Marc DesRosiers-USA TODAY Sports
NHL

Can the Ottawa Senators or Buffalo Sabres finally break through?

The Atlantic Division playoff picture once again feels rather crowded.

Given all the changes they've gone through so far this summer — and with more surely to come — it's fair to expect a number of the top teams in that division to take a step back.

The Boston Bruins will not repeat their record-breaking 135-point season and could see point totals drop more than any other team in the league. 

The attrition suffered due to last year's cap overage will be framed as the biggest culprit, but of course the real issue is that you just don't see that many good players have career years at the same time more than once. Definitionally, a "career year" is something that happens one time, so while David Pastrnak should still be one of the best players in the league, the idea that he'll put up another 61

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This article is about:
NHL Buffalo Sabres Ottawa Senators NHL Drake Batherson Rasmus Dahlin Devon Levi Tim Stützle Don Granato D.J. Smith
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