Is the Atlantic at a disadvantage in the playoffs?

[983 others]

I know the Lightning made a run a few years ago, but is playing in the Atlantic just a big disadvantage compared to playing in the Metro? Since they changed the format the results seem to speak for themselves, with the Metro almost always representing the East in the finals and usually straight up winning the Cup, most of the Wild Cards have come from the Metro as well!

The teams in the Metro are always battle-hardened and seem way better equipped to handle the rigors and intensity of the playoffs while the top 3 teams in the Atlantic can usually just float into the postseason where they inevitably run into a buzzsaw from the Metro.

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[c9777666]

It's not like the Metro is a stacked division.

 

[mm11]

the 5th place team in the metro smoked the 1st place team from the Atlantic. Kind of interesting

 

[golffuul]

As a Wings fan, the Atlantic is the least competitive division for the last 5+ years. That usually has a correlative effect that shows up sooner or later. Probably why no Atlantic Division team has won a Cup since 2011.

 

[Kcb12345]

If a team is worthy of winning the Cup they shouldn't have to face the "easier" opponents. It shouldn't matter who you face, if you can't win your series no matter who it is then you don't deserve to win the Cup

 

[Pumpkin Pal]

The Atlantic is at a disadvantage to the metro for one main reason - the metro has been and continues to be a better division with better teams

 

[KingsFan7824]

There's been an actual Atlantic team in the conference final each year since realignment. The Penguins have Crosby and Malkin, so they should be winning. They probably should've won more. Washington has gotten a lot of mileage out of Ovechkin and Backstrom. The Rangers had a good run for a couple years.

Ottawa is a mess. Buffalo can't get anything right. Florida has been a mess for 20+ years. Detroit snuck into the East as they were headed downhill. There's half the division.

The Atlantic isn't exactly the 86-87 Norris division though. However, as was the case back then, sometimes there a couple teams in another division that are just better. Nobody forced TB to coast during the regular season, other than them winning all the time. Not that anyone really had Columbus from the Metro being a buzzsaw before that series started.

 

[SI90]

Metro is just the tougher division.

 

[holy]

The Habs are just too good. Freaking Habs.

 

[bobholly39]

The Habs are just too good. Freaking Habs.

Agreed. Which is why we chose to sit out these playoffs - to give other teams a chance.

 

[ScaredStreit]

The Atlantic has a disadvantage when the 5th best team in the Metro swept the best in the Atlantic? Oh kay...

 

[ccman68]

We won pretty much every game against the Metro in the regular season. It's a shitty division. Us choking doesn't change that.

 

[Its a Trap]

We won pretty much every game against the Metro in the regular season. It's a ****ty division. Us choking doesn't change that.

Yeaaaaa...totally shitty. Not like a team from the Metro has represented the East in the Finals 7 out of the last 10 years or anything like that.

Let it all out though, man. You’ll feel better about it all in a month or 2.

 

[NyQuil]

Meh, these divisional power threads have been a waste of time for years.

 

[Luigi Lemieux]

We won pretty much every game against the Metro in the regular season. It's a ****ty division. Us choking doesn't change that.

Metro has been a bloodbath since its inception (2013), and even before that when it was still called the Atlantic. What on earth are you talking about.

 

[hoglund]

If a team is worthy of winning the Cup they shouldn't have to face the "easier" opponents. It shouldn't matter who you face, if you can't win your series no matter who it is then you don't deserve to win the Cup

If you had a better regular season record you're supposed to be rewarded with an easier road to the cup in the playoffs. Yes you'll eventually have to play difficult teams to win the cup, it's not supposed to happen in the first round.

 

[Stickpucker]

If you had a better regular season record you're supposed to be rewarded with an easier road to the cup in the playoffs. Yes you'll eventually have to play difficult teams to win the cup, it's not supposed to happen in the first round.

TB was rewarded with the 5th best metro team not the first. Don't get easier than that.

 

[tarheelhockey]

It's not like the Metro is a stacked division.

I wouldn't say "stacked", but the Metro is pretty clearly a tough division to play in. At the top, Pittsburgh and Washington have been two of the league's most successful franchises for the past generation. In a given year, at least one of the NYC-area teams is going to be very competitive (this year it's the Islanders' turn). You've got teams like the Rangers and Flyers who are rarely bad, even in a down season. And of the small-market franchises, Columbus is coming off some strong seasons and Carolina is hopefully gearing up for some.

There's no soft underbelly in the division. The closest thing to a punching bag is the Devils, who are soon going to have three 1st-overall picks in their core.