With the NHL season set to get underway October 7th in Finland, every team has had a long off season to make changes and gear up for a whole new campaign. The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last year after defeating the Philadelphia Flyers in overtime in game six of the finals. This year, there are jumble of contenders with no clear cut favorite to win Lords Stanley Cup. That being said, this is the first of two installments of what to expect in the upcoming season. When looking at the Eastern Conference, these are the teams that should come out of their division on top. Predictions: Atlantic Division Winner: Philadelphia Flyers The Flyers are in probably the toughest division in hockey, a division that includes Pittsburgh, New Jersey, and New York. The Flyers still made the finals last year as a seven seed and are bringing back virtually the same team. With veteran center Mike Richards as the captain and a great pair of goaltenders in Brian Boucher and Michael Leighton, Philly is looking poised for a great year. Northeast Division Winner: Boston Bruins Everyone knows (and does not want to be reminded of) the tough exit Boston had from last year’s playoffs. The B’s however did have an excellent offseason. The Bruins had the #2 overall pick in the draft and used it on Tyler Seguin, who is an immensely talented young center out of the OHL. Seguin joins a team that already has great play in goal (Tuukka Rask), and a solid lineup including center Marc Savard and captain Zdeno Chara on defense. The defense was number one in the NHL in 2009-10. The Bruins want to abolish any memories of last season and get off to a great start in 2010-11. Southeast Division Winner: Washington Capitals This one is a no brainier. Washington has been the best regular season team in the NHL for at least three years now and are showing no signs of slowing down this season. They hope to capture another president’s trophy (best record in NHL) behind great play from superstars Alexander Ovechkin and Alexander Semin. Being in a weak division, the capitals, who averaged nearly four goals a game last year, are looking better by the day. The question has always been if the Capitals can succeed in the postseason, which they have been unable to do. However, this is a new year and a newly dedicated Washington team.