The Boston Bruins' hot start to the season has them at a .792 winning percentage heading into Tuesday night's game against the Carolina Hurricanes. It is the best winning percentage in the league, and they sit with 19 points, three ahead of the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. No one is crowning the Bruins division champions yet, and given the competition, the race will likely come down to the season's final days.
In any other division, the Bruins would be six points clear of the fourth-place team with games in hand. However, the Tampa Bay Lightning are currently just four points back with a game in hand. The Montreal Canadiens and Florida Panthers are a point behind them, and even the struggling Detroit Red Wings and Buffalo Sabres are within striking distance.
The Atlantic is the only NHL division without a single club under .500 points percentage:
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) October 27, 2026
Boston, .792
TB, .682
Ottawa, .667
Montreal, .636
Florida, .583
Toronto, .571
Detroit, .542
Buffalo, .500
Every other division has teams with winning percentages below .500. The Metropolitan Division has three, the Central has only one, but the pillow-fight Pacific has four teams below the mark. It'd be great for the Bruins to have a bit of that breathing room, but it looks like things won't get any easier for them, and they'll need to keep padding their lead in the standings.
The Panthers' injuries are keeping them at bay, while the Canadiens are dealing with their own injuries and are still on a two-game winning streak. As we sit here on Tuesday afternoon, the Maple Leafs are the only Atlantic Division team that didn't earn at least one point in their last game, with five securing wins and the other two getting an overtime loss.
Who in the Atlantic is for real?
The Red Wings are persevering through all the drama surrounding the organization, but the shoe will drop, and a trade involving Dylan Larkin will happen. They are hunting for immediate help to stay in the playoff race, but things could get worse, not better, depending on how that trade goes.
The Sabres were banking on goaltending help, but after Connor Hellebuyck joined the New Jersey Devils, it looks like they need to lean on their three-headed monster from last season. Buffalo hasn't looked as good this season, but they didn't look good at the start of last season either, before winning the division.
The Maple Leafs are hanging onto third place after a four-game win streak, but their loss to the Calgary Flames on Monday night showed cracks and left them with the third-worst winning percentage in the division. Having two games in hand on everyone else is helping them stay afloat.
The Atlantic has a strong chance of sending five teams to the postseason. If the Red Wings, Sabres, and Maple Leafs fall off, the other five get berths. However, you know at least one of those teams, maybe two, will make a push. The moral of the story is that no matter how good the Bruins look this season, fans will never be able to get comfortable.
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