Atlantic Division Update: The Red Wings are... winning?

The top three in the Atlantic Division have stayed the same, even after that glorious Boston Bruins win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Detroit Red Wings are also on a three-game winning streak, so they are obviously going to win the Stanley Cup. Here’s what went down across the Atlantic this week.

First in the Atlantic: Tampa Bay Lightning

Games played: 17

Point leader: Brayden Point

The Tampa Bay Lightning are still in first place. They had a good week, beating out the New York Islanders and the Edmonton Oilers. Things got sour for the Lightning when they played the Ottawa Senators. They really just struggle against Ottawa this season. They fell 6-4 to the struggling Sens team. Nothing much regarding them in the news. Just another week in Florida.

Second in the Atlantic: Toronto Maple Leafs

Games played: 17

Point leader: Morgan Rielly

With the absence of Auston Matthews, other players are stepping up to provide the team with points. Morgan Rielly has inched his way up as point leader with 21 points. Mitch Marner and John Tavares sit closely behind him with 20 and 19 points respectively. They added two wins to their record this week, the first against the Vegas Golden Knights and the second against the New Jersey Devils. You know who they didn’t beat, though? The Boston Bruins. We celebrate that. As for your weekly William Nylander update, still nothing. What the heck is going on in Toronto?

Third in the Atlantic: Your Boston Bruins!

Games played: 17

Point leader: Patrice Bergeron

David Pastrnak had a great week. He had a hat trick and an assist against the Toronto Maple Leafs and a goal and an assist against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Bruins won both of those games. They also played the Vancouver Canucks apparently. I don’t remember that game. Tuukka Rask will miss some time due to personal reasons. Jeremy Lauzon scored his first NHL goal. Brandon Carlo is out with an upper-body injury. There is a lot going on with this Bruins team right now, but most importantly, they are on a two-game winning streak. Let’s keep it going, boys.

Fourth in the Atlantic: Montreal Canadiens

Games played: 17

Point leader: Max Domi

Max Domi is still the point leader for the Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens won in a shoot out against the Islanders on Monday, lost to the New York Rangers on Tuesday, lost in OT to the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday, and then finished off the week with a win against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday. What a busy week. Nothing else too interesting going on with our least favorite team in the league.

Fifth in the Atlantic: Buffalo Sabres

Games played: 17

Point leader: Jeff Skinner and Jack Eichel

Jack Eichel has tied Jeff Skinner with 19 points on the season. He is in a bit of a scoring slump, though. He had two assists against Montreal during their 6-5 OT win, but aside from that he didn’t produce much this week. Buffalo won two of the three games they played this week. I think we are living in the Twilight Zone.

Sixth in the Atlantic: Ottawa Senators

Games played: 18

Point leader: Thomas Chabot

The Senators had a bit of a controversial week when some players were filmed in an Uber mouthing off. I’m not a gossip columnist, but I must say it was pretty entertaining. Probably the most interesting thing to happen to the Senators this week. They played a total of four games and won half of them. The Florida Panthers killed them 5-1 and when Vegas rolled into town they won 5-3. That was about it.

Seventh in the Atlantic: Detroit Red Wings

Games played: 17

Point leader: Dylan Larkin

The Detroit Red Wings won three straight games this week. Sure, they were all in a shootout or overtime, but that still counts. okay? First, they beat out the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 in a shoot out. Then, they beat the New York Rangers in proper OT. And finally, they beat the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 in a shoot out.

They are going to win the Stanley Cup, clearly.

Eighth in the Atlantic: Florida Panthers

Games played: 14

Point leader: Evgenii Dadonov

The Florida Panthers have played roughly 3-4 games less than the rest of the division, but they are also just bad. They’ve won six games thus far, three of them came this week. They really did well this week, finding victories against the Oilers, Islanders, and Senators. They scored five whole goals against the Ottawa Senators. Maybe they’re on their way to turning their luck around.