hoping some of his youngsters will take a step forward next season. He mentioned 23-year-old defenseman Michael Stone specifically to NHL.com's Tal Pinchevsky recently:

"

He plays all situations. He's played some power play for us. He's a shot-blocker on the penalty kill. He's a player I really feel will take a step forward this year. We're looking for big things from him. He reminds me of a younger Adrian Aucoin. The way he plays the game, a right-handed shot, smart player who plays well positionally—just a solid all-round player.

"

If they hope to return to the playoffs, they'll need players like Stone, Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Mikkel Boedker to continue their development and have an increased role on special teams.

There's no reason the Coyotes can't honor long-awaited new management with an appearance in the playoffs in 2013-14.

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