The Stanley Cup still runs through Florida and an Atlantic Division as dominant as ever

Of the NHL’s four divisions, the Atlantic has stood above all recently and that is not going to change this year if the threepeat-minded Florida Panthers have their say.

No matter how many games — 314 including playoffs — the two-time defending champion Panthers have logged making three straight Stanley Cup Final appearances, or the loss of captain Aleksander Barkov to a season-ending injury, forward Sam Reinhart has faith Florida is bigger than the sum of its parts.

“It’s a team in every sense,” Reinhart said. “I think just the trust in each other and the confidence that that when the moment comes to us, we’re going to be prepared to play our game.”

The band — including Brad Marchand — is mostly back together in south Florida, minus Barkov and with Matthew Tkachuk out until December after surgery to repair a sports hernia and torn adductor muscle.

And the Cup familiarly runs through the state of Florida, after the Panthers displaced the two-time Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning, who won back-to-back titles in 2020 and ‘21, before losing to Colorado in ’22.

The Toronto Maple Leafs remain contenders, even though there’s no more talk of the “Core 4” following Mitch Marner’s offseason departure for Vegas. And there’s a revived regional rivalry brewing between Ottawa and Montreal, who feature lineups filled with youth, speed and talent.

All totaled, the Atlantic has produced the Eastern Conference’s past seven finalists, including Tampa Bay and Montreal meeting at the end of the pandemic-altered 2021 season. And the NHL hasn’t featured a division as dominant as the Atlantic since Edmonton and Calgary ruled the Smythe in the 1980s.

That leaves Buffalo, in the midst of an NHL-record 14-season playoff drought, Detroit and the rebuilding Boston Bruins bringing up the rear.

“I see progress in the organization,” Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman said, when reminded Detroit has gone nine seasons without a playoff appearance. “You just want us to make the playoffs, which is fine. I’m not going to argue with you about that. I look at the young players coming into the organization.”

In Tampa Bay, captain Victor Hedman is itching to renew the Lightning’s rivalry with the Panthers after being eliminated by Florida in the first round of each of the past two playoffs.

“They have a phenomenal team. And they have everyone staying, pretty much,” Hedman said. “If we get them again, we know each other inside and out.”

On the rise

The Canadiens are ahead of schedule in making the playoffs three years into GM Kent Hughes’ rebuilding plan. Montreal is stocked with emerging talent with forward Juraj Slafkovsky and defenseman Lane Hutson, the NHL’s rookie of the year last season.

The Canadiens beefed up their blue line by landing Noah Dobson in a trade with the Islanders. Meantime, there’s buzz revolving around 2024 first-round pick Ivan Demidov, who made the jump from Russia at the end of last season, and forward Oliver Kapanen competing for a roster spot.

“I feel I’m equipped with more options than I ever had in the past, which is a good problem to have,” Canadiens coach Martin St. Louis said.

The Senators also made a jump in qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in eight seasons under first-year coach Travis Green.

“For us, it comes down to knowing that we have the capacity to do it again but also have the humbleness to understand that it’s not going to be automatic,” said Linus Ullmark, who solidified the Senators goaltending position last year.

On the decline

The Bruins are in rebuilding mode a mere two seasons after setting the NHL record with 135 points. Boston bottomed out in finishing last in the Atlantic with 76 points. Former player Marco Sturm takes over as a first-time head coach. And the team is leaning heavily on forward David Pastrnak to lead the offense and defenseman Charlie McAvoy to rebound from an injury-shortened season. Goaltender Jeremy Swayman had 29 losses in 58 outings last season after just 33 losses in his first 132 career appearances.

On the hot seat

Could this be general manager Kevyn Adams’ last chance in Buffalo? He’s entering the fifth and final year of his contract and overseen a team that’s regressed over the past two seasons after falling one win short of making the playoffs. The Sabres have talent and added grit, but might be hard-pressed to challenge the division’s hierarchy.

Predicted order of finish

Toronto, Tampa Bay, Montreal, Florida, Ottawa, Buffalo, Detroit, Boston.

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AP Hockey Writers Stephen Whyno and Larry Lage and The Canadian Press contributed.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl