The Eastern Conference may have a new power division as the Montreal Canadiens, and the rest of the Atlantic are taking over.
It’s always nice to notice when league-wide shifts in power take place. For the longest time, the Western Conference was a beast, the California road trip was death row, and the Metropolitan Division was always the better of the two. But this may be the season where those narratives change or continue to change, and the Montreal Canadiens are a part of it.
Currently, five of the eight playoff spots in the Eastern Conference are being held by Atlantic Division teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs were easy draws ahead of the season. However, the Montreal Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres have hard solid starts to their year and are in the running to play games in April as well.
Both are surprises to some extent. The Sabres have been awful for years despite being knee-deep in the tank nation schema since 2013. After winning the draft lottery to obtain Rasmus Dahlin, as well as, adding Jeff Skinner, Connor Sheary, and Connor Hutten, the team was determined to turn some heads. And they have so far as they sit third in the Atlantic with a 12-6-2 record.
The Habs are in a unique boat. They had a disappointing performance last season because of injuries, goaltending, and several other individual issues. Marc Bergevin made it his goal to change the makeup of the team that could hopefully result in the return of the winning culture in Montreal. And it’s safe to say 20 games in that he’s done that.
The Montreal Canadiens are in the second wild-card spot being tied in points with Boston.
The newcomers on the team are doing their part in Max Domi, Tomas Tatar, and 2018 third-overall pick Jesperi Kotkaniemi. Goaltending has also improved despite a few hiccups from Carey Price. But the main difference that many have made a note of is their play. There’s an emphasis on speed coming out or going into each zone followed by a series of attacks in front of the net.
Domi has made speed his go-to attribute in the bulk of his goal scoring, and it’s lead him, along with his playmaking ability, to be the Habs team leader in points.
The Metropolitan Division is having it’s fair share of surprises as well. Who would’ve thought the New York Islanders would be in a playoff spot after losing John Tavares to free agency or the New York Rangers when they publicly announced that they’ll be rebuilding.
And even so, the point totals in that grouping still fall in comparison to the Atlantic. The Islanders and Rangers would be out of the playoffs if they were on the other side while the Columbus Blue Jackets, first in the Metro, would be in a wild-card spot.
The question now is does this continue on until the end of the year? It’s tough to bet against the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins. However, injuries are taking a toll on them. But considering their experience in winning championships, one more than the other, we should expect a late-season surge from them.
As for the surprise teams in the Atlantic, it’s a similar scenario. Buffalo is hot as ever winning their last five games in a row but one has to wonder whether it’s legitimate or a random peak. The Habs have been in a playoff spot for the majority of the season and haven’t gone through any means of a slump.
Continuing what they’ve done will be key, but it will come down to how they respond during those times when things aren’t going well. And if it’snot this season when the Atlantic takes over, the next one will surely be theirs for the taking.