Atlantic Division winner debated by NHL.com

It's moving day at the top of the Atlantic Division on Thursday. 

The top three teams in the division are separated by two points, and each is in action on a 14-game Thursday. 

The Buffalo Sabres (48-23-8) have 104 points and a two-point lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning (48-24-6) and the Montreal Canadiens (46-22-10) as they chase their first division title since the 2009-10 season

Buffalo, which earned a 5-3 come-from-behind victory against the New York Rangers on the road Wednesday, plays the desperate Columbus Blue Jackets at KeyBank Center (7 p.m. ET; FDSNOH, MSG-B, SNP, SNO) in a game with playoff implications for each team.

Meanwhile, the Lightning and the Canadiens face off at Bell Centre (7 p.m. ET: RDS, TSN2, The Spot) in a game that will give one team the upper hand in a race that is entering the final stretch.

Things likely won't be decided until early next week, but we asked a collection of NHL.com writers to break out their crystal balls and project who win what has been a crazy race for the Atlantic Division crown.

Here are their projections:

Buffalo Sabres

When the season began, no way did I see the Sabres being part of the playoff mix. Now I'm all in on them winning the Atlantic Division. Seriously, the Sabres are the feel-good story of the season for me, qualifying for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010-11. Taking the division would just be the cherry on top. Thanks to their 5-3 win against the Rangers on Wednesday, the Sabres lead the Atlantic with three games remaining in their regular-season schedule. I think they close it out in strong fashion and win their first division title since 2009-10, when they won the Northeast Division, and I'm here for it. -- Tracey Myers, staff writer

Having spent a significant amount of time the past two weeks in "Ruffalo," as the locals are referring to it these days in honor of coach Lindy Ruff, the air of confidence is real. And not just in the city. You could feel the vibe in the dressing room after their 4-2 victory against the Lightning on Monday, fueling the belief that their quest for home-ice advantage is theirs for the taking. Given the crazy atmosphere inside KeyBank Center these days after the Sabres ended their NHL-record 14-season postseason drought, you can understand why they'd want more of that. Win the division, and you guarantee that for the first round. They took a big step to that end Wednesday, a game in which they allowed just one shot in the third period and now lead the division. You can bet the Sabrehood, as they call it, will be watching. -- Mike Zeisberger, staff writer

Montreal Canadiens

When we sent in our season predictions, my Atlantic list read: Montreal Canadiens, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs. Two out of three ain't bad, right? Anyway, I figure I should stick with the Canadiens to finish tops in a division that is going right down to the wire. Since March 21, the Canadiens have played 10 games. They've lost just one, getting shut out against the New Jersey Devils on Sunday, but they're among the hottest teams in hockey -- and one that's almost impossible to close out. On Tuesday, for example, Nick Suzuki scored the game-tying goal with 21 seconds left in regulation, a game that would eventually end in a 4-3 shootout win against the Florida Panthers. It was just another example of another Canadiens player coming up big in the clutch, and that's exactly what I think they'll do across the final four games of the regular season; come up big in the clutch and win the division. -- Amalie Benjamin, senior writer

While the Lightning and Sabres have been getting most of the attention, the Canadiens have been on a tear, going 9-0-1 behind the goal-scoring prowess of Cole Caufield, the leadership of Suzuki and the goaltending of Jakub Dobes. Their game with the Lightning on Thursday would likely decide who wins the Atlantic, and with the way both teams have been playing lately, I give the edge to Montreal. Of course, they don't hold the regulation-wins tiebreaker against Tampa Bay or Buffalo, so they will need to win the division outright and I believe they will. -- Bill Price, Editor-in-Chief 

Let's not overthink this and just look at the team playing its best hockey of the season right now. That's the Canadiens, winners of nine of their past 10 games. They obviously need to win against the Lightning on Thursday for me to feel totally confident in this pick, but I'm confident in the Canadiens ability to get the job done on home ice. They won 4-1 against the Lightning in Tampa on March 31. The Canadiens are clicking whereas the Lightning have lost two in a row and three of five, and the Sabres, while they've won their past two games, didn't look exactly like world beaters in the win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Mark this down: The Canadiens will pull into a points tie with the Sabres on Thursday and keep rolling through weekend back-to-back against the Columbus Blue Jackets at home on Saturday and the New York Islanders on the road Sunday. -- Dan Rosen, senior writer

Tampa Bay Lightning

Way back in September I picked the Lightning to win the Atlantic, and with four games left in the season, I feel the same way. Among the three teams fighting for first, the Lightning are the only ones without a back-to-back remaining. They're 8-3-2 in their past 13 games, and averaging 3.85 goals during that stretch, significantly more than the Sabres (3.25) and Canadiens (3.17). A significant piece of that offense is coming from Hart Trophy candidate Nikita Kucherov, who has 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) in his past 11 games. And backstopping the effort is goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, arguably the best in the game at his position. Winning the division could be just the first step in a deep postseason run. -- Adam Kimelman, deputy managing editor

The Lightning have been battling for the top spot in the Atlantic a lot in recent years, and I believe that experience gives them an advantage against the Sabres and Canadiens, who are in uncharted waters coming out of rebuilds. Tampa Bay recognizes the importance of finishing first in the division to not only help with home-ice advantage in a long playoff drive, but also to perhaps give coach Jon Cooper the recognition he deserves around the NHL. Cooper is the longest-tenured coach in the League, now in his 14th season, and has guided Tampa Bay to the Stanley Cup twice (2020, 2021), but has never won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year. If finishing at the top of the Atlantic can help even a little in that regard with the voters, then there will be plenty of motivation for the Lightning. -- Derek Van Diest, staff writer