NHL 2025/26: Updated Atlantic Division Odds as Back-to-Back Champion Panthers Stumble Out of the Gate

Montreal’s Bell Centre - Source: Unsplash

Special to PuckPedia

Florida's back-to-back Stanley Cup triumphs had many thinking that the Panthers stood on the threshold of hockey immortality as October dawned. As banner number two went up on opening night, the Amerant Bank Arena faithful knew that their beloved team was one final spectacular run away from hockey immortality. Unfortunately for them, the hockey gods can be fickle beasts. 

Injuries have decimated the Cats' front-line talent, and the squad that has ruled over the NHL with an iron fist over the course of the last two years suddenly looks mortal, stumbling out of the gate with a mediocre 7-6-1 record and the unthinkable reality of sixth place in the Atlantic Division. The recent 5-2 victory over the Kings certainly helped alleviate some tension, but the bookies are already rushing to cover themselves. 

But as the champs falter, a number of upstarts have risen to take their place at the summit of the Atlantic. Let's take a look at the lay of the land in arguably the NHL's most cut-throat division. 

Revolution in the North

Forget every glossy preseason preview; the Atlantic pecking order has been upended with almost theatrical abruptness. The Montreal Canadiens, viewed by many odds providers as an outside shot at best, haven’t so much climbed the ladder as cut it loose and bolted to a division-best 9-3-2. After being unfancied in preseason, the latest NHL odds in Canada now list the Habs as a +450 contender to win the Atlantic for the first time in nine years. 

This is not the tentative, overcoached MTL of past falls. Captain Nick Suzuki’s 19 points (including a league-leading 16 assists among centers) and Cole Caufield’s sniper’s touch have given coach Martin St. Louis a lethal one-two punch, while second-year starter Lane Hutson has added spark and seamless transition from the blue line with a veteran’s poise. 

Want numbers? Montreal’s plus-6 goal differential is no fluke. Nor is Samuel Montembeault’s 1.97 GAA and 6 wins. The Habs are playing chess—and everyone else in the division is still setting up their pieces.

Then there’s Detroit, a club that has flirted with relevance for seasons now but never found the throttle. Suddenly, the throttle is wide open. The Red Wings, fueled by a top-six that blends youthful hunger with the cool leadership of Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat, are fast, physical, and resourceful. Lucas Raymond and Moritz Seider have developed the gamesmanship to match their skill, turning close games into victories. Even at 9-5 and in second place in the division, Detroit remains a +1600 outsider, but both the present and the future of Motor City seem to be in safe hands. 

The Bruins, meanwhile, are certainly deserving of a mention. This year was supposed to be a cautionary tale in Beantown, a vulnerable beast in transition, destined for mediocrity. Instead, they’ve scrapped and clawed their way to a 9-7 start, with the recent upset of the Stanley Cup-favorite Hurricanes propelling them to third place in the standings. But despite the impressive start, the bookies remain unconvinced, pricing them as a whopping +10000 outsider to win the division.

Titans Under Threat

The Panthers found themselves installed as preseason favorites nearly everywhere, and not just for the Atlantic. No, they were considered one of the Stanley Cup frontrunners as well. Suddenly, however, after two years of dominance, the Cats look battered and distinctly mortal. 

Sergei Bobrovsky, the two-time Cup hero, has shouldered an unrelenting workload, and it shows: his typically airtight style has shown cracks, especially with Aleksander Barkov and Matthew Tkachuk fighting through injuries, which will see them sidelined for months. Defensive support has vaporized, the Cats’ hallmark five-man ferocity reduced to inconsistent coverage and uncharacteristic lapses. Their minus-4 goal differential doesn’t just tell a story—it’s a siren that the bookies have responded to, pushing them out to +450 to win the division. 

Contrast that attrition with the icy discipline of Tampa Bay. The Lightning suddenly find themselves as the +185 favorites, and while they haven’t dominated eighties-Oilers style, Jon Cooper’s group looks built to outlast chaos. Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point retain their surgical edge, while Vasilevskiy (.920 SV%, with a penalty kill touching 90%) has answered critics who wondered if his best was behind him. Tampa’s structure is their weapon: nights when the offense wavers, the defense grinds, and the points keep accumulating. If your money’s down, the Lightning are the safe, dull pick—the bet that pays in bruising, low-event games.

The +385 Toronto Maple Leafs, by contrast, are the division’s wildest variable. Some nights, Auston Matthews and William Nylander electrify, driving a power play humming at 25% and lifting Toronto to 3.71 goals per night. On others, defensive fragility and a never-ending conveyor belt of netminding drama threatens to unravel months of work. This high-wire act is perfectly embodied by their goal total: 52 for, 50 against—a top-tier offense handcuffed to a back end that can’t seal leads. Is this the year Toronto finds a killer instinct and shakes the ghosts of April? Or just another chapter in the book of what-ifs?

On the Margins

Beyond the spotlight, the Ottawa Senators and Buffalo Sabres lurk with rosters brimming with potential but hobbled by inconsistency. As such, they're the resident outsiders, with bookies pricing them at +900 and +3300 respectively. 

Ottawa can be dazzling—50 goals in 14 games is elite company—but when the puck moves the other way, panic sets in. Tim Stützle and Brady Tkachuk lead a forward core with genuine bite, yet defensive confusion turns wins into heartbreak with painful regularity.

Buffalo? The Sabres are the league’s most captivating heartbreakers, year after year. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Tage Thompson headline a young core that should, by all rights, terrorize the Atlantic. Instead, a minus-five goal differential and one of the worst closeout rates in the league have Buffalo perpetually on the outside looking in. That remains the case this term, and it would be an almighty shock if they were to upset the odds and win the division.