NHL Mid-Season Grades: Atlantic Division Breakdown 2016-17

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NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning /

NHL Mid-Season Grades, Surprises, Letdowns, Future Outlook: Complete Atlantic Division Breakdown by Team and Position, Including Predictions for the Remainder of 2016-17

Wrapping things up with our NHL mid-season grades, we turn our focus to the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, which includes the following teams: Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Detroit Red Wings, and the Buffalo Sabres.

While not one of the strongest divisions in the league, there are still four teams in the top 15 of the overall standings with Montreal leading the pack at 62 points. Ottawa and Boston are both tied for second in the division with 52 points each while Toronto sits fourth with 50 points. Toronto also holds the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Florida (49 points), Tampa Bay (47 points), and Detroit (47 points) hold the fifth, sixth, and seventh positions in the division while Buffalo (45 points) sit in last.

*Standings heading into Saturday night

MONTREAL CANADIENS

Current Record: 27-13-6 (60 points)

Montreal started the year with a blistering hot record of 8-0-1 in the opening month of the season. After trading star defenseman P.K. Subban to Nashville for Shea Weber, a lot of Montreal fans thought the team made a bad choice, well Weber currently sits third in team scoring with 28 points and 10 goals. While Subban, on the other hand, sits ninth in team scoring with only 17 points and seven goals for Nashville. So Montreal didn’t just get the better of the offense, they also got someone who is a pure workhorse on the d-line.

FORWARDS: A+

Montreal leads the entire division with 138 goals for averaging 3.00 goals-for-per-game. And it’s a full team effort since three of the top ten scorers are the defenseman.

Max Pacioretty and Alexander Radulov are the only Canadiens that have surpassed the thirty point mark so far this year.

Paul Byron, Alex Galchenyuk, Phillip Danault, and Tomas Plekanec all sit in the middle with 20 points or more, giving the team some well-balanced scoring up front.

First-year NHL player, Artturi Lehkonen has put up a decent 15 points in 37 games, not bad for a guy who spent his entire career in Finland.

Once Andrew Shaw who is also spending his first year in Montreal after a lot of success in Chicago gets comfortable with his new team as the year continues, expect more scoring and a lot more grinding.

DEFENSE: B+

NHL: Montreal Canadiens at Minnesota Wild /

Montreal’s defense is almost as good as their offense since they have three defensemen in the top ten for team scoring, and they also have helped the team hold second place in lowest goals-against-per-game.

Shea Weber has been absolutely fantastic since coming over from Nashville. He currently sits third in team scoring and logs in a load of minutes per-game.

Veterans Jeff Petry and Andrei Markov have also been quite solid as well, while they are both responsible in their own end, they have also put up more than 20 points so far this year.

GOALIES: B+

The Canadien’s goaltending is amongst the best in the league, with Carey Price once again leading this team to victory.

Al Montoya, on the other hand, has had to step into a few more games since Price has experience quite the cold streak the last few weeks. And in doing so, Montoya hasn’t been able to handle the full-time play that well.

If Montreal wants to stay atop the division and in the playoff race, Price will need to return to form since you can’t always rely on scoring and defense.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: SHEA WEBER

The biggest surprise has to be Shea Weber, everyone literally thought Montreal got smoked in the deal when the moved Subban. But Weber has been on fire for the team playing on the power-play, the penalty-kill, and logging a massive amount of minutes every single game. He’s definitely worthy of leading the team to long-term success, and who knows, maybe pulling the “C” from forward Max Pacioretty.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: INJURIES

The teams biggest disappointment has to be the injuries suffered to outstanding forwards Alex Galchenyuk, and David Desharnais. Because they were leading this team and helped them reach that amazing start at the beginning of the season.

OUTLOOK:

Once Price returns to his hot form after getting out of this unknown cold funk, and Galchenyuk and Desharnais return from injury and can continue where they left off, this team is pegged for a very deep playoff run.

OTTAWA SENATORS

Current Record: 24-15-4 (52 points)

Ottawa has focused largely on the defensive side of the game this year and in doing sit lead the division in fewest goals-against-per-game. With unforeseen issues arising with goaltender Craig Anderson, he’s showed great heart in all the games he’s played since then. And on top of that, the team has had no issues with stopping people from putting the puck in the net.

FORWARDS: C-

While Ottawa leads the division for fewest goals-against-per-game, their offense has dried up significantly cause of this.

Since three forwards have reached over thirty points (Kyle Turris, Mark Stone, and Mike Hoffman). The team as a whole has only scored 110 total goals, placing them last in the division.

Ryan Dzingel and Derick Brassard sit in the middle with 20+ points a piece. After that everything is quite low.

Four players currently sit in the teen area of scoring, with Tom Pyatt sitting at the bottom with 13 points and Zack Smith sits on top with 19.

DEFENSE: A

with 18 points.

But what’s so great about the Ottawa d-core this year, is they’re focusing more on the defensive aspects, and in doing so lead the division with only 110 goals-against.

Along with Phaneuf, Ottawa has a lot more shut down defenseman in Chris Wideman, Marc Methot, Cody Ceci, and Mark Borowiecki all of whom average more than 20 minutes per game.

GOALIES: A-

Ottawa’s netminding had been great despite Craig Anderson having some very unfortunate personal issues.

And to help the team with that, they brought in Mike Condon and also have Andrew Hammond sharing the starting duties when Anderson is unable to play. And in doing so they have been pretty decent helping Ottawa stay first in the division for fewest goals-against.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: CRAIG ANDERSON

When everyone in the hockey world was shocked when Anderson announced his wife had cancer, he came back the next game and earned an emotional shutout in the process. And has been very solid every game he’s played, when he has been able to play. He’s not just the biggest surprise for his heart in terms of speaking about Ottawa, but also the entire NHL.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: ROOKIES

Ottawa’s biggest disappointment has to be their rookies and second-year players. They haven’t been able to play well enough to log a significant amount of ice time and also haven’t put up any points. Defenseman Fredrik Claesson leads the rookie core with nine games played but is tied with Casey Bailey, Ben Harpur, Buddy Robinson, Andreas Englund, Max McCormick, and Thomas Chabot with zero points.

OUTLOOK:

While Ottawa sits second in the division and currently sit in a playoff spot, the offense is going to need to step up in order for them to have any sort of post-season success.

BOSTON BRUINS

Current Record: 22-19-6 (52 points)

Boston has had a pretty average season so far, they have an average goals-for-per-game with 2.50 but they are also average on the defensive side allowing 2.52 goals-against-per-game. And that equals out to 120 goals for and 121 goals against, yet again very close and very average. Which means the offense has some issues from time to time scoring goals and the defense has a tough time here and there stopping players from scoring them.

FORWARDS: B+

has been fantastic so far this year putting up a very respectable 45 points in 48 games.

Behind Marchand there’s David Pastrnak with 33 points in 41 games, then there’s David Krejci at third in team scoring with 29 points in 48 games. David Backes and Ryan Spooner are tied with 22 points apiece. Many fans expected Backes to put up a significant amount of points, but he’s been more on the defensive side so far this year.

Then there’s Patrice Bergeron with 21 points, after that the rest of the forward core is at 13 and under.

DEFENSE: B-

While surprising to some and not others, Zdeno Chara no longer leads the Bruins offensively, that job has been passed down to Torey Krug who has put up 29 points in 48 games so far tieing him with Krejci for third in team scoring.

However, after Krug, every other d-man in Boston plays a shutdown physical role. Players like the above mentioned Zdeno Chara being accompanied by Brandon Carlo, Colin Miller, Kevin Miller, Adam McQuaid, and John-Michael Liles. All of whom average more than 15 minutes per game.

GOALIES: B

Tuukka Rask has been hot winning 22 times in 37 games while posting a .919 save percentage with a 2.11 goals-against-average.

After that, the backups have been quite weak. Anton Khudobin was brought in to help Rask, but in the end, he’s played much like Jhonas Enroth has for Toronto.

Zane McIntyre came in to fill a backup slot and in doing so, hasn’t been great either. With Malcolm Subban still not ready for NHL play, Boston has to figure something out with one of their two backups cause Rask can’t play every game.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: D BRANDON CARLO

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: ANTON KHUDOBIN

Anton Khudobin was brought in for one reason, and that was to take stress off Tuukka Rask. But he’s yet to do anything significant, he’s only played eight games gathering one win with a .885 save percentage and a 3.06 goals-against-average.

OUTLOOK:

The rest of the season for Boston is quite simple, score more goals and allow a lot less. If they can do that they may be able to pass Ottawa in the division and get a stronger foothold in a playoff position since they currently sit in 7th.

TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS

Current Record: 21-14-8 (50 points)

Toronto currently holds the final wild card spot, meaning they have a playoff spot for the first time since the 2012-13 shortened season. And a lot of it has to do with their offense and goaltending.

They are currently second in the division with 133 goals for and fifth with 123 goals against. Which is also great because it’s been awhile since Toronto’s goal differential has been in the positive.

FORWARDS: A

Toronto’s forward core has been absolutely amazing so far this season, the teams currently being led by 2016 first overall pick Auston Matthews who has 38 points in 43 games.

After that, the rookies continue to shine and so do the vets. James van Riemsdyk is tied with rookie Mitch Marner with 37 points (they both have also played 43 games).

Than Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, and William Nylander are all tied with 29 points with Kadri’s coming in 43 games, Nylander’s in 42, and Bozak’s in 40.

DEFENSE: B

Morgan Rielly has taken over the team and has done quite well point wise to putting up 17 points in 42 games. Also many assume he will be named next captain, but that is up for grabs since Matthews has the poise and maturity of a 40-year-old man who is trapped inside the body of a 19-year-old.

After Rielly though, there’s Jake Gardiner, who leads the team in points for the defense with 22 in 43 games. First year NHLer Nikita Zaitsev has been pretty great as well showing management he’s quite good at the NHL level and both ends of the ice.

The rest of the defensive core, however, falls on aging veterans who are much slower, like Roman Polak and Matt Hunwick who often get swapped in and out for the likes of Connor Carrick and Martin Marincin (when not injured).

GOALIES: B

? After a very shaky and rocky start to the year, giving the Leafs faithful something to complain about, he’s now among the hottest goalies in the league.

So far through 36 games, Andersen has 19 wins a .918 save percentage and a 2.71 goals-against-average.

Toronto also brought in veteran backup Jhonas Enroth, but that experiment didn’t quite go so well as he bounced back and forth between the Leafs and Marlies before ultimately being traded to Anaheim.

During that process of Enroth not working and bouncing around, the Leafs opted for AHL starter Antoine Bibeau who in two games played quite well before being sent back down. Thus leaving Toronto without a backup goalie and in need of one so they went and claimed Curtis McElhinney off waivers from Columbus.

And in McElhinney’s first game as a Leaf, he took home a win, so hopefully, goaltending can stay up to par to keep the Leafs on the inside looking out rather than the other way around.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: ROOKIES

No question the biggest surprise is the Leafs rookies, six of whom sit in the top 15 for team scoring and three sit in the top five for rookie scorers in the entire league.

As mentioned above, Auston Matthews leads the Leafs rookies with 38 points in 43 games, next is Mitch Marner who has 37 points in 43 games, then William Nylander who has 29 in 42 games. And then there’s Connor Brown who has 21 points in 43 games, Zach Hyman who has 20 points in 43 games, Nikita Zaitsev with 17 points in 43 games, Nikita Soshnikov who’s got four points in 33 games and finally Frederik Gauthier who has three points in 13 games.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: BACKUP GOALTENDING

Toronto revamped their entire backend bringing in Andersen and Enroth, but after Enroth struggled very hard and ultimately failed, Toronto relied on Antoine Bibeau. And while successful in his two games, he just wasn’t ready to handle the pressure of possibly having to play 20 or so games so he was sent back down to the AHL. So the backups have definitely been a disappointment but let’s hope McElhinney doesn’t disappoint the Leafs faithful any further.

OUTLOOK:

Toronto has the potential to make the playoffs for the first time in four years, but in order for them to do so the offense will need to continue, the defense will need to continue chipping in as well as starting to shut players down as well. And goaltending will need to get better from the backend, cause there’s no telling how long Andersen can keep his hot play, and he’s shown in Anaheim that around 50 games or so, he slows down and falls apart tremendously.

FLORIDA PANTHERS

Current Record: 20-18-9 (49 points)

Florida brought in five significant players to fill roles this offseason, Jon Marchessault, Colton Sceviour, James Reimer, Keith Yandle, and Jason Demers. Only two have stepped up to the plate.

The Panthers made these moves to become more competitive and get more scoring. Well, they sit seventh in the division in goals for and sixth in goals against.

FORWARDS: C+

One of those standouts mentioned above is forward Jonathan Marchessault who has 28 points so far in 40 games this season, currently sitting second in team scoring.

Sitting first is easily Florida’s most pure sniper in Vincent Trocheck who’s got 32 points in 47 games. After Trocheck and Marchessault things get pretty average.

Jaromir Jagr sits third with 28 points, Aleksander Barkov is fourth with 27, then after Reilly Smith (who has 19 points) is Colton Sceviour and the rest of the forward core who have 12 points or less.

DEFENSE: C+

Jan 17, 2017; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Florida Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle (3) skates with the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports /

The other standout that was previously mentioned is Keith Yandle, he’s been quite good this year for the Panthers and in doing so has 23 points in 47 games, which leads the Panthers defense.

You would think after the contract Aaron Ekblad received he would go out and lead this team in points, well, unfortunately, he sits eighth in team scoring with 15 points. Not a good output after you see how much he’s being paid per season (which starts next year).

Jason Demers does, however, have a slightly average 19 points, then the rest of the d-core has 12 points or fewer. So you may think they’re aiming to be more of a shutdown squad but their goals-against-per-game states otherwise.

GOALIES: C+

James Reimer was brought in to help Roberto Luongo with the payload, but in his 19 games played, he has a record of 7-6-4 with a .913 save percentage and a 2.68 goals-against-average.

So that choice hasn’t really paid off yet, but there is always next year. And that put Luongo in the same position as always, carry the majority of the workload and in 30 games he’s got a record of 13-12-5 with a .920 save percentage and a 2.45 goals-against-average.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: F JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: DEFENSE

Florida’s defense has been terrible all season, even though both goalies have a pretty average save percentage and goals-against-average but terrible win/loss records, it’s safe to say Florida’s players haven’t been playing the defensive side of the game like they should be. It’s great to score goals, but you also need to stop them or you’re on the outside looking in like the Panthers are now.

OUTLOOK:

Florida’s most likely going to finish this season outside of the playoff picture. Leaving many to assume more changes will be made in the off-season, cause if goals can’t be stopped, you won’t make it far in the NHL. And the only way to fix that is to bolster the defense or get a very, very solid goalie. But since Luongo will most likely be around next year the latter isn’t the option. So expect Florida to be sellers at the deadline in hopes of maybe getting another solid defenseman or two.

TAMPA BAY LIGHTNING

Current Record: 21-21-5 (47 points)

Steven Stamkos is out again, and this time possibly for the remainder of the season. But don’t worry Lightning fans, you still have Nikita Kucherov.

Tampa has been struggling when it comes to not allowing the puck in the net sitting eighth with 135 goals against, however, they’re having no issues putting the puck in the net as they sit third in the division with 125 goals for.

FORWARDS: A-

If Steven Stamkos didn’t get injured 17 games in, Tampa would be atop the league in goals for. But unfortunately, he’s probably out for the remainder of the season.

The good news about that is the team still has Nikita Kucherov who leads the team with 42 points in 40 games, good enough 1.05 points-per-game average.

The rest of the Lightning offense is doing quite spectacularly as well, Jonathan Drouin has 30 points, Valtteri Filppula has 29, Tyler Johnson has 26, Alex Killorn and Ondrej Palat are tied with 22. The rest of the forward core are at 17 points or less.

DEFENSE: C-

GOALIES: C+

The goalies haven’t been much better either, Ben Bishop has played 24 games while Andrei Vasilevskiy has played 23.

So what’s happening is quite obvious, Tampa keeps switching with the hot hand, but neither has been good, which is why they have played the same amount of games (well one behind for Vasilevskiy to be exact).

And through 24 games for Bishop, he’s got a record of 11-10-3 with a .910 save percentage and a 2.64 goals-against-average. And for Vasilevskiy he currently has a record of 10-11-2 with a 2.90 goals-against-average with a .906 save percentage.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: NIKITA KUCHEROV

Nikita Kucherov has been the biggest surprise all season, maybe even going back to last season. Every time Steven Stamkos gets hurt, Lightning fans and hockey sportscasters think Tampa will be done for, well that’s not the case Kucherov has no problems taking over the team which he’s done every single time. He may not score 50-60 goals but he will put up 70+ point seasons which is still very good and despite the defense not quite doing their jobs and the goalies being rather cold, he’s been a key factor in why Tampa currently sits three points out of the final wild-card spot.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: STEVEN STAMKOS

The biggest disappointment is oddly enough about the best player Tampa has, Steven Stamkos is yet again out with injury. And it occurred only 17 games into the season, the worst part he’s more than likely going to be out the entire season. If he wasn’t, however, Tampa Bay would most likely be in a better position than they are now.

OUTLOOK:

Tampa Bay has their work cut out for them with Toronto, Detroit, Florida, Carolina, and Philadelphia ahead of them all hunting for the last wild card spot as well. So goaltending will need to sharpen up if Tampa wishes to make the playoffs, but so will the defense, cause as stated before, it’s okay to score goals but you have to be able to stop them as well. And if Tampa can’t fix that this year, they will finish the season short.

DETROIT RED WINGS

Current Record: 20-19-7 (47 points)

While Detroit didn’t have the hottest start to the season, surprisingly aging star Thomas Vanek did which was great for the team who needed some much-needed scoring and the reason they signed him.

The other key signing of the off-season Frans Nielsen didn’t quite pay off at the start of the year, but it’s starting to now.

Detroit still sits sixth in the conference, however, and while their goals against are good at 135, their goals for is lacking since they’ve only scored 114 times.

FORWARDS: B

When Detroit signed Thomas Vanek in the off-season they were taking a serious risk, but it’s seemed to pay off. Vanek leads the team in scoring along with Henrik Zetterberg with 31 points, however, Vanek hit 31 in 35 games while Henrik did it in 46.

So nearly a point-per-game is pretty solid for a winger who was bouncing around so much the last few years NHL teams almost gave up on him completely.

Another surprise is the other key signing they made when they scooped up Frans Nielsen, he’s currently third in team scoring with 26 points in 46 games.

Gustav Nyquist has 24 points in 46 games, rookie forward Anthony Mantha sits tied with Tomas Tatar with 22 points.

The biggest surprise when it comes to the forwards has to be the fact that Dylan Larkin only has 18 points this season, after having a 45 points campaign last year.

DEFENSE: C-

It’s no surprise Detroit’s defense gets a C-, the highest scorer out of the d-core is Mike Green with 22 points in 38 games and their goals against is at 135.

Second highest to Green out of the defense? Jonathan Ericsson with eight points in 43 games. The rest of the core is at seven or lower.

So while the defense hasn’t been able to score, they also haven’t been able to stop it either. This will need to change if they want to continue their long playoff run.

GOALIES: D

Petr Mrazek was expected to take over the starting role this year since he had a great season last year, but that plan didn’t work out and he’s once again fallen down the depth chart.

Jimmy Howard has had to take over when healthy and in doing so has posted some great numbers (.934 save percentage, 1.96 goals-against-average) despite having a 5-7-1 record. The main issue with him this season has been injury problems.

When Howard is injured and Mrazek is playing terribly, the Wings have to rely on AHL goalie Jared Coreau who surprisingly enough has the best record of the team (5-1-1) despite having the second worst statistical numbers. And that’s a .901 save percentage with a 3.04 goals-against-average.

Goaltending has really been an issue all season and just like the defense if Detroit wants to continue their run, they need those two elements to get going.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: THOMAS VANEK

The biggest surprise so far halfway through the season is free agent pickup Thomas Vanek who leads the team in points despite missing a week due to injury. He’s definitely earning himself a reason to get a new contract.

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: PETR MRAZEK

As mentioned above, Petr Mrazek has definitely been the biggest disappointment, he was expected to become the new starter. But it seems that he’s just not ready or he’s simply having a bad year, either option is viable but the latter seems to be the more reasonable.

OUTLOOK:

Detroit is currently on the outside looking in but if they can improve the two issues they currently face, they could manage to make the playoffs yet again. However, if they don’t make it they don’t just end a great streak but also put themselves in a decent spot for a good selection in this year’s first round. Everything is riding on the defense and goaltending.

BUFFALO SABRES

Current Record: 18-18-9 (45 points)

Buffalo just doesn’t sit eighth in the division, but also 15th in the conference and 27th in the league.

They are also last in the division in goals for with 106 but surprisingly third in goals against, mainly due to picking up Dmitry Kulikov in the off-season.

The Sabres also managed to grab star forward Kyle Okposo in the off-season who also leads the team in points.

FORWARDS: C

Buffalo only has four forwards with ten goals or more. Kyle Okposo leads the teams with 30 points. Sam Reinhart has 29 points in 45 games, Ryan O’Reilly has 27 in 35 games, Brian Gionta has 21 in 45 games.

The rest of the Sabres offense is at 20 points or less and it starts with Jack Eichel who missed a significant amount of time having 19 points in 24 games. And finishes with Derek Grant who only has three points in 35 games.

Buffalo needs to have more player putting the puck in the net if they wish to succeed the rest of the year, but if not they will most likely finish in the bottom five in the league.

DEFENSE: B+

More from Puck Prose

The Sabres defense has been great even though the offense hasn’t, things are led by Rasmus Ristolainen who has 28 points in 45 games.

While the rest of the defense is at 10 points or less like Cody Franson and Jake McCabe being tied with 10 points each in 45 games (McCabe) and 42 games (Franson) they have been very solid in their own end.

And that’s why Buffalo is third in the division for allowing the fewest goals per game.

GOALIES: C+

Robin Lehner and Anders Nilsson have been going back and forth in net all season, Lehner has the losing record and worst statistical numbers. While Nilsson has a winning record and better statistical numbers while playing in fewer games.

Robin Lehner has played 29 games so far this season posting a 10-12-5 record with a .920 save percentage and a 2.54 goals-against-average.

Anders Nilsson, on the other hand, played 18 games so far and has a record of 8-6-4 he’s also got a .925 save percentage with a 2.52 goals-against-average.

BIGGEST SURPRISE: G ANDERS NILSSON

BIGGEST DISAPPOINTMENT: INJURIES

If Jack Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, and Johan Larsson didn’t succumb to injuries the teams scoring would be ranked much higher than it is now. But injuries happen and unfortunately, Buffalo just hasn’t had anyone else really step up to fill those guys’ shoes.

One of these two goaltenders will have to become much better as well as the defense in order for Buffalo to have greater success this season.

Next: Week 15 NHL Power Rankings

OUTLOOK:

With how things have been playing out as of late, and earlier in the season. If this continues Buffalo will be on the outside and probably be in the top five for the draft giving them a very good draft selection. But if things pick up they could go on a nice streak and squeak into the playoffs, but that’s a longshot, so it seems Buffalo may miss the playoffs this season, but like stated earlier that just means a very solid draft pick.

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