BUFFALO, N.Y. — A tight three-team battle is brewing for the Atlantic Division championship, though Tampa Bay’s head coach Jon Cooper appears unfazed by the mounting pressure.
Walking out of the team’s locker room before Monday’s matchup in Buffalo, Cooper displayed his trademark dry humor when he spotted an unusually large media gathering.
“Ugh. Why are there so many people here?” Cooper joked with reporters. “It’s Game 77 folks, not Game 83.”
The comment reflects the perspective of a coach who has guided his squad to two Stanley Cup victories and secured the franchise’s 12th playoff spot during his 13 seasons leading Tampa Bay.
While Cooper recognizes the significance of late-season matchups between division contenders fighting for playoff seeding, he maintains it doesn’t compare to postseason intensity.
“It’s Game 77. I think both teams accomplished their goals for the year in regard to the regular season,” Cooper explained before his team’s 4-2 defeat. “It’s just I don’t put a ton of stock into it. The stock was made of making the final eight (in the Eastern Conference), and we did that.”
Buffalo’s passionate supporters and their rejuvenated franchise would likely disagree, as they celebrate finally breaking the NHL’s longest playoff absence streak at 14 consecutive seasons.
Similar excitement fills Montreal, where the promising young Canadiens continue building momentum by reaching the playoffs in consecutive years for only the second time in over a decade.
As of Tuesday, Tampa Bay and Buffalo shared the division’s top spot with identical 102-point totals, while Montreal trailed by just two points in a season that has completely reshuffled the Atlantic’s traditional power structure, with Tampa Bay being the lone constant.
Boston remains competitive while Ottawa and Detroit fight for wild-card positions, but the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers have already been knocked out of contention. Toronto has also been eliminated, marking the Maple Leafs’ first playoff absence in 11 seasons and triggering organizational changes.
Maple Leafs parent company CEO Keith Pelley acknowledged the division’s dramatic transformation when explaining his decision to dismiss general manager Brad Treliving recently.
“We definitely didn’t see the train coming which was the Buffalo Sabres and the Montreal Canadiens,” Pelley admitted. “Buffalo and Montreal have shown that they’re young, energetic teams who are gonna be here for a long time.”
Buffalo certainly hopes so, riding an impressive 36-9-4 stretch that lifted them from the Eastern Conference basement in early December to division contenders.
“You’ve got to take a lot of pride in the fact you made the playoffs in a year where this division and this conference was so incredibly tough,” Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff observed.
Unlike Cooper’s measured approach, Ruff is savoring every moment of his second tenure with the organization.
The energy surrounding the team has been infectious, with Monday marking their 17th straight sellout and 22nd of the campaign. Fans showed their enthusiasm by jeering Tampa Bay from warmups through the final period, even chanting “We want Hagel!” late in the game.
Brandon Hagel became Buffalo’s primary antagonist after the Lightning winger blindsided captain Rasmus Dahlin during the Sabres’ thrilling 8-7 victory last month.
“Everybody’s into it,” Ruff said. “I think our fans have been waiting for this for a while, so it’s good to see.”
Tampa Bay forward Brayden Point offered a thoughtful assessment of the loss in Buffalo.
“This game definitely had more meaning than some of them. And it’s disappointing not to get the result we wanted,” Point reflected. “It wasn’t playoff Game 1, so there’s still time to learn from it, but hopefully we learn pretty quick.”
Montreal had compiled an eight-game winning streak before falling to New Jersey on Sunday and will welcome Tampa Bay on Thursday.
Cooper appreciates witnessing the competitive balance that has emerged throughout the division while taking satisfaction in his team’s continued presence among the contenders.
“Buffalo has a heck of a team. And I’d like to think we’re not too shabby ourselves,” Cooper noted. “There’s been waves of different teams that have made the playoffs in our division, and we’ve found a way to be able to do it.”
When the postseason arrives, Cooper expects more from his Lightning regardless of their final seeding, particularly given Tampa Bay hasn’t advanced past the first round since their failed attempt at a third straight championship in 2022.
“There’s potentially new teams sitting around the table but it shouldn’t change anything in our mindset,” Cooper stated. “We need to look after our business here to keep moving forward because haven’t been really satisfied with the fact that we’ve been bounced the last three years.”
