In this, the second installment of my NHL preview, I would like to focus on the Western conference, where a changing of the guard will occur as some of the top teams of the past few years will fall back to the pack, and others will step up to take their places in this new breed of NHL hockey.

Central Division

Look for the upstart Nashville Predators to take this division crown. Led by a very balanced offense featuring Paul Kariya, Steve Sullivan, and the newly acquired Jason Arnott, and solid in net with Thomas Vokoun, look for the Preds to score often and win around 45 games. Following Nashville will be the surprise teams of the West, the Chicago Blackhawks and the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Blackhawks will return to respectability with quality goaltending thanks to the resurgence of Nikolai Khabibulin and solid defense led by Brent Seabrook. Columbus, meanwhile, will see its offensive production skyrocket with the addition of Anson Carter and the healthy return of Rick Nash. Detroit will tumble mightily as it struggles to replace Manny Legace with Dominik Hasek. Detroit lost big time talent through retirement and free-agency and can’t expect to compete as well as last season. St. Louis, while improving upon last season, will still struggle to score goals on a consistent basis and will not have the defense in front of Manny Legace to stop many pucks from finding the back of the net.

Division Standings:
Nashville Predators
Chicago Blackhawks
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
St. Louis Blues