When a team ties for third place in a division and then reaches the Stanley Cup finals, two potential conclusions arise:
The third-place team, the Buffalo Sabres, played possum and turned it on when it had to.
The Northeast Division is deep.
Even though smart and talented teams know what's important and how to save energy for the postseason, it's doubtful Sabres coach Lindy Ruff allowed his team to take it easy at any juncture last season.
So, it's safe to say the Northeast Division has several teams capable of winning a lot of games. But there's a bit of irony here because even though the Ottawa Senators earned 103 points last season, none of the Northeast teams looks amazing on paper.
They're just good, well-coached hockey teams ... not great, well-coached hockey teams.
The distinction clarifies itself with a quick roster comparison with the Dallas Stars, Detroit Red Wings or Colorado Avalanche. What line would Pat Verbeek or Wendel Clark have played on for the Bruins? Claude Lemieux on the Maple Leafs? Igor Larionov on the Sabres?
But none of that takes away from the fact that, on any given night, a Northeast Division team, save the Montreal Canadiens, can beat anyone in the NHL.
|  | | Holdout Alexei Yashin may not wear a Senators uniform again. |
Sens won't fall too far without Yashin
Even the Ottawa Senators without Alexei Yashin remain a solid team.
There's excellent young talent in Radek Bonk and Marian Hossa, who is poised for a breakout year, as well as slightly older Daniel Alfredsson, Magnus Arvedson and Andreas Dackell.
"The fact remains we still have a pretty good hockey club," coach Jacques Martin told the Ottawa Sun. "We reached the elite level last year. If everybody gives a little more (to make up for Yashin's absence), we should compete for that again."
Alfredsson could be the key. He's coming off two subpar seasons, but if he can regain his scoring touch -- 26 goals en route to winning rookie of the year in '95-96 -- depth won't be hurt so much by Yashin's absence.
"Alfredsson is a guy we expect more from," Martin said. "The last two years have been difficult for him. His game was not at the same level it was three years ago."
Another Ottawa player to watch is Ron Tugnutt. Damian Rhodes is gone, so Tugnutt's 1.79 GAA and .925 save percentage best not have been aberrations. However, based on Tugnutt's steady improvement the last three seasons, he should be solid once again.
Motivated Sabres ready for Hasek farewell tour
Buffalo has two compelling items to motivate it this season.
The first is Brett Hull's in-the-crease goal that ended the Sabres' surprising Cup run in the finals. The second is Dominik Hasek's final season.
Truth be told, Hasek's departure after this season could be the Sabres' last chance to compete with the big boys for some time. That's not to say the Sabres aren't a good team -- they are. But Hasek gives them a presence, some say an aura, that translates into wins.
Hasek continues his no-nonsense approach, despite the hoopla surrounding his announced retirement.
"I have to think about the game," he said. "We need to win some games on the road to get back to the playoffs."
But if players such as Miroslav Satan and Curtis Brown don't end their holdouts soon, all the saves in the world won't get the Sabres back to the Cup finals.
Dafoe holdout hurts Bruins
The Boston Bruins' fate also depends heavily on a netminder. Except at the moment, Byron Dafoe's impact has nothing to do with his on-ice play as he continues to hold out in a contract dispute.
Bruins GM Harry Sinden is notorious for playing hardball, but if something doesn't happen soon with Dafoe, the Bruins will be hurt in the standings.
Don't tell that to interim No. 1 goalie Rob Tallas.
"With my situation, I felt I was No. 1 coming into camp," Tallas told the Boston Globe. Tallas may have a point because he has had an inpressive preseason with a save percentage better than .925.
"I have a lot of confidence and I just want to continue it into the season," he said.
As long as Pat Burns coaches and Ray Bourque plays defense, the Bruins will compete. But "little" things like Dafoe's presence, center Jason Allison's consistency and Joe Thornton's development will determine whether the Bruins will win the numerous close games they'll be in.
The Habs are have nots
Mentioning the Canadiens last reflects the quality of the team but also the degree of excitement this team engenders, which is not much.
It's amazing that a team so rich in tradition can fall so low, but it's more a statement to how the NHL must address the Canadian teams rather than simple management questions.
With free agency, name games are not what they used to be, but let's play anyway.
What would Montreal be like with Patrick Roy, Vincent Damphousse, Mark Recchi, Stephane Quintal and Mathieu Schneider? Don't even add Chris Chelios because it feels like he has been gone from Montreal for too long.
The Canadiens are thin, especially on defense where Vladimir Malakhov is out four months with a knee injury. Malakhov plays a huge role on the power play, so goals will be hard to come by unless someone steps up to play the point on the man advantage.
Brian A. Shactman is the NHL editor for ESPN.com.
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