This season, I am going to produce a weekly column here at Scrum Sports. The Atlantic Division is arguably the toughest division in the NHL. Aside from our very own Tampa Bay Lightning, there are some formidable foes in the Atlantic. Boston, Toronto and the reigning Cup champion Florida Panthers look to be the cream of the crop. Don’t dismiss Montreal, Detroit, Ottawa and Buffalo despite being recent bottom dwellers. Every season brings surprises during the marathon NHL season. It is why we’re going to do this Atlantic Watch. We need to keep up with the teams battling the Lightning for divisional superiority.
Atlantic Division Watch – Part One
Toronto Maple Leafs – Like all teams, there are changes with the Leafs. They have a new coach after firing Sheldon Keefe. Craig Berube is in the Toronto coaching hot seat. For me, seeing Max Pacioretty wearing a Leafs sweater will take time. Still think of him as a Canadien captain. The Leafs have won 2 and lost 1 scoring 8 goals and giving up 5. One thing to keep an eye on is how good (or bad) will their penalty kill be?
Montreal Canadiens – One of the all time Lightning greats coaches Montreal. I’d root for Marty St. Louis if he was playing tiddlywinks. That continues except the games versus the Lightning. The Canadiens have also won 2 and lost 1. Thing to watch is they are giving up almost 10 more shots than their opponents. If they don’t shore this up, they won’t continue to lead or tie for the top of the division.
Boston Bruins – The early season Jekyll and Hyde team in the Atlantic. They looked dismal in the season opener against Florida. They’ve looked much better in their two victories. Elias Lindholm leads the team in points. Found it odd it wasn’t David Pastrnak or Brad Marchand. Former Lightning Cole Koepke is 4th on the team in points after week one. Thing to watch is the toll the marathon season takes on aging veterans in Beantown.
Tampa Bay Lightning – One game is too small a sample size but was encouraged with the effort in the opener. Carolina has been a good team over the last few seasons. Nikita Kucherov and Andrei Vasilevskiy seem in mid-season form.
Atlantic Watch -Part Two
Detroit Red Wings – Former Lightning GM, Steve Yzerman is the current GM in Motown. They added Vlad Tarasenko but still have more questions than answers. Goaltending is suspect for this team trying to get back to respectability. They split their two games last week.
Ottawa Senators – They added David Perron and Tim Stutzle is a star on the rise. Their biggest addition is probably goalie Linus Ullmark. After a couple good seasons in Boston, he could be a huge difference maker for this up and coming team. They also split their two games last week. One of their victories was against reigning champs, Florida.
Florida Panthers – The Stanley Cup champs are going to find out just how challenging it is to wear the NHL crown. Every game of the 82 on the schedule is a test for their opponents. Cup contending teams will bring their best to measure how they fare against last season’s champions. The teams that don’t even have a chance of making the playoffs will treat their games against the Panthers as their very own Stanley Cup. The Lightning little brothers will soon realize how difficult it is to repeat as champions.
Buffalo Sabres – Bringing up the rear in the division is the Sabres. They won 1 and lost 3 in week one. There is some young talent in Buffalo like Tage Thompson, Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power but it appears not enough to hang in the toughest division in the league.
Week Two Look Ahead
Toronto plays two games at home against the Kings and the Rangers. Montreal has two home games and a road game. The home games are the Penguins and the Kings and the road game is against the Islanders. Boston has three games, one home and two on the road. The home game is a rematch with the Panthers who beat them in the season opener. The road games have the Bruins heading west to play Colorado and the undefeated Utah Hockey Club. For the Lightning, there are three games this week. First two are home games against the Canucks and the Golden Knights then the Ottawa Senators on the road.
Detroit has three games with two of those on the road. They will face the Rangers and Predators on the road and the Rangers at home. Ottawa plays all three games this week at home. They will host the Kings, the Devils and the Lightning. For the Florida Panthers they have four games. Two on the road and two at home. Boston and the Blue Jackets on the road then the Canucks and Golden Knights at home. Buffalo has three road games on the schedule this week. Their opponents are the Penguins, the Blue Jackets and the Blackhawks.
