Atlantic Division Update: Tampa Bay Lightning find their spark again

Another week into the season and the Atlantic Division is heating up. The standings are ever changing. This week, we saw our Bruins fall a little bit while the Tampa Bay Lightning and Montreal Canadiens continue to rise. The Toronto Maple Leafs are still dominating, of course. Here’s what went down with our rivals this week.

First in the Atlantic: Toronto Maple Leafs

Games played: 11

Point Leader: Auston Matthews

Yes, the Leafs are still in first place. Yes, Auston Matthews is still leading the pack with points. I know, I’m a broken record at this point. I have bad news for the Leafs, though. Auston Matthews was injured this weekend against the Winnipeg Jets. He is out with a shoulder injury, an injury he struggled with last season as well. His return and status seem to be unknown at this point. What do you guys think this means for the future of William Nylander? Do you think they’ll rush to meet an agreement with the unknown future of Matthews? They still managed to pull off a win without Matthews. I think the Leafs will survive in his absence.

Second in the Atlantic: Tampa Bay Lightning

Games played: 10

Point leader: Brayden Point

Brayden Point leads the Tampa Bay Lightning in points with nine. Seems a bit low for a team on a comeback run. It should be noted that the Lightning cannot win against the Arizona Coyotes. They faced them again this weekend and fell 7-1! 7-1 to one of the worst teams in the Pacific! Interesting how that works. Regardless, they beat out the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche this week as well. It wasn’t all bad news.

Third in the Atlantic: Montreal Canadiens

Games played: 10

Point leader: Max Domi

Seeing the Canadiens above the Bruins in the standings is definitely upsetting, I feel you. The Habs are still without Shea Webber in their line up and it’s pretty clear he won’t be returning anytime soon. Max Domi continues to put on a show up north, racking up 11 points. Aside from shutting out our B’s, they lost to the Buffalo Sabres earlier in the week. At least we can kind of celebrate that, right?

Fourth in the Atlantic: Your Boston Bruins

Games played: 11

Point leader: Patrice Bergeron

Oh Bruins, what is going on? Sure, there are several positive things to write home about. They will be okay, no reason to start sweating now. But, after being shut out by the gosh darn Habs, I do feel a bit sad. They bounced back from a rough road trip with a 4-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators and a 3-0 win over the Philadelphia Flyers. Let’s just focus on that.

Fifth in the Atlantic: Buffalo Sabres

Games Played: 11

Point Leader: Jeff Skinner

Guys, the Buffalo Sabres aren’t half bad this season. Sitting in fifth place and their point leader Jeff Skinner having 12 points so far, I’m fairly impressed. Sure, they lost to the Columbus Blue Jackets, but they pulled off wins over the Habs and the Senators this week, so I’m proud of them.

Sixth in the Atlantic: Ottawa Senators

Games Played: 10

Point Leader: Thomas Chabot

The Sens had a bit of a rough run this week. They lost two of the three games they played. Happily, one of those was against the Bruins. They fell 4-3 in OT to the Vegas Golden Knights and 4-3 in OT as well to the Montreal Canadiens. I think we all thought this team would be worse this season, so I mean that’s good for them, I guess?

Seventh in the Atlantic: Florida Panthers

Games played: 9

Point leader: Evgenii Dadonov

The Florida Panthers are still not a great team. Sitting second to last on the table, things aren’t looking too great for them right now. They lost to the New York Rangers and the New Jersey Devils this week, but they also managed to pull of an OT win against the New York Islanders, beating them 3-2. That’s really all that’s going on with the Panthers.

Eighth in the Atlantic: Detroit Red Wings

Games played: 11

Point Leader: Dylan Larkin

The Detroit Red Wings still find themselves in last place. Good news is they got their second win under their belt this weekend. The Dallas Stars had a successful few games against the So Cal teams, but the Red Wings were able to pull one over on them. They beat them out 4-2, which is very exciting for them. We shall celebrate the two win Red Wings this week.