NHL Mid-Season Grades: Atlantic Division
The NHL regular season is nearing the halfway point. THN.com is checking in and assigning letter grades for what they’ve done so far.
The Boston Bruins are the best team in the NHL. They are 32-5-4, 68 points. The next-best team is nine points behind them. Boston hasn't had a fully-healthy lineup for the whole year. They've lost exactly one game in regulation time on home ice all season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs are the third-best team in the NHL with 59 points. They have had a lot of injuries this season, but coach Sheldon Keefe has managed to keep his team together. They are going about the season in a workmanlike way to prepare themselves for the playoffs.
Tampa Bay Lightning have been about as good as Toronto, but they have a better road record and fewer regulation-time losses. The team's recent losses have hurt them. They have three games in hand on Toronto. They are a good team, with good young players, and a great goalie, Andrei Vasilevsky.
Detroit Red Wings are 18-15-7, 43 points, two points behind the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have the NHL's 20th-ranked goals-against average (3.33), and penalty-kill (75.6 percent). Their defense is the main problem, and their goalkeeping is not as good as Steve Yzerman's team had hoped.
Buffalo Sabres are on a three-game win streak. They have more than $18.1 million in salary cap space. GM Kevyn Adams should look for a veteran player in the trade market.
Florida Panthers were the NHL's best regular-season team last year with a 58-18-6 record. This season they are 19-20-4 and are in the playoff race for the final wild-card slot. They are only five points ahead of 15th-place Montreal. First-year coach Paul Maurice needs to improve his team's play.
The Ottawa Senators are struggling this season. They are currently in 13th place in the East and are out of the playoffs. Their team needs to improve to have a chance to make the post-season. The team's performance is not good enough for a team trying to exit a rebuild.
Montreal Canadiens are 17-22-3-1, 37 points. They are expected to struggle this season. Their coach Martin St-Louis has done well in building the confidence of the young players. However, there is a drop-off in talent in their bottom nine forwards and their defense.
