A vacant throne

~ Last year's finalists did not qualify for the playoffs.

One thing is certain: A new team will skate with the Stanley Cup this year.

And it could be a club from the East no one saw coming.

For the first time in the modern NHL era, neither finalist from the previous season made it back to the playoffs. So with champion Carolina and Edmonton out of the picture, the 16 remaining teams begin their pursuit of the crown.

The Southeast Division provided the winners on each side of the seasonlong lockout -- Tampa Bay in 2004 and Carolina last year. The Lightning and Hurricanes earned top seeds in the Eastern Conference, then beat upstarts from the bottom of the West. Sixth-seeded Calgary got to Game 7 against Tampa Bay, and No. 8 Edmonton repeated the feat versus the Hurricanes.

New York Islanders goaltender Wade Dubielewicz skates toward the bench after the Islanders beat the New Jersey Devils, 3-2, in a shootout during NHL hockey Sunday, April 8, 2007 in East Rutherford, N.J. The Islanders win earned them a spot in the playoffs. (AP Photo/Bill Kostroun)

If another bottom-rung club makes a run, don't be surprised if it's a team closer to the Atlantic Ocean instead of the Pacific.

"Every team is dangerous," said 19-year-old Sidney Crosby, from the fifth-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins. "You always look at teams that finish off strong. It's all about timing."

You don't have to look any farther than Long Island to see that. The New York Islanders appeared out of the playoff race following noncompetitive losses just over a week ago to powerhouses Buffalo and Ottawa in the aftermath of goalie Rick DiPietro's concussion.

Yet, they bounced back with four straight wins and eked into the playoffs ahead of Toronto and Montreal on the final day of the season by beating New Jersey in a shootout. Now they have their sights set on top-seeded Buffalo, which earned 113 points and had the NHL's best record for the first time in team history.

"It's all about opportunity in this game," said Islanders forward Ryan Smyth, acquired from Edmonton at the trade deadline. "We didn't quit, and obviously I was an added extra piece to the puzzle to help the organization get in. That's all you can ask for as a player is to get in."

Carolina Hurricanes goaltender Cam Ward gave up a goal in a game last week. Carolina, the 2006 Stanley Cup champions, missed the playoffs this year. (MIKE CARLSON ~ Associated Press)

The Rangers earned the No. 6 seed on the strength of a 13-3-4 surge and joined Pittsburgh, the Islanders and second-seeded New Jersey as Atlantic Division teams to qualify. Only Philadelphia, which posted the league's worst record, was left out of the postseason party.

Out West, Detroit again is at the top. The Central Division-winning Red Wings tied the Sabres in points, a season after capturing the Presidents' Trophy, but failed to repeat because they fell three wins short of the Sabres' NHL-high 53.

Now they hope to avoid another first-round flameout against Calgary after getting knocked out quickly last year by No. 8 Edmonton. The Flames wrapped up the final berth in the West on the second-to-last night of the season, when Colorado's comeback ended in a loss to Nashville.

If the Red Wings slip up, Pacific champion Anaheim will be ready to step up. No longer Mighty, the Ducks are in the playoffs for the first time as division champions. Their first test is against the seventh-seeded Minnesota Wild, and star goalie Niklas Backstrom.

"It's a toss up," said defenseman Chris Pronger, in his first season with Anaheim. "Any team can get hot, much like we did last year in Edmonton as the eighth seed."

Carolina Hurricanes head coach Peter Laviolette talks with the media Sunday, June 18, 2006, in Raleigh, N.C. After becoming just the third team to win the Cup and then miss the playoffs the next season, last year's champions now have five long months to rest, recover and stew over what went wrong. (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker,file)

The Wild hope Backstrom will lead them deep into the postseason. In his first NHL season, Backstrom posted the lowest goals-against average (1.97) and highest save percentage (.929).

No team will be relying on inexperienced players more than the Penguins, who will be facing the Ottawa Senators, who often come in with tons of potential but have yet to reach the Stanley Cup finals.

Crosby posted an NHL-best 120 points -- including 84 assists -- and became the youngest scoring champion in NHL history four months before his 20th birthday. He is the first teenager in major sports history to win a scoring title.

If he and rookie Evgeni Malkin can supply the scoring punch, and young goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can stand tall in the nets, the Penguins could be the latest team to spoil the Senators' postseason plans.

"You can't make up for the experience unless you've actually gone through it," Crosby said. "I've been through situations before, not in the NHL, but in juniors and world juniors that I can use to prepare me. I don't have sense of being nervous, but a sense of being focused."

The Penguins get started in Ottawa on Wednesday, along with Minnesota at Anaheim, San Jose at Nashville in the West's 4-5 matchup, and No. 6 Dallas at No. 3 Vancouver.

New York's Rangers open at Southeast winner Atlanta on Thursday, the first playoff game in the Thrashers' seven NHL seasons. Calgary will be at Detroit, Tampa Bay visits Atlantic champion New Jersey, and the Islanders begin their tough series at Buffalo, which lost Game 7 of last year's Eastern Conference finals at Carolina.

"We got a taste about what it's all about," Sabres forward Jason Pominville said. "It makes you want to get more and more. Hopefully, we can get to that next step."