Race for the NHL's Atlantic Division: A case for and against each top team

The NHL's Atlantic Division is as tight as ever, with the top three teams separated by just two points. After a big win against the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday night, the Toronto Maple Leafs (85 points) now sit tied with the Florida Panthers for the division lead while the Tampa Bay Lightning (83) are only two points behind with a game in hand.

The first-place team will secure a playoff series against a wild-card team, as opposed to the second and third-place teams' first-round matchup. Who will come away with the top spot? Let's make a case for and against all three teams.

Florida Panthers

Case for: The Panthers are the reigning Stanley Cup champions, and they've continued that momentum this season, staying atop the division more often than not. 

They have a top 10 power play and an 11th ranked penalty kill, and star forwards Sam Reinhart (33 goals and 72 points) and Aleksander Barkov (18 goals and 62 points) are having excellent seasons. They're also 7-3-0 in their last 10 games and will close out the season with four out of their last five games at home.

Case against: The Panthers are missing some big players in their lineup right now. Star forward Matthew Tkachuk has been out with a groin injury since the 4 Nations tournament, defenseman Aaron Ekblad is currently serving a 20 game PED suspension and defenseman Dmitry Kulikov is week-to-week with an upper body injury, as is recently acquired forward Brad Marchand. All of that may be hard to overcome.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Case for: The Maple Leafs' three stars have been excellent in March: Mitch Marner has nine points in nine games and William Nylander and Auston Matthews each have 12 in nine. With the third-easiest schedule remaining, they could find themselves in the top spot come playoff time.

Case against: Although they've won two in a row, Toronto's record this March hasn't exactly been great, at just 4-4-1. The Leafs also still have to play the Panthers two more times, a team they're both battling for divisionally and have struggled against (0-2, outscored 8-3). They'll need some big wins down the stretch to avoid having to play a tough opening-round playoff series.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Case for: The Lightning have been the best team in the league since Feb. 1 with a .765 point percentage. Additionally, former Vezina trophy winning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has been excellent and owns the second highest save percentage in the league at .920. He and his teammate, Nikita Kucherov, who has the third most points (95) in the league, could both be finalists for some top awards this season. They also have a top five power play and penalty kill. 

Case against: Although they do own a game in hand against both Florida and Toronto, they have a packed schedule in April: a game every other day for nine games in 17 days. At the end of the season, fatigue might start to settle in, especially if they find themselves a few points back of first place.