Boston Bruins and the Top Ten 2011 Stanley Cup Hopeful Teams

As they leave the fun and pageantry of the All-Star break behind them, the 30 teams of the NHL look forward to playing strong in the home stretch of their seasons. These last 30 games can define a season and a championship run. All the games leading up to now have just been the foundation. The real quest that ends with the hoisting of Lord Stanley’s Cup lies ahead in the next two, grueling months.

These ten teams will undergo hardships, injuries, controversies and tough losses that will break them down mentally and physically. These same teams however, will—if they can continue to play at their high standard of play—be around in June to play for one of the most historic and coveted trophies in all of sports.

Today we at Bleacher Report take a moment to gaze into the crystal ball and see who will be vying for the NHL’s highest honor just four short months from now. Here are the top 10 Stanley Cup contenders this season.

Honorable Mention: Chicago Blackhawks

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DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 22: Tomas Kopecky #82 of the Chicago Black Hawks celebrates his goal with teammates Marian Hossa #81 and Duncan Keith #2 in a game against the Detroit Red Wings on January 22, 2011 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Ha

I would be remiss if I left the defending champs off this list. The simple fact is that the core of that Cup winning team is still there, they are just shrouded in a layer of…well…consistent mediocrity.

The Chicago Blackhawks have scored 21 more goals than they have allowed this season—an average of almost half a goal per game. They also rank tops in power play percentage and fourth in goals per game. However, the early season goaltending letdown of Marty Turco and their dismal penalty kill leave them currently one point out of the eighth and final playoff spot in the West.

Sure, I believe they will make the playoffs.  They can still play the same brand of fast, physical and simply dominant hockey that earned them the right to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup last spring; I’m just not sure if they can play that brand of hockey enough down the stretch and throughout the playoffs to make it back to hockey’s Promised Land.

10. Montreal Canadiens

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MONTREAL, CANADA - FEBRUARY 2: Tomas Plekanec #14 of the Montreal Canadiens celebrates his third-period goal with teammates during the NHL game against the Florida Panthers at the Bell Centre on February 2, 2011 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The Canadien

The Montreal Canadiens are always hanging around the playoff talks this time of year. The difference this season is that they have a legitimate chance at going the distance. They have had very consistent goaltending from Carey Price and fantastic backup duties held down by Alex Auld.

Les Habitants also have the seventh best PK unit in the league, and have a good mix of veteran leadership in Scott Gomez and Brian Gionta and the young talent of Mike Cammaleri and P.K. Subban.

The concern with the Canadiens is their offense—ranked 24^th in goals for this season—but I wouldn’t be the first person to state that defense wins championships.

Combine that with the fact that they would likely be squaring off against the Boston Bruins in the early rounds of the playoffs and, well…ask a Bruins fan to explain why that is good news for the Habs.

9. New York Rangers

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NEW YORK, NY - JANUARY 19: Steve Eminger #44 of the New York Rangers and Marian Gaborik #10 celebrate Gaborik's hat trick goal against the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden on January 19, 2011 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Im

The New York Rangers are in the same boat as the Canadiens, just in a much tougher division. They have held strong, however, through injuries to Vaclav Prospal, Marian Gaborik, Chris Drury and Alexander Frolov, who is out for the season with a knee injury.

They have gotten great production out of a lot of their forwards from all lines, though. Brandon Dubinsky, Gaborik and Derek Stepan all have 30 or more points this season and Brian Boyle leads the team with 18 goals—not stellar numbers, but enough to move forward with.

Their power play is lacking, but both their goaltending and their penalty kill unit have been in the top 10 all season so look for them to be a factor in the East come April.

8. Detroit Red Wings

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DETROIT, MI - FEBRUARY 4: Jimmy Howard #35 of the Detroit Red Wings turns a shot away in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets on February 4, 2011 at the Joe Louis Arena in Detroit, Michigan. The Blue Jackets defeated the Wings 3-0. (Photo by Claus An

The Detroit Red Wings are the collective embodiment of their legendary right winger Gordie Howe in that they simply refuse to be irrelevant or forgotten.

The leaders in the Central Division of the Western Conference are the opposite of the last two teams on this list. The Red Wings are a pure and simple offensive powerhouse—ranking tops in the league in goals scored and goal differential—but they are lacking on the back end.

The Wings have had patches of great defensive play, but their goaltending continues to suffer due to the loss of Chris Osgood to a hernia and the continuing disappointment of Jimmy Howard. He has averaged 2.87 goals against this season while just eking out a .903 save percentage between the pipes.

At the other end of the rink though, their stars like Henrik Zetterberg, Johan Franzen and Pavel Datsyuk continue to produce the kinds of huge numbers we have come to expect from the forwards in Hockeytown. Not to mention the offensive production from Nicklas Lidstrom and Brian Rafalski on the back end.

Detroit will have to keep winning just on sheer will and offensive firepower, and I’m not convinced that they will be able to, but if they can they have the power to run right to the Finals.

7. Washington Capitals

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WASHINGTON - MARCH 28: Alexander Semin #28 and Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals warm up before the game against the Calgary Flames at the Verizon Center on March 28, 2010 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Greg Fiume/Getty Images)

If Alex Ovechkin could actually score his mythical, TV-ad based Ovechtrick, the Washington Capitals would be much higher up this list. As it stands now in the real world, however, Washington continues the theme of an asymmetrical playoff contender.

The Capitals boast the second best penalty kill in the league and one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL this season. Semyon Varlamov and Michal Neuvirth have both played very well in the crease, allowing a collective 2.4 goals against average through the first 54 games of the season.

The surprise is that this year the offense is lacking—just 2.7 per game—good enough for 18^th in the league. That number isn’t for Ovechkin’s lack of trying, though, as he has netted 19 goals and 51 points thus far this season.

If Ovechkin’s supporting cast can step up even more, look for the Capitals to be playing late in April.

6. Pittsburgh Penguins

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PITTSBURGH, PA - JANUARY 05: Sidney Crosby #87 of the Pittsburgh Penguins skates during warmups prior to taking on the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 5, 2011 at Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images)

Let me start this slide by saying that I despise Sidney Crosby. I think he is a pompous, selfish, egotistical, one-way forward who has been over-hyped and over-credited since before he was drafted. I also don’t believe he is the best forward playing in the league today, and—Penguins fans look away—maybe not even in the top five.

However, Sid the Kid and his Pittsburgh Penguins edge out their rivals in our nation’s capital on his shoulders alone. Let’s face it, other “drawbacks” aside, the kid can score. He has put up gaudy numbers before, but his numbers in both goals scored and in total points this year are just obscene. To date, he has 66 points on 32 goals and 34 assists.

The concern is really in the rest of the team.  Granted, they are solid on defense and Marc-Andre Fleury is having a career year—averaging 2.20 goals against average and a .924 save percentage—but the next highest goal scoring forward behind Crosby is Chris Kunitz with 18.

If teams in the playoffs can find ways to neutralize Crosby—and have no qualms about the fact that they will—who will step up to take his place on the score sheet? Much like the case with Ovechkin, if his supporting cast can start to produce as well, look for Crosby to be playing deep into April. That could be a very large “if,” however.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning

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RALEIGH, NC - JANUARY 30: Team Lidstrom players Steven Stamkos #91 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates with Martin St. Louis #26 of the Tampa Bay Lightning after Stamkos scored a second period goal against Team Staal in the 58th NHL All-Star Game at RB

The Tampa Bay Lightning are a shock to every hockey fan’s collective system. Sure, they have won in the past, even winning the Stanley Cup in 2004. Don’t forget that they have some of the same stars as they did when they won the franchise’s only cup—namely Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier.

The difference between the last two years and the other post-lockout years, however, is the addition of Steven Stamkos. The kid only turns 21 on Monday, and he already has 113 goals and 209 points in his first two and a half seasons in the NHL, 39 of those goals in 52 games played this year.

He is a tall, fast forward who plays physically and puts up simply impossible numbers. He averages almost 20 minutes of ice time per game, and if Lightning head coach Guy Boucher could give him more, I’m sure he would.

Their defense hasn’t been impenetrable, and their goaltending is suspect with the goalie by committee pairing of Dan Ellis and Mike Smith. The Lightning are on a tear right now though—having won their last six games in a row—and don’t show any signs of slowing down atop of a very hotly contested Northeast Division.

4. Vancouver Canucks

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VANCOUVER, CANADA - JANUARY 26: Goalie Roberto Luongo #1 of the Vancouver Canucks watches the puck roll into the corner after making a pad save against the Nashville Predators during the last minute of the third period in NHL action on January 26, 2011 at

Oh the Vancouver Canucks. How they always play well in the regular season and then find ways to throw it away in the playoffs remains one of the great mysteries of the modern NHL.

They have Roberto Luongo, one of the best goaltenders in the league in the last decade. He continues that tradition this season with a 2.22 goals against average and .926 save percentage.

They also have the All-Star Sedin Twins, who alone are two of the best forwards in the Western Conference. Combined, they are an unstoppable force, accounting for 129 points and 38 goals between the two of them. Along with Ryan Kesler, they are one of the most potent offenses in the Western Conference, only possibly behind Detroit.

Yet, unlike almost every other Cup contender, they play hard at both ends of the ice, being no lower than third in goals per game, goals against average, power play percentage and penalty kill percentage. Their defense is centered on the strong veteran play of Keith Ballard, Kevin Bieksa, Cristian Ehrhoff and Dan Hamhuis.

Frankly they would be number one on this list was it not for the lack of depth in their division and the warning in my heart that they always find a way to screw it up in the postseason.

3. Dallas Stars

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DALLAS - APRIL 08: Center Mike Modano #9 of the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center on April 8, 2010 in Dallas, Texas. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

The question in Dallas at the start of the season was, “can we win in the post-Modano era?” I’d imagine that question now would be, “who was that Mike Modano guy anyway?”

The Dallas Stars are not standouts in any one particular area, but they play a lot of close games and win more than they lose. They are actually averaging the same number of goals for and against, amounting to a goal differential of only +4 this season.

They have a secret weapon in the very strong Pacific Division however:

Consistency

They have very similar records at home and on the road, and are 6-4-0 in their last 10. They may still be relying on Brad Richards a bit too much, but it has worked for them so far. My only concern down the stretch is how their goaltending will stand up. Kari Lehtonen has just never felt like a Stanley Cup winning goaltender to me.

That being said neither did Antti Niemi, and my beloved Blackhawks couldn’t have won the Cup without him so maybe it says more about me than about Lehtonen.

2. Boston Bruins

The Boston Bruins are the East’s answer to Vancouver. Aside from their frankly atrocious power play unit, Boston is sixth, first and fourth respectively in goals per game, goals against and penalty kill percentage.

They continue to get All-Star production out of Zdeno Chara and have five forwards with 30 points or more this season. Of those five forwards, only David Krejci has less than 10 goals, and he more than makes up for it with his team leading 28 assists.

What really convinces me that the Bruins will be in the conference finals this year though is the level of play they have received from Tim Thomas. Go to the NHL's League Leaders stats page and you will see what I mean.

Thomas leads all goaltenders in every major category, and while he is tied for first in both shutouts (7) and wins (25), he is head and shoulders above the rest in both save percentage (.945) and goals against average (1.82).

If Thomas can continue to play at this level, not only will he be contending for a Stanley Cup championship, he will run away with the Vezina Trophy and get more than a few “novel” votes for league MVP.

1. Philadelphia Flyers

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - JANUARY 25: Scott Gomez #11 of the Montreal Canadiens is restrained as Chris Pronger #20 of the Philadelphia Flyers shoves at him during an NHL hockey game at the Wells Fargo Center on January 25, 2011 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (

Remember my dislike for Sidney Crosby? Imagine that level of aversion extrapolated over an entire team—reduce it due to the fact that they aren’t the Red Wings—and you have my level of dislike for the Philadelphia Flyers.

I never liked anything about the Flyers growing up except their jerseys, and while their latest throwback style jerseys are among the best in the league, my abhorrence for them has only grown since they squared off against my Blackhawks in last year’s Stanley Cup Finals.

The antics of Chris Pronger, the waste of ice time that is Daniel Carcillo and, now, Jody Shelley and the ever-growing ego of Peter Laviolette drive me mad. They represent everything that is, in my humble opinion, wrong with the hockey being played in the Eastern Conference.

Just like Crosby, however, they do one thing right that I cannot disagree with: They play hard, day in and day out, and win games.

The Flyers are tops in the Eastern Conference and Atlantic Division this season and represent what a properly balanced team should play like. They are second in goals scored and ninth in goals against through 52 games this season and while their special teams as a whole are not spectacular, they get the job done.

The surprise of the season has been the play of their 22-year-old rookie netminder Sergei Bobrovsky. He has compiled a 22-7-3 record over 33 starts this season and has allowed less than 80 goals in his 34 games played.

He is also second to only Chicago’s Corey Crawford in both goals against average and save percentage among rookie goaltenders.

With their strong offense provided by Claude Giroux, Mike Richards, Jeff Carter, Danny Briere and Villie Leino and the continuing strength of Matt Carle, Kimmo Timonen and Chris Pronger on the back end, don’t be surprised to see Philly in the Finals again this year.