The Bruins’ start has been too strong to ignore, but the Atlantic Division is doing its best to keep Boston on edge.
Heading into Tuesday night’s matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, the Bruins are sitting at a .792 winning percentage, the best in the league. They have 19 points, which puts them three ahead of both the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs.
That sounds like a cushion. In this division, it really isn’t.
In a softer division, Boston would already have some breathing room - six points clear of the fourth-place team with games in hand. The Atlantic won’t allow that luxury.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are only four points behind the Bruins and have a game in hand. The Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers are one point back.
Even the Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are still within range.
The entire division is packed. It’s the only one in the NHL without a team below a .500 points percentage.
Boston, .792
TB, .682
Ottawa, .667
Montreal, .636
Florida, .583
Toronto, .571
Detroit, .542
Buffalo, .500
Every other division has at least one club under .500. The Metropolitan has three.
The Central has one. The Pacific has four.
None of that applies here, where the Bruins keep winning but the margin for error stays tiny.
The Panthers’ injuries have helped keep them in check, and the Canadiens are dealing with injuries of their own even while riding a two-game winning streak. As of Tuesday afternoon, the Maple Leafs were the only Atlantic team not to earn at least one point in their previous game. Five teams won, and the other two picked up overtime losses.
So who in this division is actually built to last?
The Red Wings are fighting through all the noise around the organization, but a trade involving Dylan Larkin is expected to happen. They’re looking for immediate help to stay in the playoff mix, though the outcome of that move could make things worse instead of better.
Buffalo was counting on goaltending help, but after Connor Hellebuyck joined the New Jersey Devils, the Sabres appear headed back to the three-headed monster from last season. They have not looked as sharp this year, though that was true early last season too before they went on to win the division.
Toronto has held onto third place thanks to a four-game winning streak, but Monday night’s loss to the Calgary Flames exposed some cracks and left them with the third-worst winning percentage in the division. The Leafs are hanging around because they also have two games in hand on everyone else.
The Atlantic still looks capable of sending five teams to the postseason. If the Red Wings, Sabres, and Maple Leafs fade, the top five could all get in. But at least one of those teams, and maybe two, will make a push.
That’s the part Boston can’t escape. No matter how well the Bruins are playing, this division won’t let anyone get comfortable.
In Other News...
Bruins Top-Six Problems Are Putting Pastrnak At A Real Crossroads
Bostons latest look at its top six only sharpened the concern around David Pastrnaks current fit. Against Carolina, the line with JJ Peterka and Pavel Zacha never found any rhythm, and the underlying numbers were as bleak as the eye test suggested. The group spent too much time defending, too little time threatening, and for a team already searching for answers up front, that is the sort of combination that can force a coach to start shuffling pieces again.
One path back to stability is sitting right there in the recent history of the lineup, where Pastrnak had more traction alongside Marat Khusnutdinov and Fraser Minten. The Bruins also have Morgan Geekie in the mix as another forward whose own struggles add to the pressure on the top-six configuration. With the offense still trying to find a cleaner structure, the question is whether Boston decides to keep pushing this version of Pastrnaks line or goes back to a combination that already showed it can work. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Let A Winnable Road Game Slip Away After Early Lead
The Bruins had enough early to feel like they could take something out of Raleigh, with Pavel Zacha giving them the only goal they would need to lean on if the rest of the night broke their way. Jeremy Swayman did his part with 28 saves, and for long stretches Boston had the look of a team capable of grinding out a road result before the game tightened and the margin for error disappeared.
Instead, a one-goal cushion turned into a one-goal loss, 2-1, and Bostons point streak came to an end in a game that had been there for the taking. The Bruins now get a day off to reset before turning to the St. Louis Blues, with the lingering concern being how quickly a solid start can unravel when a road game stays this close for too long. [Read more 🡒]
Bruins Face A Pavel Zacha Dilemma They Can't Ignore
Pavel Zachas next contract has become one of those quiet Bruins storylines that could wind up mattering a great deal. Chris Johnston reported that Boston and Zacha do not see the financial picture the same way, which puts the organization in a familiar spot: valuing a useful top-six forward while trying to keep its books pointed in the right direction.
For the Bruins, the tension is less about what Zacha has become than what they are willing to pay to keep him in that role. Johnstons reporting suggests the club has its own line in mind, and the gap with the players side is enough to make this more than routine negotiation. If Boston wants to avoid letting a stable piece of its forward group become a bigger offseason question, this is the kind of discussion that will need clarity sooner rather than later. [Read more 🡒]