Maple Leafs Rivals Report: Crossing The Atlantic
Feb 7, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Toronto Maple Leafs forward Mike Santorelli (25) takes a shot on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Viktor Fasth (35)at the Air Canada Centre. Toronto defeated Edmonton 5-1. Mandatory Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
The Toronto Maple Leafs are bobbing up and down between the sixth and seventh spot in the Atlantic Division.
There are two reasons for that:
More from Editor In Leaf
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Nick Robertson Healthy and Ready
- Ryan Reaves Will Have Zero Impact on Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Playing Max Domi In Top-Six a HUGE Mistake
- Top 10 Scandals in the History of the Toronto Maple Leafs
- Toronto Maple Leafs: Results from the Traverse City Prospects Tournament
1) The Leafs have been a bad hockey team since the clock struck 2015 and;
2) The Ottawa Senators are equally as bad of a hockey team.
The Maple Leafs have taken away the spotlight from a heated race for the top of the division as well as the play of the Florida Panthers, Ottawa Senators and the disastrous Buffalo Sabres.
As always with Crossing The Atlantic, let’s take a look at how the rest of the Atlantic Division is doing and give credit where credit is due – whether it’s good or bad.
Next: Tampa Bay Lightning
Feb 8, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Tampa Bay Lightning center Brian Boyle (11) and Tampa Bay Lightning left wing Ondrej Palat (18) congratulate each other after they beat the Anaheim Ducks at Amalie Arena. Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Anaheim Ducks 5-3. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
Tampa Bay Lightning
The Lightning remain in the top spot in the division, but for how long?
The Eastern Conference powerhouse team went 2-1-1 this week with victories over Dallas and Anaheim, a regulation loss to the Los Angeles Kings and an OT loss to the St. Louis Blues.
Tampa continues to battle injuries to their blueline which has led to their inclusion in trade talks as of late.
The Leafs GM Dave Nonis took in a Lightning game this week as the Leafs may have the cure – Franson/Gardiner – to what ails the Lightning.
Steven Stamkos, Tyler Johnson and Valtteri Filppula continue to lead the way for the Lightning.
Tampa Bay placed Evgeni Nabokov on waivers last week and he cleared, leading to much speculation about his future.
That speculation was confirmed today when the Lightning sent Nabokov to the San Jose Sharks for future considerations so the veteran goaltender could retire with the team who drafted him.
Next Three Opponents: Nashville Predators, St Louis Blues, San Jose Sharks
Next: Montreal Canadiens
Feb 8, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) celebrates with goalie Carey Price (31) after defeating the Boston Bruins 3-1 at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Montreal Canadiens
Carey Price continues to take this team to places they shouldn’t be – sorry Habs fans.
Les Canadiens went 2-1 this week with victories over the New Jersey Devils and Boston Bruins while losing to the lowly Buffalo Sabres.
Montreal is hot on the tail of the Tampa Bay Lightning, though, sitting only two points back with three games in hand.
Only Pekka Rinne (94.27%) has a better 5v5 save percentage than Carey Price’s 94.10%. That’s an amazing number for a goaltender and should in no way be overlooked when talking about this team.
Rinne and Price will be neck and neck for the Vezina but Price should be the leader for the Hart Trophy this year.
The Canadiens will need to start scoring goals to take some pressure off of Price as only the Boston Bruins and Vancouver Canucks have scored less than Montreal out of all teams currently in a playoff position.
Next Three Opponents: Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Toronto Maple Leafs
Next: Detroit Red Wings
Feb 5, 2015; Denver, CO, USA; Detroit Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek (34) (left) is congratulated for the win over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center. The Red Wings defeat the Avalanche 3-0. Mandatory Credit: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports
Detroit Red Wings
The Wings went 2-0 this week, beating the Arizona Coyotes and the Colorado Avalanche in a lightly scheduled week.
A Mike Babcock team should never be counted out.
The Red Wings have allowed only three goals in their last four games and find themselves tied with the Canadiens for 2nd in the conference and the division.
Detroit also has three games in hand on the first place Lightning.
Tomas Tatar led the way for the Wings offensively this week with a goal and three assists, finding his way into four of the Red Wings six goals this week.
Petr Mrazek is playing fantastic for the Red Wings.
The Red Wings are keeping veterans Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg fresh every night by a great display of line balancing – which will only make them more dangerous come playoff time.
Next Three Opponents: Pittsburgh Penguins, Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens
Next: Boston Bruins
Feb 8, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Jimmy Bjorkman stands next to Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara (33) during player introductions before the game against the Montreal Canadiens at TD Banknorth Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports
Boston Bruins
The Bruins have turned their season around since Zdeno Chara returned and have been aided by the mediocrity of the Florida Panthers as well as the face planting of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The B’s went 1-2 this week, beating the New York Islanders while losing to the New York Rangers and the Montreal Canadiens.
Fourth place in the Atlantic is where they currently stand – and it’s where they should finish.
The Bruins are in a battle for a wildcard playoff seed this year with Montreal and Detroit 9 points away. Boston holds a six point lead over Florida for the second WC spot.
The odds are not good for the Bruins first round fate as they’ll likely face either the Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders or Pittsburgh Penguins.
Next Three Opponents: Dallas Stars, Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames
Next: Florida Panthers
Feb 5, 2015; Sunrise, FL, USA; Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5) skates before a game against the Los Angeles Kings at BB&T Center. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-USA TODAY Sports
Florida Panthers
The “fancy cats” as the analytics community has dubbed them have been a surprise this year and remain in contention for a playoff spot thanks to a good week.
The Panthers went 2-1-1 to collect 5 of 8 points while beating the Islanders and Kings, taking Nashville to a shootout and losing to the Rangers.
Florida has a respectable score-adjusted fenwick of 51.4 and sit 11th in the NHL in Corsi% with 51.7%.
They haven’t played bad hockey, they just don’t have the offensive weaponry to legitimately compete at a high level. That will come over time, though, as they have been building a nice team.
This past week has allowed them to keep a dim hope of making the postseason and further shocking the hockey world. Good things are on the horizon for the Panthers, just not this season.
Next Three Opponents: Anaheim Ducks, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars
Next: Ottawa Senators
Feb 7, 2015; Ottawa, Ontario, CAN; Columbus Blue Jackets left wing Nick Foligno (71) scores against Ottawa Senators goalie Robin Lehner (40) in the third period at the Canadian Tire Centre. The Blue Jackets defeated the Senators 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
Ottawa Senators
The Senators are 3-6-1 in their last ten, including an 0-3 record this past week.
Ottawa dropped decisions to New Jersey, Washington and Columbus while only managing to score three goals over the three games.
The Senators should be thanking their inter-provincial rivals for taking any and all heat off of their terrible performance this season.
The Senators do hold three games in hand over the Maple Leafs and will likely leapfrog them and move into sixth when the games even out, but that’s as far as the dream will go for Ottawa this year.
Craig Anderson continues to be a sought after commodity in the trade market but Murray continues to downplay the Sens desire to move their veteran goaltender.
Anderson has been one of the best 5v5 goaltenders in the league this year and should be credited with most of the Senators minimal success this year.
Next Three Opponents: Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, Edmonton Oilers
Next: Buffalo Sabres
Feb 8, 2015; Buffalo, NY, USA; Buffalo Sabres head coach Ted Nolan watches play during the third period against the New York Islanders at First Niagara Center. Islanders beat the Sabres 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports
Buffalo Sabres
The Sabres might not be very good at hockey, but they’re excellent in hiding a deliberate tank.
Buffalo went 2-2 this week, beating Montreal and Dallas, to keep the heat off their tanking success after losing 14 straight games. That’s right, 14! That’s more than Toronto lost.
There isn’t much to say about Buffalo. They’re working hard toward ensuring themselves one of Connor McDavid or Jack Eichel.
The Buffalo Sabres will be relevant again in the near future but don’t expect them to let up on the tailspin anytime soon.
They are locked-in on McEichel and there’s no changing the target at this point in the mission.
Next Three Opponents: Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Flyers, New Jersey Devils