Which Atlantic team will finally make playoffs.

 Which of Detroit, Buffalo or Ottawa will be the first to make the playoffs.

Now over the past 5 years (excluding the COVID postponed year), the Atlantic has only seen Boston, Tampa and Toronto makes the playoffs with Florida making it in 3 straight years and Montreal making a surprise appearance back in the shortened season, but this year felt different and with Boston losing 2 franchise Center's and Tampa's depth depleted and Florida having massive injuries on the blueline to start the year, it seemed like a shifting of the guard as the Sen's seemed to upgrade in net and up front plus now had a full year of Chychrun, Buffalo added a couple of D pieces and Detroit got some solid free agent additions as well as DeBrincat, so it seemed like it was very probable that we could have one or two of the three Atlantic teams that are coming out of their rebuild make the playoffs, but right now it doesn't look like that will happen, so if not this year when will one of these teams make the playoffs.

Eric Hartline USA Today Sports 

1st: Buffalo

Now last year we saw the Sabers have a fantastic season and finally looked like they were stepping in the right direction as they were able to have a winning record and not only that but by seasons end they were only 1 point back of a playoff spot when most thought they would be a bottom dwelling team again, and it seemed that they were finally improving and they were a pleasant surprise and went into the offseason with a lot of optimism and didn't really do a whole lot besides adding Clifton and Erik Johnson in the offseason, but after the offensive output they had last year, the defense having more experience and a future number 1 goalie in Levi ready to be the starter, a lot of people thought this would be the year they finally make the playoffs and even I picked them to make the playoffs, 3rd in the Atlantic with 97 points, but so far this year has not turned out like Sabers fans hoped.

Now they started out alright this year as they were hovering around the .500 mark up until the end of November when they went on a bit of a skid that saw them go quite a bit below .500 and that really derailed their year as they didn't have the best December and fell even further behind and even though they have had a fantastic January that has seen them win 6 of 10 and see them really step up their game play, they are still below .500 and thanks in part to their below average goaltending as UPL has been up and down, Comrie hasn't played overly well and Levi, while being the goalie of the future, is still young and maybe needed some development before becoming the teams number 1, and while they have tried to play better defensively this year, they lost last years lethal offensive touch, so if you look at this team and how many teams they need to jump to get not only into the race but into the playoffs, it just doesn't look good for them right now and even though I thought they would do good, it just hasn't worked out that way.

So does this team have a bright future still, I would say absolutely, but are they a playoff team this year, I would probably say no, they dug themselves into too big of a hole and I don't think they will be able to come back from it, and if this is the case, then this offseason they would need to answer a few questions, including what does their goaltending look like next year, is Levi ready and if so are you confident in UPL being his tandem partner, or does he need more development time and should they get another goalie to work with UPL, and I think their forward group is solid but adding a experienced top 4 D to help their young players I think could be beneficial to this team, so while it looks like Buffalo will miss the playoffs again, I do think they have a bright future and with a few offseason moves, may make the playoffs next year.

Sergei Belski USA Today Sports 

2nd: Ottawa

Now last year the Senators once again shot themselves in the foot as they had some bad goaltending issues and a really slow start to the season which made a hole that was almost impossible to get out of and then they suffered a slew of injuries following the deadline which made them fall even more and even though they wound up finishing above .500 and were only 6 points out of a playoff spot by seasons end, this still wasn't the year the Senators were hoping for, so they went into the offseason and made some moves as they got Korpisalo to replace Talbot who was last years starter, they then moved on from DeBrincat as he didn't want to sign there and added Kubalik in the return and got Tarasenko in free agency, so things were looking up for the Senators entering the year, they got a former 30 and 40 goal scorer to replace DeBrincat, the goalie position looked a bit better with Korpisalo and Forsberg there and Talbot out and after only missing out on the playoffs by only 6 points there were a lot of people who thought they would do better this year and some people (myself included) thought that they may even make the playoffs, but unfortunately it was the same story as always for Ottawa and it hasn't gone the way most thought it would.

Now when the season started the Senators weren't doing well but they weren't doing awful either as they were winning a couple and then losing a couple and they just weren't able to get traction either way, but then after playing the two games over in Sweden was when they season really started going south, as they dropped 3 straight games and fell below .500 but then in the middle of December they lost 6 straight and fell well below .500 and they after winning 3 of their next 4 they would drop 5 in a row and by that point it just felt like their season was lost, and even though they had a 5 game point streak that was recently snapped they are still well below .500 and most likely not making the playoffs and it was the same old thing again as their goaltending hasn't been up to par, they didn't show up some nights and they once again had a extremely slow start that is going to cost them playoffs again and already cost D.J Smith his job as head coach, so the season has been a awful one for the Senators no doubt and in a year where this team was supposed to take a step to make the playoffs, they have actually taken a step back. 

Now the good news for the Senators is this is a good and young core they have here and a lot of people agree it is playoff caliber, but I don't see them being a playoff team this year being almost 20 points out of it, so then the question becomes can they finish the year strong and make the playoffs next year and I would say yes, now another big question is what moves do they make by the deadline and in the offseason as I think they could use another solid top 4 D especially on the right side, is Chychrun staying and if not what could they get for him, are you confident in a Korpi-Forsberg tandem or do they try and make some goalie moves, and if you deal pending UFA's Tarasenko and Kubalik at the deadline, who are you adding to the top 9 in the offseason, these are all questions that need to be answered before next year but I like their group, they should have a new head coach next year and if they get off on the right foot then I think this team can make the playoffs. 

Sergei Belski USA Today Sports 

3rd: Detroit

Now for the second straight season last year the Red Wings had a solid start to the season and were for a good chunk of the season either in striking distance of a playoff spot or actually in the wildcard position, but even though they didn't have as bad of a second half collapse as they did the year prior, they still fell a bit in the second half and then they took a nose dive before the deadline which lead to them moving off pieces like Bertuzzi and Hronek and that had them free falling even more and lead them to being a bottom 10 team by the years end, so they went out and made a ton of moves in the offseason, as they brought in Reimer and Lyon to replace Nedeljkovic and Hellberg in net, they brought in Petry via trade and Gostisbehere and Holl via free agency to strengthen their D-Corp, and then up front they added Compher on a long term deal and Fischer, Sprong and Kostin on shorter term deals in free agency and made a big splash by going out and adding DeBrincat from Ottawa and signing him to a new deal, so their forward group looked a lot stronger, they defense even though it was missing Hronek looked decent and the 3 goalies looked like they could hold down the fort and after adding Kane in-season it looked like Detroit may take a step forward this year to the playoffs, and right now things are looking pretty good for Detroit. 

Now I was one of a lot of people who were expecting the Red Wings to maybe take a small step forward this year but by the end of the year they were probably going to be on the outside looking in and to start the season they had actually done quite well as they started the season off quite well winning 5 of their first 6 games and looking pretty good, but them they started falling down to earth as by December 27th they were already down to only 1 game above .500 and some people including myself thought that they just had a good start and this was the real Red Wings team, but after that they have been on a fantastic run ever since as they in the last two games of December and the entire January went 10-3-2 and are at this point in time comfortable in a playoff spot and only a few points back of a top 3 spot in the Atlantic, so despite some below average play for a bit of time there, this Wings team has actually looked pretty solid as there offense is top ten in the league and their additions of Kane, DeBrincat, Sprong and Compher have gone a long way and although the teams defense is on the lower end of the spectrum and isn't the best in the East, it has been manageable this year and I have a surprising feeling that if this team can at the very least keep a just above .500 record for the rest of the second half of the year, then unlike what I thought and other people thought too before the year started, the Red Wings may actually be a playoff team this year. 

Now I think of these 3 teams it is looking like the Red Wings may be the team to make the playoffs first, but that isn't to say they are perfect as I think while this team has a bright future with a lot of young players such as Seider, Raymond and Berggren already in the NHL and prospects like Kasper, Edvinsson, Willander and Cossa coming up in the next year or two, but whether it is prior to the deadline or in the offseason, I think this team could use a bit of work as they have had some great play from Lyon but need to figure out if they trust Husso, the Blueline is not where it needs to be and whether they upgrade before the deadline or after in the offseason, they could use another 1 or 2 top 4 D especially if Gostisbehere leaves in the offseason, and up front the team is stacked and could do good by adding a piece or two by the deadline, but have a lot of guys including Kane, Perron, Sprong and Fischer all being UFA's this offseason and would have to add a few more top 9 forwards in the offseason, but this group is obviously showing they have taken a decent step forward this year and they look like they will be a playoff team this year (surprising to me) as long as they don't have another 2nd half collapse but they also have a bright future and will be dangerous for years to come.

So that seems to be the state of these team right now, while I thought the Sabers and Senators would take major steps this year and make the playoffs with Detroit doing better but missing, it seems to be the complete opposite as the Red Wings look like the best bet to make the playoffs this year with Ottawa and Buffalo below average right now, but I would love to hear your thoughts, could any of these 3 teams make the playoffs this year, and if none will, which do you think will be first to in the future, love to hear your opinion in the comments section below.