Carey Price (Montreal Canadiens)
While the Montreal Canadiens may be a bit of an afterthought and an unlikely team to even challenge for a wild-card berth, Carey Price could still rain on the Boston Bruins’ parade.
All of the top four teams in the Atlantic still have games left to play against Montreal and we all know that Price, on his day, can steal a game.
This is especially concerning as the Habs are showing improved offensive skill these days with the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk and Tomas Tatar rolling back the years in support of Nick Suzuki and Joel Armia.
For the Boston Bruins, their last remaining fixture against Price has to result in a win, while they’ll be relying on him to shut-out the Lightning in the final game of their season series.
Between Florida and Toronto, there’s still four more games with the Canadiens so there’s definitely still plenty of points on the table. If Carey Price can show the form that had people calling him the ‘best in the world’, it’s all good news for the Boston Bruins.
Not often you’ll hear us say that; it’s good news for the Bruins if the Habs win?!
Craig Anderson (Ottawa Senators)
While Craig Anderson is likely winding down his career and the Ottawa Senators look very much like a team that, although alright on their day, are a way off the play-off pace and likely a contender for the first draft pick this summer; they still hold some keys to the Atlantic Division race.
Much like the case with the Canadiens, both the Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning still have another fixture with Ottawa, while Florida and Toronto have two each.
Those six games offer 12 vital points in the race for top spot (or at least a home first-round spot) in the Atlantic.