2022 NHL Midseason Report: Atlantic Division

Dominating First Half by Bruins

The Boston Bruins bounced back from their first losing streak of the season and go into the All-Star break with a win over the closest competitor in the Atlantic Division standings. Boston takes a 13-point lead into the break over a Toronto Maple Leafs team that has the third-most points in the NHL.

One of the biggest storylines in the second half of the season will be whether the Buffalo Sabres can secure a playoff spot for the first time since the 2010-11 season. Buffalo is a point out of the final post in the Eastern Conference. Florida, Ottawa and Detroit are also within striking range of the final wild-card spot.

The Atlantic Division does have the front-runner in the odds to win the Vezina Trophy according to the NHL betting lines. Boston’s Linus Ullmark leads the NHL with 26 wins, a .937 save percentage and goals-against average of 1.90. David Pastrnak of the Bruins and the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov trail only Connor McDavid of the Edmonton Oilers in the Hart Memorial Trophy odds.

Boston is on pace to challenge the NHL records for wins and points in a season. According to the NHL odds, it is even money for the Bruins to go over 125½ points.

This is the perfect time to look at the teams that are overachieving as well as the ones falling short of expectations.

Here’s how the eight teams in the division have fared during the first half of the season. The preseason odds are in parenthesis.

Let’s check the latest NHL news, stats, injury reports, and NHL lines. We’ve got plenty of NHL picks for you to consider.

Boston Bruins (39-7-5)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+800) to -4000
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+1400) to +280
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+2800) to +500

What a start to the season for the Bruins. Boston has just one regulation loss at home and is pretty tough to beat on the road as well.

The @NHLBruins got back into the win column ahead of the #NHLAllStar break and joined an exclusive all-time list.#NHLStats: https://t.co/2RpxBVBUVBpic.twitter.com/9teC1pLoAI

— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 2, 2023

The move to fire Bruce Cassidy and hire Jim Montgomery was panned at the time. Now it looks like a smart decision. Montgomery has given the Boston players, especially the defensemen, more offensive freedom and it is hard to argue with the results.

Pastrnak, who will be a free agent at season’s end, leads Boston with 38 goals and 34 assists. He is on pace for a 60-goal season and he will command quite the salary if he chooses to go to the highest bidder.

Defenseman Hampus Lindholm, acquired during last season’s trade deadline, and Ullmark have emerged as bona-fide stars and the Bruins already have nine players with at least 10 goals.

Boston is tied for the NHL lead with a 33-18 record against the NHL betting lines This has been done with Jake DeBrusk, who is due back after the All-Star break, missing 15 games, star defenseman Charlie McAvoy out for 13 games while Brad Marchand and David Krejci have sat out a combined 13 games.

Toronto Maple Leafs (31-13-8)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+200) to +1200
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+500) to +450
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+1000) to +900

It is easy to overlook the first half that the Maple Leafs put together thanks to the shadow being cast by the Bruins. However, the 70 points are more than any team in the Western Conference.

Auston Matthews sat out five games, including the last three, so the hope is that he can return to the ice following the All-Star break. He is one of three Toronto players with more than 20 goals so once again the Maple Leafs are one of the more dynamic offensive teams in the league.

It has not been ideal that defensemen Mike Rielly, Rasmus Sandin T.J. Brodie and Timothy Liljegren have combined to miss 53 games in the first half.

Tampa Bay Lightning (32-15-1)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+275) to +2200
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+400) to +600
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+1000) to +1200

It was a bit of a sluggish start for the reigning Eastern Conference champions as the Lightning were 7-6-1 after 14 games. However, the Lightning are firmly in playoff position and will be a team that nobody wants to see in the postseason thanks to the number of proven playoff performers on the team.

Kucherov already has the third-most assists in his nine NHL seasons and he could make a run at a 90-assist season. While many of the top players are familiar names, the production from Brandon Hagel (19 goals, 41 points) and Nick Paul (16 goals) should not be overlooked.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has racked up 23 wins, even if there have been the occasional rough outing thrown in there. He is one of the top goalies in the world and a reason why Tampa Bay has enjoyed so much postseason success.

Buffalo Sabres (26-20-4)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+6600) to +50000
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+8000) to +6600
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+10000) to +2000

Tage Thompson had a remarkable first half with 34 goals and 34 assists while defenseman Rasmus Dahlin looks the part of the former No. 1 overall pick.

Alex Tuch, acquired in the Jack Eichel trade, is thriving while playing in his native New York. Tuch has a career-high 24 goals and his 55 points are also the most in his seven NHL seasons.

If the goaltending and the play in front of the net can improve in the second half, Buffalo might play its way into the postseason.

Florida Panthers (24-22-6)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+250) to +50000
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+550) to +2000
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+1100) to +4000

This is the most disappointing team in the division. The Panthers are four games under .500 on the road, and a squad expected to compete for the division title has work to do just to make it into the playoffs.

Key offseason acquisition Matthew Tkachuk is on pace to put up 40 goals and more than 100 points while Carter Verhaeghe already has 26 goals. However, the goaltending has left much to be desired with Sergei Bobrovsky and Spencer Knight owning goals-against averages of 3.24 and 3.05.

Just six Panthers have played all 52 games so that has played a factor. Keep an eye on the Panthers in the second half to see if they can get on a roll. Florida is among the NHL leaders with 29 of its games going over the Las Vegas odds total.

Ottawa Senators (20-26-3)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+2200) to N/A
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+3000) to +25000
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+6000) to +50000

Ottawa Senators was thought to be a dark-horse candidate to make it into the playoffs and it might still happen if the Senators learn how to win on the road.

Losing talented young center Josh Norris after just eight games was a huge blow. Veteran Claude Giroux has posted his first 20-goal season since the 2019-20 campaign while Tim Stutzle (22 goals, 27 assists) is showing why he was the third overall pick in the 2020 NHL Draft.

Veteran goalies Cam Talbot and Anton Forsberg have been pretty mediocre and more will be needed from them moving forward.

Detroit Red Wings (21-19-8)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+3000) to N/A
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+3000) to +12500
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+5000) to +50000

Things might be a little different for Detroit if not for eight overtime losses and a 1-3 record in shootouts.

Young stars Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider have struggled with consistency during the first half of the season.

Ville Husso has been pretty solid between the pipes. However, his backups are 4-8-3.

Montreal Canadiens (16-29-4)

• Odds to win Atlantic Division (+10000) to N/A
• Odds to win Eastern Conference (+8000) to +50000
• Odds to win the Stanley Cup (+15000) to +100000

Montreal has losing records both home and on the road, and with six teams below them in the standings, the Canadiens aren’t even in a good position to secure the No. 1 draft pick and add Connor Bedard to some talented young forwards.

Montreal won’t have Cole Caufield, who has a team-leading 26 goals, for the rest of the season. The Montreal Canadiens have the fewest goals in the division with Caufield, so one can only wonder what things will look like in the goal-scoring department without him.

Four of the top six scorers have plus/minus numbers ranging from -10 to -15 so it is pretty clear what the main issue is moving forward.