Sabres, Canadiens Show NHL Atlantic Division is Only Getting Tougher

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect For years, the NHL’s Atlantic Division has been one of the league’s strongest with the Florida Panthers and Tampa Bay Lightning winning four of the past six Stanley Cup championships. This year was no different when it came to degree of difficulty in the Atlantic with five of the Eastern Conference’s playoff teams coming from the division. Things appear to only be getting tougher.

Although the Panthers, Lightning, Bruins, and Maple Leafs have dominated the division the past few years, there are now new challengers. The Montreal Canadiens took out the Lightning in 7, with the Buffalo Sabres taking care of the Bruins in Round 1. Tonight, the Canadiens can move to the Eastern Conference final with a Game 6 win over the Sabres on home ice.

A Buffalo win forces a Game 7. Just the fact these two are playing for the right to be in the NHL Final Four — and are legitimate championship contenders — shows how quickly things can change in the NHL. It wasn’t long ago that these two teams were bottom feeders.

Buffalo missed the playoffs for 14 consecutive seasons before this year. Montreal finished last in the Atlantic Division for three straight years before making the playoffs last season. Both teams went through an extensive rebuilding project.