With the new season rapidly approaching, it's only natural to ask: which teams will reach the 2018 NHL Playoffs, and who will drop out?
Last week, we took a sneak peak at the Metropolitan Division’s playoff hopes. With the Metro projected to send four teams to the playoffs with the Rangers sitting on the edge, there’s a possibility that four Atlantic Division teams could make the tournament for Lord Stanley’s Cup in April 2018.
Easily In
Montréal Canadiens
The Canadiens have won the Atlantic Division two of their past three seasons. In 2015- 2016, the Canadiens were dealt multiple injuries, including a season-ending injury to their franchise goalie, Carey Price. A healthy Montréal squad will win their division once again this year.
Price has been a heart of this franchise while winning the Hart Trophy and the Vezina Trophy for his play in the 2014-2015 season. In 2017, he was ninth among goalies with a .923 save percentage and sixth among goalies with a 2.23 GAA (Goals Against Average).
Price’s numbers are helped by the defense in front of him. Led by Shea Weber, the Canadiens have one of the best defensive units in the league. Allowing only 2.41 GA/GP (Goals Against per Games Played), their defense was the fourth-best in goals against last season.
Behind Weber on the blue line, the Canadiens have made moves to bolster that part of their roster. Jordie Benn was acquired from Dallas at the deadline last year, and the Canadiens brought in Karl Alzner, David Schlemko, and Mark Streit during the offseason. This defense will be difficult for offenses to handle and will make Price’s job much easier.
Led by Max Pacioretty, Thomas Plekanec, and Brendan Gallagher, the Canadiens' 2.71 (GF/GP) shows that Montréal’s offense is the weakest part of their team. Before the Canadiens can be considered a powerhouse, they need more depth in their lineup. Many trade rumors have been following Montréal, including the possibility of acquiring Matt Duchene or John Tavares. On the downside, Alexander Radulov chose not to re-sign with the Canadiens. Montréal is hoping for young forward Jonathan Drouin to help solve some of their scoring issues after acquiring him in a trade from Tampa.
Despite their troubles on the offensive end, the Canadiens' defense will be too good and will help get them back into the playoffs once again.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Last year, the Maple Leafs showed the hockey world what they can do. Toronto qualified for the playoffs for the first time since their Game 7 meltdown against the Boston Bruins in 2013. The young team pushed Washington to overtime in Game 6 before getting officially eliminated (five of the six games in the series went to OT).
Toronto was the NHL’s fifth highest scoring team with 3.05 GF/GP. The Maple Leafs were led by their young core in the 2016-2017 season, as Austin Matthews and Mitchell Marner combined for 130 points in their rookie season. With their veteran forwards, such as Nazem Kadri, Tyler Bozak, William Nylander, James van Riemsdyk, and the offseason signing of free agents Patrick Marleau and Dominic Moore, the Maple Leafs have one of the best offenses in the league that is ready to compete at a Stanley Cup-caliber level.
The Leafs are the opposite of the Canadiens; Toronto’s issue is their defense. Their 2.85 GA/GP was 22nd in the league last season. Before Toronto can go deep in the playoffs, they need to reinforce their defense.
On a positive note, Frederik Anderson has proved to be the good backstop that Toronto needed to help them get back into the playoffs last year. While his numbers are not fantastic (.918 save percentage and 2.67 GAA), his defense can take much of the blame.
Toronto’s high scoring offense will help them return to the playoffs once again in 2018.
On the Cusp
Tampa Bay Lightning
Going into the 2016-2017 season, the Lightning were a favorite to win the Cup. That all changed on November 15th, when Steven Stamkos suffered a season-ending knee injury. Tampa would go on to miss the playoffs in April, but their hopes of returning are quite high.
Tampa is known to have one of the best offenses in the league. Their core, without Stamkos, features Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat, Ryan Callahan, Cedric Paquette, and young Brayden Point. With the loss of Jonathan Drouin to Montréal, Tampa signed Chris Kunitz as a replacement.
This offense has depth and can score. Tampa finished 22.8% on the power play last season (without Stamkos for most of the year), but their scoring was down at 14th with 2.80 GF/GP. With a healthy Stamkos, this number will go up.
Tampa’s defense is strong. While they were 16th in goals against at 2.73 GA/GP, the Tampa defensemen have no problem attacking. Led by Victor Hedman, Anton Stralman, and Andrej Sustr, the Lightning's blue line is looking to build on last season. While losing Jason Garrison to Vegas in the expansion draft, Tampa has some young players waiting to crack the lineup. Jake Dotchin and Slater Koekkoek are looking to become consistent names on the roster.
Lastly, the Lightning now have their goalie situation figured out. Andre Vasilevskiy will be the starting goaltender with Peter Budaj backing him up.
The Lightning’s postseason hopes rest on the goalies. Vasilevskiy will start his first season as the number one man. His .917 save percentage and 2.61 GAA were not great, but with a larger workload, look for Vasilevskiy to do better this season.
Tampa will make the playoffs as one of the top 3 teams from the Atlantic Division.
Ottawa Senators
One year ago, if somebody said that the Senators would make the playoffs, many people would not have believed it. However, Ottawa was only one goal away from the Stanley Cup Final, taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to the brink of elimination in a Game 7 overtime thriller. So, why is Ottawa merely on the cusp of a playoff berth?
Unfortunately, the numbers do not help Ottawa. They were 22nd in scoring with 2.51 GF/GP, and even their power play struggled at 23rd in the league with 17.0%. Ottawa was also the only team to make the playoffs last season with a negative goal differential (-2). However, there are many positives for the 2018 season.
Craig Anderson backstopped the Senators with a .926 save percentage, the third best among goalies with at least 25 games played. In front of Anderson, the Senators defense was solid. Led by Norris Trophy nominee, Erik Karlsson, the Senators had the NHL’s 10th best GAA at 2.56 GA/GP.
The Senators did not lose any big names; however, they did re-sign forward Jean-Gabriel Pageau and goalie Mike Condon while bringing in defenseman Johnny Oduya. With a good backup goalie and some extra depth at each position, the Senators will have the playoffs in their grasp. They will be fighting for the third seed in the Atlantic while also competing with the Rangers for the last wild card spot.
(2017 Standings)
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have been battling to reach the playoffs ever since they gave up two goals in 17 seconds to lose the Cup in 2013. After missing the playoffs in two consecutive seasons, the Bruins found themselves playing postseason hockey again in 2017.
Boston's offense is led by Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, David Krejki, David Pastrnak, and David Backes. Re-signing David Pastrnak was a pain for the Bruins this offseason, but eventually, Pastrnak agreed. Boston’s 2.83 GF/GP was good enough to cement them at 13th in scoring last season. Their third best 53.2% faceoff percentage helped the Bruins start the play with the puck, leading to more clears from their defensive zone and more scoring chances.
Boston’s strong defense allowed 2.55 GA/GP, which was 9th best in the NHL. Zdeno Chara and Torey Krug are strong defenders for Boston and their 85.7% penalty kill percentage was good enough to lead the league. Their best penalty killer is still in net for them, too; the ever resilient Tukka Rask. His 2.23 GAA was 7th in the NHL, but his .915 save percentage was only 20th.
If Boston can have a strong blue line and a good season from Rask, they will contend for a playoff berth once again.
Out of the Playoffs
Florida Panthers
The Panthers are a team that finally returned to the playoffs in 2016, losing in the first round to the New York Islanders. They are young and skilled, but with the firing of head coach Gerard Gallant early in the 2017 season, the Panthers could not find their game. During the offseason, the Panthers hired Bob Boughner for his first head coaching tenure in the NHL after serving as an assistant coach for the Sharks the previous two seasons.
With a new coach, the Panthers have hope. Their 2.82 GA/GP last season put them at 19th in the league in goals against. Scoring only 2.50 GF/GP, the Panthers were 23rd in the NHL is scoring. They need to improve these stats before they can get back to the playoffs.
The Panthers' defense is led by two strong players: Aaron Ekblad and Keith Yandle. Unfortunately, Florida’s defense is not too solid behind these two. Their offensive core is held up by Nick Bjugstad, Aleksander Barkov, Jonathan Huberdeau, and their captain, Derek McKenzie. With depth players in Jamie McGinn, Radim Vrbata, and Michael Haley, the Panthers' offense should improve this season. However, Florida will still likely miss the playoffs.
Detroit Red Wings
The Red Wings did not make the playoffs last season for the first time since the 1989-1990 season. Detroit’s roster needs a lot of help after Ken Holland overpaid many of their older players. Currently, the Red Wings are sitting at $3 million over their cap limit. With this, and Andreas Anthanasiou unsigned, the near future does not look bright for Detroit.
The Red Wings have nearly the same lineup as last year. They have good players at every position, but they just can’t seem to win games. The Wings were 26th in both goals allowed and goals scored last season with 2.98 GA/GP and 2.41 GF/GP. Their 27th ranked power play and their 16th ranked penalty kill did not help them, either.
Detroit does boast some strong, young forwards in Dylan Larkin, Justin Abdelkader, Anthony Mantha, and (hopefully) Anreas Anthanasiou. Detroit’s defense is led by Niklas Kronwall, and behind him are some good blue liners in Danny DeKeyser, Jonathan Eriksson, Mike Green, and offseason addition Trevor Daley. Also, Xavier Ouellet gave Red Wings fans some hope last season.
The biggest positive for Detroit is their farm system. The Grand Rapids Griffins were the best team in the AHL last season, winning the Calder Cup. This will give Red Wing fans more hope that their young players could soon be ready to make the NHL.
The Red Wings need a roster makeover and will have to rely on their younger players while fixing their salary cap issues. The Red Wings will once again miss the playoffs in 2018.
Buffalo Sabres
With the addition of Jack Eichel, many Sabres fans were hoping for a quick return to the playoffs. Unfortunately, Buffalo’s 78 points was the second-worst mark in the Eastern Conference last season.
The Sabres did make many offseason signings such as veteran forward Benoit Pouliot., and they did re-sign goalie Robin Lehner. Their offense is led by Eichel, Ryan O’Reilly, and young Sam Reinhart, but their offense was unable to do their job last season, scoring only 2.43 GF/GP, putting the Sabres at 25th in scoring in the NHL. However, Buffalo did have the best power play last season, tallying goals at 24.5% on the man advantage.
Their defense was 20th in the NHL in goals against with 2.82 GA/GP. The Sabres' penalty kill was low in the league at a mere 77.6%. Buffalo's defense will look to Zach Bogosian, Rasmus Ristolainen, and Josh Gorges to lead the way. With Robin Lehner re-signed, the Sabres will have their number one goalie ready for the start of the season.
Still, with a weak defense and an offense that still doesn't score enough unless it's on the power play, the Sabres will once again miss the playoffs.
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