One month in - The Atlantic Edition

So we're about a month into the season now and what a month it has been.  Scoring is up for sure, roughly 6.5 goals per game.  Individual break outs and team breaks.  We have surprises in all different ways as well.  Some teams doing what was expected and then some, while others are in the dumps that we didn't expect.  So instead of doing this power rankings style, I'm going to just go over the standings broken down by division.  But I will compare based on my preseason power rankings to see how things are shaking out.  So lets go....

The Atlantic:

So above is obviously a look at the standings at this point. A few things look as they should and a few don't at this point.  

Toronto has been one of the best teams in the league and that was as expected.  Auston Matthews has been a beast all year, but now he has a shoulder injury and I think it is safe to say no one in the league wants him out long term...just for when you're team plays them.  But even without him last year they still won .600% of their games, so it isn't like he has to carry the team alone like McDavid does in Edmonton, but that is another story for another time.  The team has played 11 games to date and already have 5 players with 10pts or more and an equal amount with at least 4 goals.  A bit of a better goal differential would be good but its a positive and that is the most important thing.  Basically they're just riding the wave. 

Tampa Bay, the defending division champs, are sitting in 2nd place early on and have been doing it very quietly.  Not only has the team been off to a quiet start, so has Stammer who only has 1 goal, 5 pts and is a minus -3 as of now.  They don't seem to be scoring at a crazy pace like Toronto has been but they're doing it more by committee as virtually everyone has contributed at least a point.   I wouldn't expect them to stay in the Leafs shadow for to long though.  Consider them a sleeping giant who is still a little drowsy as we're early in the season. 

Montreal has been one of the surprise teams early this year as they sit in 3rd place in the division. I'll be the 1st to admit I didn't expect them to come out of the gate like this.  With a 6-2-2 record, I would have expected something more like a 2-6-2 record.  But led by their youth, they're playing hard and fast.  Domi, acquired in the off season for Galchenyuk, is leading the team with 11pts in 10 games.  He is followed by Petry and Drouin.  Petry leads the way on the back end, while Drouin looks to finally be the guy they expected when picking him up from Tampa. Tatar seems to be fitting in nicely as well after coming over in an off season trade as well.  And how can I not mention Kotkaniemi?  He has been playing solid as a center, though only 4 pts, he is a plus-3 and has been incredibly dependable. 

Boston...I don't know how they do it.  Tied with Montreal in points but playing 1 more game, they fall to 4th.  They are led by arguably the best line in hockey right now in Bergeron, Pastrnak, and Marchand.  They have some shown some solid depth on offense as well, but it will have to pick up if they wanna hang on and stay in the race.  Rask has not been himself and Halak has stolen a few games from him lately, even putting up a recent shutout.  If Rask doesn't find his game Halak will steal his starting job, and I don't know if he can get it done long term.

Buffalo.  As predicted in my most improved teams post, Buffalo is finally putting it together, though they're not 100% there yet.  Officially led by new Captain Jack Eichel they're going to be a force to reckon with this season.  Jeff Skinner has proven to be one of the best acquisitions of the off season as he leads all players on the team in points with 12, 1 more than Eichel.  Pominville is looking like he is in his mid-20's again as well.  Hutton though has played all 8 games thus far and is .500 and could have better numbers, but he is keeping them afloat so far.  And of course Dahlin has not really looked out of place, as he has 4pts and is only a minus -1 early on. 

Ottawa came out of the gate pretty hot after a rough off season and even rougher year last year.  But they have been competitive all year so far and hold a .500 record for now, but they've dropped 3 straight...so maybe the hope that they had is gone and reality is now setting in.  Brady has been out with an injury though and that has clearly hurt them the most as he had 6pts in 4 games to start off his career.  Thomas Chabot has just about made everyone forget about that Karlsson guy though with 13pts in 10 games.  Duchene has played very well too and Chris Tierney has found another level.  But don't expect the fun ride to last much longer.

Florida has definitely been the disappointment of the season.  2 wins in 9 games with 3 OTL...ouch.  They're a minus -7 goal differential too...only 1 worse team in the division.  It looks like one of their biggest problems is Special teams.  15% on the PP and 71% on the PK...worst in the division.  Goal tending has clearly been bad as the offense seems to be doing what they need.  They're out shooting opponents on average and they're getting pretty goo production from all the guys you'd expect.  I don't think they'll stay at the bottom for to much longer...but it may be to little to late once again for the playoffs. 

Detroit...ugh.   So whats been good here as they're sitting in the corner of the basement?  Larkin is beginning to look like a number 1 center.  AA has been explosive and looks like a solid number 2, even back checking.  Bert has been putting the puck in the net. Mantha is starting to figure it out. And Cholowski seems like a future number 1 D-man, something I didn't think he would ever be.  So whats the problem?  The PP is in the middle of the pack and the PK is actually 2nd in the Atlantic.   They just haven't been able to find the back of the net playing 5-on-5.  2.3 GF/G and 3.8 GA/G...that doesn't make a winning formula.  They also are being out shot by about 7 shots per game...I remember the good ole days when we were out shooting teams by 10 or more. Well...#lose4Hughes should be in full effect. 

So with that we clearly have 5 teams already pulling away from the pack and should stay pretty tight in the points race through most of the season.  They'll need to if they want a shot at playing through mid-April.  As we know, American Thanksgiving is a major marker in the season and has shown us who will and wont make the playoffs the majority of the time.  With the top 3 teams in every division guaranteed a spot, the 4th and 5th place teams will have to keep it up and be better than the teams in their rival division within the conference.  For the Atlantic, that means the Metro,  who is home to the last 3 Stanley Cup Champions.  The race will only heat up from here.  

Keep an eye out for my next breakdown which will focus on the Metropolitan Division before moving off to the Western Conference.