Predict the Atlantic Standings

[HabsQC]

Can I ask who these people are?

Bergevin, Dubas

 

[cowboy82nd]

Bergevin, Dubas

Thanks. It completely flew over my head.

 

[The Winter Soldier]

I would with a lot of what has been said.
TB, FLA, BOS and TOR will be the top 4 but not sure of the order to be honest.

MON is likely 5th.

OTT will probably be 6th with a slim chance that if everything goes right for them DET could challenge for 6th. However I think DET is safely in 7th with BUF dead last.

This is a reasonable take. I don't think Boston will miss the playoffs. They have the culture and structure to continue to be a very good hockey team. Cassidy will get the most out of the team. They came out of a very tough division last year, they should make it barring any significant injuries. For me, the 4th and final playoff position will be a dog fight between Montreal and Toronto. It's a toss up IMO. I feel Ottawa is a rising team, they may surprise, but are more likely to still need a year before making a realistic push for the playoffs.

 

[wintersej]

Bold of you to put Detroit ahead of Montreal. In all honesty, I don’t think Kotkaniemi is a big factor to consider when you try to predict the standings. He had low end 3rd line production last year. It’s already been widely reported that if Bergevin let KK walk, another center is coming back in a trade. In the short term, Montreal might be much, much better with a Suzuki-Dvorak combo at C rather than a Suzuki-Kotkaniemi but we’ll see Saturday.

The loss of Danault on the ice and Weber in the room hurts a lot, so we’ll see how that work out next year. It’s really anyone’s guess at this point.

Who doesn’t get talked a lot but should is Boston. I think itms finally the year that they end up in the cave (or at least miss the playoff). They lost too many key pieces and if think Montreal has it bad at C, just take a look at their Center depth.

Boston lost Krejci up front.

They gained a full season of Taylor Hall. About a wash, no?

And then they really helped out their depth with Foligno, Haula and Nosek signings.

 

[Pyrophorus]

It'll be nice to see the Fairy Godmother ride off into retirement...

We agree.

 

[Pyrophorus]

You Leafs fans, you all really do over think it. Be more Bergey and less Dubey.

One makes the playoffs, the other normally wouldn't.

 

[flying v 604]

Probably had something to do with the fact they missed a bunch of time due to Covid and had to play 25 qames in the last 43 days or something while missing a bunch of players. Funny how your entire argument hinges on Covid changing the format and giving them an unfair advantage and then you ignore how they were majorly disadvantaged by Covid as well...

Sorry but a Habs fan using covid as an excuse is funny and ironic. Without covid the last two years the Habs don't even sniff the po, as for tough schedules, covid and injuries see Vancouver whos first 19 games and last 20 were more condensed and the Habs were one of the teams that got to exploit them the most during the first part of the season.
Anyone who thinks they are a top team is drinking to much kool-aid.

 

[holy]

One makes the playoffs, the other normally wouldn't.

We don’t care about normal. And let’s not go there lmao, didn’t you guys not even sniff the playoffs for close to 10 straight years a little while back?

I expect the same to occur when Matthews becomes the anointed one in his hometown in a couple of years.

 

[Prairie Habs]

Sorry but a Habs fan using covid as an excuse is funny and ironic. Without covid the last two years the Habs don't even sniff the po, as for tough schedules, covid and injuries see Vancouver whos first 19 games and last 20 were more condensed and the Habs were one of the teams that got to exploit them the most during the first part of the season.
Anyone who thinks they are a top team is drinking to much kool-aid.

Just because they benefited from the re-alignment doesn't mean they can't get screwed in season by being shut down with Covid. Who cares if Vancouver also got screwed? More than 1 team can be disadvantaged by something. The Canucks also suffered because Holtby was a bad goalie last year, doesn't change that they Flyers also suffered from terrible goaltending.

Your whole post is a strawman though because of your "Anyone who thinks they are a top team is drinking to much kool-aid" summary at the end. No one claimed that. Someone said the Habs were in free fall to end the season and I provided an explanation.

 

[Essenege]

Sorry but a Habs fan using covid as an excuse is funny and ironic. Without covid the last two years the Habs don't even sniff the po, as for tough schedules, covid and injuries see Vancouver whos first 19 games and last 20 were more condensed and the Habs were one of the teams that got to exploit them the most during the first part of the season.
Anyone who thinks they are a top team is drinking to much kool-aid.

If you think playing a game more a week then direct competitors for an extended period doesn’t matter…think again. Hockey is highly physical and having a more rested team is certainly a huge helper. I’m sure there’s pretty clear stats on that.

Vancouver, Dallas and Montreal all struggled in the weeks after the break. This graphs sums it up well for Montreal.

It’s ok to say the Habs might miss the playoffs, but if we’re gonna référence standing points as an argument, we might as well bring the full context.

They played well outside of the post covid stretch (first 30 games and playoffs)

 

[SheldonJPlankton]

It's a bit odd...when you think on it.

The Leafs frequently make the Playoffs and then proceed to prove to the world that they simply aren't Playoff contenders. On the other hand, the Habs likely wouldn't have made the recent Playoffs under normal circumstances, yet they've proven themselves as legitimate Playoff performers.

Go figure.

 

[Dion TheFluff]

1) Lightning
2) Leafs
3) Panthers
4) Bruins
5) Habs
6) Sens
7) Wings
8) Sabres

 

[HockeyVirus]

1) Lightning
2) Leafs
3) Panthers
4) Bruins
5) Habs
6) Sens
7) Wings
8) Sabres

Flip Bruins and Sens IMO

 

[DieselBoy]

Flip Bruins and Sens IMO

I think the Sens are relying on too many players to take the next step. I think Chabot will be a beast but guys like Batherson, Stutzle, Brannstrom, etc.. aren’t all likely to realise their potential at the same time. They’re an easy pick for a sleeper team but I think they just need more time.

 

[GrandBison]

If you think playing a game more a week then direct competitors for an extended period doesn’t matter…think again. Hockey is highly physical and having a more rested team is certainly a huge helper. I’m sure there’s pretty clear stats on that.

Vancouver, Dallas and Montreal all struggled in the weeks after the break. This graphs sums it up well for Montreal.

View attachment 465429

It’s ok to say the Habs might miss the playoffs, but if we’re gonna référence standing points as an argument, we might as well bring the full context.

They played well outside of the post covid stretch (first 30 games and playoffs)

It was a crazy schedule for the Habs with 4 games a week for the last 6 weeks, in 4 time zones. They played ugly during that streak. After the first period, they were often out of gas and stuck in their zone, getting penalized and getting turnovers over turnovers that lead to goals against... and without having any time to practice to correct the flaws. Anybody who think this is the version of the habs we are going to see this year should put them out of the playoffs by a fair margin. I don't think it will be case.

Also, anybody calling the Canadian division easy last year is only looking at rosters. It was a schedule and traveling nightmare for the players. There were back to back in different cities and time zones and even back to back in the playoffs. Think of it, the Jets-Canadiens serie was over in 6 days.

 

[T REX]

The 7 team weak canadian division was an embarrassment to the league.

Bettman gave Canada a gift by letting a Canadian team make the final four.

Sad sad stuff. I'll wager any amount no Canadian team makes the FF this season.

 

[WhiskeyYerTheDevils]

I feel like the top 4 is pretty clear, but I could see Ottawa or Montreal challenging a team like Boston.

 

[Tripledeke333]

Lighting
Panthers
Habs
Sens
Leafs
Bruins
Wings
Sabers

 

[Essenege]

The 7 team weak canadian division was an embarrassment to the league.

Bettman gave Canada a gift by letting a Canadian team make the final four.

Sad sad stuff. I'll wager any amount no Canadian team makes the FF this season.

Lol yeah. The only sneak peak we got form interdivisional play was the 4th place Habs beating Vegas who were widely considered a top 3 team in the league.

Flames and Canucks, playoff teams out west in 2019-2020, failed to qualify despite the better "odds" (4 out of 7)

There was no weak team in the North division. Ottawa was better then any Cali team, Buffalo, Detroit, Colombus, NJD. Toronto IMO was a top 5 team in the regular season, although I think this year they might have regressed a bit.

Montreal was a legit team as they proved against Vegas. Not the fact that they won the series, but the way the game were played (50/50 at 5v5) proved they didn't "lucked out" and weren't solely bailed out by Price.

Edmonton and Winnipeg will easily be playoff teams this year.

I'm not sure why I take some of my time to answer you, you're obviously trolling. I'd say Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa will be at a disadvantage playing out East (better then the West recently) and in the Atlantic (obviously the best division at the top). Western Canada teams should do better.

 

[Essenege]

It was a crazy schedule for the Habs with 4 games a week for the last 6 weeks, in 4 time zones. They played ugly during that streak. After the first period, they were often out of gas and stuck in their zone, getting penalized and getting turnovers over turnovers that lead to goals against... and without having any time to practice to correct the flaws. Anybody who think this is the version of the habs we are going to see this year should put them out of the playoffs by a fair margin. I don't think it will be case.

Also, anybody calling the Canadian division easy last year is only looking at rosters. It was a schedule and traveling nightmare for the players. There were back to back in different cities and time zones and even back to back in the playoffs. Think of it, the Jets-Canadiens serie was over in 6 days.

Yeah I just think they deserve the benefit of the doubt with the way they played both before and after. At least they do in my mind.

When I think of 2020-2021 Habs I think of a 70 pts team (100 pts in a regular season), which was unlucky in OT and the condensed schedule and lost around 10 points vs their potential.

People say “it was part of the game you can’t remove the losses”, hell, if you’re trying to predict next year standings you absolutely SHOULD remove what you consider abnormal, it’s just stupid not to.

 

[Essenege]

I feel like the top 4 is pretty clear, but I could see Ottawa or Montreal challenging a team like Boston.

While I absolutely love Panthers’ core and the fact that their best players are in their prime, I still think they need to prove it again this year.

- A few players had an unusually productive year by their standards (Duclair, Weegar, Wennberg).

- Based on goal saved above expected, Driedger saved .4 goal per game more then Bobrovsky and Knight. They will both need to be better

I think they are a playoff team but I wouldn’t be surprised if they battle it out with Boston and Montreal down the stretch (maybe Ottawa although I don’t really see it).

I feel only Tampa and to a lesser extent Toronto are clearly playoff bound.

 

[The90]

Lol yeah. The only sneak peak we got form interdivisional play was the 4th place Habs beating Vegas who were widely considered a top 3 team in the league.

Flames and Canucks, playoff teams out west in 2019-2020, failed to qualify despite the better "odds" (4 out of 7)

There was no weak team in the North division. Ottawa was better then any Cali team, Buffalo, Detroit, Colombus, NJD. Toronto IMO was a top 5 team in the regular season, although I think this year they might have regressed a bit.

Montreal was a legit team as they proved against Vegas. Not the fact that they won the series, but the way the game were played (50/50 at 5v5) proved they didn't "lucked out" and weren't solely bailed out by Price.

Edmonton and Winnipeg will easily be playoff teams this year.

I'm not sure why I take some of my time to answer you, you're obviously trolling. I'd say Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa will be at a disadvantage playing out East (better then the West recently) and in the Atlantic (obviously the best division at the top). Western Canada teams should do better.

In the 4 games montreal won in that series, Carey Price had save percentages of: .949, .963, .956 and .935 for an average of .951. That’s god level goaltending. Also is the reason fans of other teams aren’t taking you seriously.

You guys did very well. But in the games you won in the playoffs (outside of just the vegas series) Carey Price had a save percentage of .945. That’s absolute domination by a HOF goaltender who got hot at the right time.

 

[Essenege]

In the 4 games montreal won in that series, Carey Price had save percentages of: .949, .963, .956 and .935 for an average of .951. That’s god level goaltending. Also is the reason fans of other teams aren’t taking you seriously.

You guys did very well. But in the games you won in the playoffs (outside of just the vegas series) Carey Price had a save percentage of .945. That’s absolute domination by a HOF goaltender who got hot at the right time.

Fair enough but he had to do that because of the ridiculous referring which was acknowledge by most from neutral fanbases.

At 5v5 it was a very balanced series. Habs were the only team to be 50/50 in xGF at 5v5 against Vegas in the playoffs…since 2018

If you have an ounce of objectivity you know it was a very balanced series when the referees weren’t putting on a show. For some reason you are reticent to give the Habs any credit.

Edit: Also lol, what is the average SV% from goalies in the NHL if you remove losses lol like probably above .930? Price was the best player but he didn’t win by himself. Habs trashed Winnipeg and played a 50/50 series against Vegas, Price was better then Fleury/Lehner, tipping the scale in Montreal’s favour.

 

[The Gr8 Dane]

The 7 team weak canadian division was an embarrassment to the league.

Bettman gave Canada a gift by letting a Canadian team make the final four.

Sad sad stuff. I'll wager any amount no Canadian team makes the FF this season.

So explain how montreal dispatched vegas so easily? walk in the parc honnestly, pretty embarassing for the league

 

[T REX]

So explain how montreal dispatched vegas so easily? walk in the parc honnestly, pretty embarassing for the league

Huh...they were one Flower flub from going home. Lol. Too much hubris for failure.