Northeast upside down?

It was only a matter of time for the Ottawa Senators to start fulfilling some of the promises. Senators are turning heads around the league by playing much better hockey than before.

The Senators have been in the NHL since 1992 and always belonged in the cellar of the Eastern Conference. Years of building and enjoying high draft picks are finally producing fruit.

Ottawa is loaded with potential talent. Young players like Daniel Alfredsson, Alexei Yashin, Wade Redden and Chris Phillips will have a lasting impact and may well turn the Senators to an Eastern powerhouse.

If Ottawa's success was predictable, same couldn't be said about the rise of the Boston Bruins.

It was only last spring that the Bruins missed the playoffs for the first time in 29 years. Off-season firing of coach Steve Kasper and the hiring of Pat Burns as the new head coach, seemed to have been steps to the right direction.

With signings of their two first draft choices, center Joe Thornton and left wing Sergei Samsonov, the Bruins have stocked up with young talent. For now, things are looking up in Beantown.