It’s that time of year again! There is the chill in the air of October, and you know what that means…Hockey Season! Most at this point by now know that the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup in the 2014-2015 season(If you don’t I’m assuming you carry on yourself at all times a hockey shield.) Anyhow, us hockey fans are beginning to shake off the cobwebs of the offseason and are beginning to prepare ourselves for what is to come in this 2015-2016 NHL season.

Locally, we have three teams that we will be covering a light preview for; these teams being: Boston Bruins, New York Islanders and the New York Rangers.

Bruins:

Last season, the Bruins had a fantastic run and just barely missed  qualifying for a WildCard position in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Their defense, offense and goaltending abilities were relatively solid  for a majority of the season last year, but their defense began to deteriorate  toward the end, effectively disabling the team from making it into a postseason.

This season however we will be seeing a strong a team as ever for the Bruins. The only area where strain will really be able to be seen is in their defensive line where they really suffered last year. But this season ushers in new prospects which means new mining for potentially golden talent. If their offensive line can remain relatively sound as it has been over the past few seasons and if they cultivate some of their newer prospects, we can potentially see this team do much better overall this season compared to last.

Islanders:

The Islander’s last season had a pretty impressive run, until of course they were stopped dead in their tracks by the Washington Capitals  in the first round of the postseason Stanley Cup Playoffs. But that’s needless to say that they ended last year third in the Metropolitan Division, which is impressive by anyone’s standards.

This season we are looking at a mostly intact roster from last season making a reappearance. In the news for them will be an arena move to Brooklyn which could take the team a while to get used to.  Their potential talent is also going to be a major point to watch this season as we continue to watch their newer players develop into what could be major roles for the team. Overall, if they can rekindle the fire that they had going last year, the Islanders can and will be capable of putting themselves back in a good Playoffs position this 2015-2016 season.

Rangers:

To no one’s surprise the Ranger’s made it into the postseason playoffs last year after an all around impressive season from the Metropolitan Division leader in the 2014-2015 season. Overall, they topped the standings last year with a whopping 113 regular season points, a full four points above any of their closest competition.  These impressive numbers are a result of a well oiled, cohesive team that ran the mill last year.

This season we can expect to see many of last year’s familiar faces. Not to mention the wall-of-a-goalie Lundqvist. So far he has prevailed accompanied with the solid defensive-line the Rangers have managed to upkeep for the past few seasons. This will prevent many teams from easily overpowering this elite team without putting up a major fight through offensive tactics. If the team can scramble together a solid forward line as well, the team will have no trouble dominating the conference like the season prior.

The NHL teams in the local area are shaping up to have a promising year if they can buckle-down their weak areas early in the season. Fortunately for us hockey fans, everything is just beginning to take place and we will be able to keep up with our favorite teams for another great hockey season.