The Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference has been by far the strongest division in the east this year. The Boston Bruins have put some space between themselves and the rest of the pack, but there is no shortage of talent in this division. Let’s take a look at the MVP of each club in the Atlantic
Boston Bruins- The Bruins are the best team in the East right now and frankly they might be the best team in the NHL. The best player on this team this season has been Tuukka Rask. He’s one of the best goaltenders in the world and so far this season he has 33 wins with 2.01 GAA and a .931 save percentage, which plant him firmly into Vezina Trophy consideration. If he can get hot in the playoffs for the Bruins like he did last year, watch out for them to take the Stanley Cup.
Buffalo Sabres- Buffalo has been the worst team in the NHL this season by far. One good thing is that Ted Nolan has done a great job coaching this team this season and he may very well be awarded with an extension. Tyler Ennis has been the best player for the Sabres this season. He leads the team in goals with 19 and in points with 38. Buffalo may be a few years away from getting into the playoffs but Ennis is going to be the reason why Buffalo gets back there.
Detroit Red Wings- The second most injured team may still make the playoffs, which is just insane. Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg, Detroit’s two best players are out for the remainder of the regular season but this team is still finding ways to win. Gustav Nyquist is the reason why they are winning. Nyquist started the year in the AHL and since he was called up, he has been amazing. He leads the team in goals with 25 and is tied for 3rd on the team with points. Mike Babcock will also win the Jack Adams coach of the year award as well.
Florida Panthers- Florida hasn’t been a good team this season but that comes as no surprise. Regardless, the best player on the Panthers this season has been Scottie Upshall. He leads the in points with 35 and is a big player for the struggling Panthers. Florida looks like a team of spare parts and cast offs, but Upshall has made the most of his time in Miami this year.
Montreal Canadiens- Montreal has been a streaky team this season. At one point they started to lose a bit and a lot of fans were starting to ask for the fire of the coach. They are in prime position to make the playoffs right now and Max Pacioretty has been the reason why. He’s second on the team in points with 51 which is right behind P.K Subban for the team lead. He’s been very good for the team this season and has been a huge factor driving this team to the playoffs. Maybe this year he can get them past the first round after losing in five games to the Ottawa Senators last season.
Ottawa Senators- Ottawa has been a mess this season as they are currently at 500. The best player this season for them has been Erik Karlsson which comes as no surprise. He’s arguably the best defenseman in the league and has played that way this season for Ottawa. He leads the team in points with 69 and assists with 49. This is definitely something Ottawa can build off of as they look forward to next season.
Tampa Bay Lightning- Tampa Bay has also been one of the best teams in the East this season. They started out great but when Steven Stamkos got hurt, everyone thought that they would be done. It turned out that it didn’t matter. Ben Bishop has been the best player this season even when Stamkos was hurt. He’s one of the leading candidates for the Vezina trophy with 35 wins and a .926 save percentage. If they get to face Boston in the playoffs, the six-foot eight-inch Ben Bishop could cause huge problems for them both literally and figuratively.
Toronto Maple Leafs- Toronto has been a mess lately as they have lost six straight games but amazingly, they are still in the playoff hunt with a bunch of other teams. Phil Kessel is having one of the best seasons of his career, closing on the 40 goal mark for Toronto. He also leads the team in points with 77. If Toronto is to get out of this slump and make the playoffs, it will be because of Kessel.