We have reached the one quarter mark for the 2014-15 season. It seems like just yesterday we were dropping the puck for opening weekend. Today we will take a look at some early season surprises, stories and more. First up, the Atlantic Division.
Atlantic Division at a Glance
Montreal is the class of the division right now. Their 31 points are good forb first overall in the league. Most people would agree, they expected the Canadiens to be good. Carey Price is a world class goalie and when he is on he can carry the team for many games.
Tampa Bay has been better than expected by most. The Lightning sit in second place in the Atlantic and their 28 points are second most in the conference and third most in the league. Steven Stamkos has returned to form following last season's broken leg. The Tampa sniper is tied for second with 13 goals on the year.
Goalie Ben Bishop has also played extremely well for the bolts. Bishop is tied for second with 11 wins on the year. He also has a very respectable .919 save percentage and 2.26 goals against average.
The Bruins have done well as they try to survive without long time captain Zdeno Chara. The big blueliner has missed half of the team's game with a leg injury. Tukka Rask has done well between the pipes. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner is 10-5 on the season with a .915 save percentage and a 2.38 goals against average.
Perhaps the biggest surprise within the division is that all but one team, the Buffalo Sabres, are over the .500 mark. Only six points seperates second from sixth in the standings. It is shaping up to be an interesting race for the division title.
Metropolitan Division
It's no surprise the Pittsburgh Penguins are leading the division yet again. Led by Sidney Crosby, the Penguins have an impressive 13-3-1 mark on the year. Their 27 points is tied for fourth best league wide. Corsby currently sits second in league scoring with 26 points. Marc Andre Fleury leads the NHL in shutouts with four.
After getting off to a blazing start of their own, the New York Islanders have cooled down some. They are still sitting comfortably in second place three points clear of the Washington Capitals. New goalie Jaroslav Halak has proven a stable answer for the team in net.
The biggest surprise within the division is perhaps the Columbus Blue Jackets. The Jackets were expected to build on last year's success and make a possible return to the postseason. That will take an effort much like what Philadelphia did last year.
Columbus currently sits in last place in the division, and 15th in the conference. Injuries have killed this team in the early going. The Jackets are 2-7-1 in their last ten games. They also endured a stretch in which they did not win for nine straight games.
In Monday's piece we will examine the Western Conference at the quarter pole.
League Leaders through 11/20/14
Goals - Seguin – 14
Assists - Voracek -20
Points - Voracek – 27
Plus/Minus – Forsberg – +20
Wins – Rinne, Price, Miller – 12
Bill Minchin is a contributing writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow Bill on Twitter @wtfd103074
