BOSTON - OCTOBER 14: Boston Bruins' David Pastrnak, (88, far left) celebrates his goal against the Anaheim Ducks with Bruins teammates Jake DeBrusk (74) and Patrice Bergeron (37) during the first period. The Boston Bruins host the Anaheim Ducks in a regular season NHL hockey game at TD Garden on Oct. 14, 2019. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
BOSTON – OCTOBER 14: Boston Bruins’ David Pastrnak (88, left) celebrates his goal against the Anaheim Ducks with Bruins teammate Jake DeBrusk (74) during the first period. The Boston Bruins host the Anaheim Ducks in a regular season NHL hockey game at TD Garden on Oct. 14, 2019. (Photo by Jessica Rinaldi/The Boston Globe via Getty Images) /
Week 2 of the NHL season has concluded which means that fans we have begun to formulate opinions about the Boston Bruins and other fans no doubt have formed theirs, opening an avenue of speculation and over-reaction.
Some teams have been able to continue their success from last season (Carolina Hurricanes and our own Boston Bruins), while others are enjoying hot starts, hinting towards a possible breakout (Buffalo Sabres).
We have seen some in-division match-ups early that have brought surprising results. Often, we overlook the importance of these in-division match-ups at the beginning of the season while highlighting them as the playoffs approach.
The Boston Bruins have not played any in-division teams after two weeks, but they have continued their dominance over the Western Conference after finishing last year 25-5-5 against the West Coast.
Regardless of what we have seen after Boston’s first six games, we can be certain of one thing; David Pastrnak is an elite talent.
After week two of the NHL season, here are my power rankings of the Atlantic Division.
8. Ottawa Senators
The up and down season continues for Brady Tkachuk and the Ottawa Senators. I am predicting that the Sens will consistently remain at the bottom of the power rankings even if they have the capability of hitting hot streaks.
The unpredictability and style of play of D.J. Smith and his young team will provide their fans with hope, like after the 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday, while also sending them into a frustrated frenzy like after Monday night’s loss to the Minnesota Wild (1-4-0) on home ice.
The Bruins went 4-0 last season against the Senators, highlighted by an OT win on the road last December after a tap-in goal scored by none other than Torey Krug (as seen here).
Bruins face off against the Senators for the first time this season on November 2nd.
7. Detroit Red Wings
Appearing in this spot last week, the Red Wings didn’t give me enough reason to move them up in the power rankings.
With that being said, I have been very impressed with the hot start by Anthony Mantha this year. The 25-year old vet looks like a much-improved player whose impressive power-speed combo has proven to be able to win Detroit games this year.
He’s the type of player that the Bruins wished Jimmy Hayes had turned into, and I think that he provides Detroit with a much needed game changing presence.
On tap next for the Wings is a Canadian West Coast road swing which could result in a ranking rise next week if they can obtain positive results over the likes of Vancouver, Calgary, and Edmonton.
6. Montreal Canadiens
Moving down the Canadiens one spot since last week is more contributed to the rise of the Florida Panthers, than a set back by the Montreal Canadiens.
Like the Senators, the Canadiens have shown inconsistency in their competitions to begin the season, but they have been able to keep every match-up close as they have not yet lost a game by more than a two-goal deficit.
In the early part of this decade the Canadiens were the most feared opponent of the Boston Bruins as their speed combated well against the Bruins size. Recently though it has been a different story.
The Bruins have acquired speed (Jake DeBrusk and Karson Kuhlman) while the Canadiens have arguably gotten smaller.
I don’t fear the Canadiens the way I used too, and I think that their organization has more work to do before they can challenge the Bruins for a top three spot in the division.
The Canadiens only lost 12 games at home in 2018-19 while Boston handed them two of those home losses. We’ll see if the trend can continue into this season when the Bruins take on the Canadiens on the road in three weeks’ time.
5. Florida Panthers
Entering the season, I expected the fifth spot in the power rankings to be held by the Buffalo Sabres, but after a rough start by Sergei Bobrovsky, we find the Panthers barely holding onto a top five spot.
The good news: The Panthers saw improvement in the second week of the NHL season as they grabbed points in all three games of the week.
The bad news: The upcoming schedule has the Panthers playing seven games against teams who have a combined record of 29-10-1.
We’ll see if the Panthers are the real deal or not after these next seven games, as this could largely affect the type of playoff race we expect to have in the Atlantic division this season.
4. Toronto Maple Leafs
The biggest fallers of the week belong to the Toronto Maple Leafs. Although the Leafs were able to secure two wins in the last seven days, the wins came against teams that I project to finish near the bottom of the standings this season.
When Morgan Reilly and his teammates have played against teams with high powered offences, their lack of defensive ability has made them vulnerable.
I have watched each of Toronto’s first eight games of the year and I can tell you that the Leafs look like the same team the Bruins faced int the first round of the 2019 post-season.
This is not as impressive as I’ve made it sound considering they’re paying Mitch Marner and Auston Matthews a combined $20.7 million dollars more than last season.
The Leafs can score goals, they’ve never had a problem doing that. The Bruins can too, and just like 2018-19, the team with the better goalie performance will likely walk away as the winner in Toronto on Saturday night.
3. Tampa Bay Lightning
The Bolts are gaining strength after a week that included dominant victories over Toronto and Montreal.
The key to a Bruins victory over Tampa Bay tonight will be to stay disciplined and limit the amount of time Nikita Kucherov and Steven Stamkos spend on the powerplay.
The Bolts have an impressive 31.25% powerplay percentage (against a league average 20.92%) while Kucherov and Stamkos have combined for three goals on the man advantage.
The more time the Bruins can spend at even strength, or better yet, on their own powerplay, the better chance the black and yellow will walk away with two points.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, in-division match-ups are important, regardless the time of the year, and I’m sure Patrice Bergeron and the rest of his team know this as they head into the game against Tampa.
2. Buffalo Sabres
I told you the Sabres would be able to remain at the top of the rankings for the first few weeks of the season. The Sabres currently lead the division in points and have yet to suffer a loss in regulation.
The schedule for the Sabres have been favorable for Ralph Krueger and his team, and they now enter a California road swing that is often a challenge for the Atlantic division.
Like Detroit last week, I do believe the Sabres are playing above their skill level and I expect regression to hit soon. Regardless of when, or if, the regression hits the Sabres, I am a firm believer that at least four teams will represent the Atlantic division in the 2020 playoffs.
If this happens, the most interesting playoff race to watch would likely be the one that secures either of the two wildcard positions.
1. Boston Bruins
Here we are again. The Bruins have not cooled off yet as they own a 5-1-0 record which includes two very impressive home wins against the New Jersey Devils and Anaheim Ducks.
The perfection line looks as good as ever, and we continue to see fantastic performances from Tuukka Rask and Jaroslav Halak.
The Bruins have the same 31.25% powerplay percentage as the Tampa Bay Lightning and have followed that up with an also impressive 83.33% penalty kill percentage, both above league average.
As he leads the special team units, Charlie McAvoy is blossoming into being the next greatest Bruins defenseman. Charlie is first on the B’s in blocks, is second in hits, and is clocking a ridiculous 22:17 minutes a game.
The next six-game stretch for the Bruins is perhaps the hardest they’ll face all season and will be a true test of the depth in their lineup.
Luckily Rask was able to avoid a serious injury after the game against the Golden Knights, but David Krejci’s status remains uncertain heading into the weekend. The Bruins will need as many healthy bodies as possible should they want to have success against the Lightning and Maple Leafs.
My Weekend Prediction: Tuukka Rask gets the nod for the second straight game and shuts the door on Auston Matthews and the Maple Leafs. The Bruins depth, specifically their third line, shines as Charlie Coyle scores the game winner in an exciting 2-1 win for the Bruins. New week, same mission. Let’s go Boston.
