The final quarter of the regular season is upon us. ESPN.com takes a look at each team at the three-quarter pole and projects each team's conference finish and Stanley Cup odds:

Ottawa Senators (38-16-7-1)
Questions about the Senators' grit have always followed them into the postseason. They've been accused of not being mean enough, not being tough enough, not being built for anything other than the regular season. But it's hard to argue with what they've accomplished this year, despite a rare loss -- 4-3 to Florida on Thursday -- which is only a hiccup. Patrick Lalime, heading into the weekend, had a 2.12 goals-against average and .915 save percentage, and Daniel Alfredsson and Marian Hossa were leading the club (Nos. 1, 2) in scoring. Some of the team's thunder this year has been stolen by their financial problems and the distractions that followed, but their record continues to speak for itself. Just ask Toronto. When the clubs played recently, the Senators had no problem mixing it up, especially defenseman Wade Redden, who is having his best NHL season. They win at home, they win on the road, they beat good teams, they beat not-so-good teams. They've consistently been among the highest-scoring teams in the league, if not the highest scoring. Coach Jacques Martin recently joined the ranks of active coaches who have been behind the bench for 750 games. Will this be the year he finally gets his club into the Cup final? Their chances are better than they've ever been.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 1st
Odds of winning Cup: 5-2

New Jersey Devils (35-16-4-4)
They've been accused of being boring -- i.e. too defensive, which was a charge that had coach Pat Burns spitting tacks -- but despite injuries and a couple of bumps in the road, they continue to stay one of the conference's best clubs. They have arguably the best goaltender in the game right now in Martin Brodeur, who could be a finalist for both the Vezina and Hart trophies. The Devils have had some struggles winning at home lately and they miss Sergei Brylin (right wrist fracture), but they're too disciplined and deep not to finish strong. Defenseman Scott Stevens continues to be a force and center Joe Nieuwendyk has finally kicked it into gear. But Brodeur is the star of this team. After a 12-0-1-1 stretch, the club stumbled a bit -- admitting they stunk against Pittsburgh last week and were dropped by Ottawa on Wednesday -- but they have the talent and experience to go a long way.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 2nd
Odds of winning Cup: 2-1

Washington Capitals (28-24-7-3)
This has been one of the most Jekyll-and-Hyde teams in recent years. That unpredictability -- and infuriating inconsistency -- cost coach Ron Wilson his job and has provided a supreme challenge for new bench boss Bruce Cassidy. No one would argue that Jaromir Jagr isn't one of the greatest talents in the league -- and in history -- but when he doesn't feel like playing, the whole production falls apart. That's what happened early in the year. Jagr has since found his game, but many of his teammates have lost theirs. Heading into the weekend, the team had dropped two in a row and three of four, scoring just six goals in that span. And they're 2-14-1-1 against teams ahead of them in the standings. Goalie Olaf Kolzig's play has dipped of late, which can't happen if this club is going to go anywhere. "We've got some guys out there who want to make a difference," said Cassidy. "And we've got some guys to me who look like they don't want to make a difference. They just want to play their game and let someone else do it, and at some point, when you're a guy who is at the top of the pay scale or is considered a star on your team, you've got to step up in those games."
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 3rd
Odds of winning Cup: 8-1

Philadelphia Flyers (31-16-11-2)
General manager Bob Clarke loves to tinker with his roster. But whether he can pry a talented forward from a selling team at the deadline, or whether he wants to try to, remains to be seen. Because of their inconsistency, it's difficult to determine if the club has overcome its goal-scoring woes. After tallying just eight goals over a nine-game stretch -- their second extended drought of the season -- the club has 13 goals in their last four contests heading into the weekend. This is a veteran team but they have had more than their share of injuries. Left wing John LeClair continues to be snakebitten, although the Flyers should be used to not having him by now, and Simon Gagne is battling a groin problem. But the Flyers continue to nip at the heels of the Devils. Goaltender Roman Cechmanek, who was in net for the team's impressive 5-0 win over the Kings on Thursday, has dropped his goals-against average to 1.97, and the team is unbeaten in four games (2-0-2). They acquired talented, but underperforming, forward Sami Kapanen from Carolina, but he's goalless in six games since scoring in his Flyers debut. You have to think Clarke's not done.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 4th
Odds of winning Cup: 18-1

Toronto Maple Leafs (34-21-4-1)
The Maple Leafs received a giant shot in the arm when forward Gary Roberts returned to the lineup after recovering from double shoulder surgery. Heading into the weekend, the club was red hot. Roberts, playing in just his third game back, tallied two goals and one assist against Washington on Thursday. The 6-2 win was the Leafs' sixth straight on the road. Overall, the club had won four straight and nine out of 10. They are clicking on all cylinders, which was happening even before Roberts came back. Alexander Mogilny is a force again and goaltender Ed Belfour has more than lived up to his early promise that he was going to be rejuvenated for this year after signing as a free agent. Fans may not have forgotten their affection for Curtis Joseph, now in Detroit, but if Belfour can lead the Leafs to playoff success he'll earn his own spot in their hearts. Their quiet captain, Mats Sundin, is approaching the 1,000-game mark and 1,000-point milestone. While the team is strong, feisty and experienced, this may be the year -- after four seasons of mastery -- that they don't want to play the Ottawa Senators in the postseason.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 5th
Odds of winning Cup: 7-1

New York Islanders (28-23-6-2)
When you look down the Islanders' roster, it appeared the third best netminder on it was Garth Snow. Everyone has viewed Rick DiPietro as the heir apparent, but for awhile it looked as if Chris Osgood was going to carry the team for most of the season. However, it has been Snow who has taken over the top duties because of an injury to Osgood. When Osgood returns, which is imminent, there seems to be no reason not to continue to ride the hot hand. It was Snow who helped lead the Islanders to a 2-1-1 grueling road trip. The word being used around the team is unity. They don't give up that many scoring chances and when they do, Snow has been there to make the big save. They're playing as a team, which down the stretch helps forgive a lot of ills. "When they're all healthy, we have three excellent and capable goaltenders," said coach Peter Laviolette. "Garth has played better than we projected when Chris went down. We knew we would ride the hot goalie but we'll have some tough choices soon."
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 6th
Odds of winning Cup: 20-1

Boston Bruins (28-23-6-2)
Will the real Boston Bruins please stand up? If you evaluated the club based on the first two months, you would've thought they were going to be one of the top three teams in the conference, if not the whole league. If you evaluated them on the second two months, you'd have thought they were one of the most disappointing teams. Of late, the Bruins are floundering around trying to figure out what they are. They've been hit hard by injuries to their blue-line corps, their goaltending has been erratic and they've relied far too heavily on their top line of Joe Thornton, Glen Murray and Mike Knuble. Where goals were plentiful early on, now they can't seem to find the back of the net. When Thornton's line is scoring, the club usually wins. When it's not, their chances diminish significantly.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 7th
Odds of winning Cup: 25-1

Tampa Bay Lightning (25-21-9-5)
The Lightning dealt for goaltender John Grahame in hopes of easing the workload on Nikolai Khabibulin. But bringing Grahame in as an insurance policy has done far more than provide insurance. Grahame, who fell out of favor in Boston, has been playing extremely well. He had 27 saves against Atlanta in a 2-0 win, giving him two shutouts in eight starts. The line of Fredrik Modin, Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis continues to be consistently productive. One thing the Lightning has going for them is a balanced attack. They have four players with at least 50 points this year -- St. Louis, Vinny Prospal, Vincent Lecavalier and Richards -- and five with at least 40 (defenseman Dan Boyle being the fifth). Dave Andreychuk continues to be a force on the power play, as he has his entire career, and the Lightning have 22 points against division opponents, with only Dallas and Washington having more intradivisional success. But will all their talent be enough to keep them in playoff contention?
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 8th
Odds of winning Cup: 90-1

New York Rangers (24-30-7-2)
When president and general manager Glen Sather took over behind the bench after firing overmatched first-year coach Bryan Trottier, he declared that the team would make the playoffs. It wasn't exactly Mark Messier promising the Rangers would beat the Devils in the East final back in 1994, but it raised a number of eyebrows across the league. Then, when the team added another hefty salary to the already-bloated mix, trading for Alexei Kovalev, it appeared that could be enough to put them over the top or at least be the difference between the eighth and ninth spot -- which for the Rangers would be a huge difference. Now that Brian Leetch and Pavel Bure are back from injuries, you would think that would be enough to turn their fortunes from mind-boggling underachievers to at least a playoff team. With so many other clubs floundering, once the Grammys are over and the Rangers can get back to the East Coast, they could and should do some damage. But once again, the least predictable team in the league has the potential to finish out of the mix again.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 9th
Odds of winning Cup: 40-1

Montreal Canadiens (24-24-7-7)
Goaltending controversies, coaching controversies, just another typical season in Montreal. Michel Therrien, who led the club to a surprising first-round playoff victory over the No. 1-ranked Bruins last spring, was canned and netminder Jose Theodore, who was the toast of the NHL as the Vezina and Hart Trophy winner, struggled for survival at the first part of this year but has snapped back well. Jeff Hackett, unhappy with his playing time with the Habs, was shipped to Boston in a three-team deal that brought forward Niklas Sundstrom from San Jose. Sundstrom, largely used as a checking forward in his career, has proven to be a big help. One factor that gave a giant boost to Montreal's late-season run and playoff success was their buzzing forwards. Saku Koivu, their captain and spiritual leader, who made a comeback from abdominal cancer last spring, leads the way.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 10th
Odds of winning Cup: 30-1

Florida Panthers (18-22-11-9)
Coach Mike Keenan has a strong record of being able to kick-start the careers of young players. He did it with Joe Thornton during the brief time he was in Boston, and he has done it with Olli Jokinen. The Florida forward has terrific offensive gifts, which were on full display at the All-Star Game when he played on a line with Atlanta's Dany Heatley and Washington's Jaromir Jagr. Jokinen is just one of a few very bright stars on that roster. Despite trade rumors, Keenan said he believes goaltender Roberto Luongo has superstar potential. Although the Panthers may not be household names, if management decides to keep all their young forwards together, they have a chance to become one of the more interesting teams in the East.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 11th
Odds of winning Cup: 1,700-1

Pittsburgh Penguins (24-27-4-5)
Star/owner Mario Lemieux may be the top scorer in the league this season, but there's little else to cheer about in Pittsburgh. Lemieux, who might be retiring for good after this campaign, painted a very dismal picture of the franchise's finances, which is the reason he dealt Alexei Kovalev to the Rangers. Money problems in Buffalo and Ottawa have been well-chronicled, but the Penguins appear to be in serious trouble as well. Gone are the glory days of the early 1990s when Lemieux had Jagr to pass to. While other clubs have been adding players in an effort to bolster their chances of making the playoffs in some cases or going deep into the postseason in others, the Penguins are just trying to stay solvent. One of their better talents, which led to Pittsburgh having such a remarkable power play, is now out for the year. Aleksey Morozov's wrist injury is bad enough that he needs surgery, which will sideline him for the rest of the season -- which in the Penguins' case means early April.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 12th
Odds of winning Cup: 100-1

Carolina Hurricanes (18-29-8-6)
Most hangovers last just a day. The Hurricanes' Stanley Cup hangover has lasted all year. After the All-Star break, general manager Jim Rutherford declared it a lost season and promised to change the chemistry of his roster. Injuries to their defense early and forwards later on contributed to their disappointing performance. His first move was to send disappointing forward Sami Kapanen to Philadelphia. According to Rutherford, Kapanen was one of the players most affected by the team's short offseason. His confidence suffered, his production tailed off and he tied himself up in knots so badly that a trade was the best thing that could've happened to him. Arturs Irbe, who was part of the team's run to the Cup finals last year, demanded a trade early on when Kevin Weekes was carrying the bulk of the goaltending duties. His play was subpar and his stock dropped so badly, he wound up being put on waivers as part of the team's reshuffling. This is a club in transition. Rutherford promised that more changes are coming, but he won't handcuff the franchise with long-term contracts or high-priced free agents until he has a better idea what the new collective bargaining agreement is going to bring.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 13th
Odds of winning Cup: 1,250-1

Atlanta Thrashers (20-31-4-4)
In part because of All-Star weekend, everyone outside the hockey world has now heard of Dany Heatley. The talented forward with the missing front tooth, who was last year's NHL rookie of the year, is one of the reasons this team is going to be an up-and-comer in the not-so-distant future. Constant goaltending problems because of injuries have slowed their progress under new bench boss Bob Hartley. Their signing of goaltender Byron Dafoe was done to shore up their own end, but every time Dafoe has gotten healthy, he's gotten hurt again, thus proving that there's no substitute for an NHL training camp, especially for goalies. They won't make it to the postseason this year, but for the final quarter, they can certainly alter the playoff landscape in the Eastern Conference.
Grade:
Expected conference finish: 14th
Odds of winning Cup: 1,000-1

Buffalo Sabres (17-29-7-5)
When the Sabres look back on this tumultuous season .... well, maybe it will be better if they don't. From their ownership nightmare to filing for bankruptcy protection to their injury problems to their adjustment to life after Dominik Hasek, 2002-03 has turned into a lost year for the franchise. Coach Lindy Ruff has tried to keep the ship afloat, but has faced far too many obstacles to overcome. The only question facing them now is will they finish dead last in the conference or will they eke out a modicum of respectability by spoiling a few other teams' chances to make the playoffs. "It obviously can get depressing at times but you definitely have to come to the rink with an upbeat attitude and move forward and try to get better,'' said veteran defenseman James Patrick. Playing for pride and contracts remains all that is left for them.
Grade: 0 pucks
Expected conference finish: 15th
Odds of winning Cup: Depends, what are the odds of Hasek returning?

Nancy Marrapese-Burrell of the Boston Globe is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.