Unlike the ultra-competitive and staggeringly dominant Metropolitan Division, the Atlantic is rife with parity, and that's made for a complicated lead-up to the trade deadline.

The Montreal Canadiens sit atop the Atlantic pack, but they can't be comfortable knowing the Ottawa Senators, Toronto Maple Leafs, and a host of other squads lurk not far below them.

Whether the bubble teams engage in a proactive arms race or take a longer wait-and-see approach before Wednesday afternoon at 3 p.m. ET, one thing's abundantly clear: There should be plenty of movement.

Here's what each Atlantic Division club should prioritize before the deadline passes:

Boston Bruins

Need: Backup goaltender

The Bruins' lack of depth in goal has been well-documented, and while general manager Don Sweeney has acknowledged the need to spell Tuukka Rask with a more reliable No. 2 netminder, he hasn't yet been able to address it.

Despite Anton Khudobin's impressive performance in a win over the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday night, neither he nor Zane McIntyre nor Malcolm Subban has been consistently effective in the role over the balance of the season.

The Bruins have two more back-to-backs during a seven-day stretch next month. Considering the importance of every point in the wide-open Atlantic, their issue between the pipes needs to be fixed if they plan to be part of the postseason.

Buffalo Sabres

Need: Keep rebuilding

As much as fans or media members want to tout Buffalo as a playoff contender, it's just not realistic this season.

The Sabres would have to leapfrog four teams to get in, and they have more regulation-or-overtime wins (the first playoff tiebreaker at season's end) than only one of them, the Philadelphia Flyers.

While there is a logjam of hopeful squads in the muddled Eastern Conference, general manager Tim Murray should avoid the temptation and remember the bigger picture.

Barring a Godfather offer from another team for Evander Kane, the sensible path involves dealing Brian Gionta and one of either Dmitry Kulikov or Cody Franson. That would allow the Sabres to stay relatively competitive in the present while adding draft picks to further address the future.

Detroit Red Wings

Need: Sell! Sell! Sell!

It's been an incredible run, but, let's be honest, the Red Wings' streak of 25 straight playoff appearances is about to end.

While that may be a bitter pill for general manager Ken Holland and company to swallow, all good things must come to an end, and it's time for Detroit to retool.

Thomas Vanek has to be dealt, and if Holland can get anything for fellow pending unrestricted free agents Steve Ott and Brendan Smith, he has a responsibility to do it.

Florida Panthers

Need: Stand pat

The Panthers are a deep, dangerous squad with Jonathan Huberdeau and Aleksander Barkov back in the fold.

They'll surely be a top-three team in the division at season's end, and they have no major weaknesses. Florida is loaded with talented, young forwards; strong on the back end; and safe in goal.

If the Panthers look to add anything before the deadline, it would likely be a top-nine forward, but they don't need to pull off any blockbuster moves before Wednesday.

Montreal Canadiens

Need: Top-six forward

Whether it's a high-impact and high-priced center like Matt Duchene or the more affordable Martin Hanzal, the Canadiens could use a boost up the middle.

If they can't make that happen, or are unwilling to part with the assets necessary to consummate a major move, adding a winger would be an acceptable Plan B, and an offensively minded defenseman would be a worthwhile Plan C. Is P.K. Subban available? (Sigh.)

Montreal is particularly weak on the left side up front, where Paul Byron, rookie Artturi Lehkonen, and Brian Flynn represent a significant drop-off from top-liner and captain Max Pacioretty.

Ottawa Senators

Need: Forward(s)

Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman might not be out for long, but the Senators still require some reinforcement up front.

General manager Pierre Dorion said earlier this week that if he does anything before the deadline, it will be to address his forward group.

Bobby Ryan is out at least a month with a broken finger, so regardless of when the other two are able to return from their own injuries, Ottawa will and should look to offset Ryan's loss, perhaps with one of Patrick Eaves, Thomas Vanek, Radim Vrbata, or Patrick Sharp.

Tampa Bay Lightning

Need: Defense

The Lightning have plenty of forward depth, and barring a setback, they should get Steven Stamkos back before season's end.

They have two of the most reliable blue-liners in the league in Victor Hedman and Anton Stralman, but could benefit from an upgrade over Jake Dotchin in the top four.

The Lightning reportedly made a bold but unsuccessful play for Kevin Shattenkirk, which suggests they're looking into addressing this need.

That's going to be hard to do with literally no cap space, but trading pending UFA Brian Boyle would help clear some room, as would dealing goaltender Ben Bishop if the right offer presents itself.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Need: Ditto

What a difference a year makes.

The Leafs were the biggest sellers before last season's deadline, but now they might actually be buyers. They're loaded with skill up front, and despite Frederik Andersen's inconsistency, there's no need to pursue a goaltender. But they could use a boost on the back end.

Given its wealth of forward prospects and future draft picks, Toronto can afford to give up some of them to land an elite defenseman like Shattenkirk, but that particular move is risky considering he could opt not to re-sign.

There's a significant drop-off after the St. Louis Blues rearguard among potential trade targets, so Lou Lamoriello, Brendan Shanahan, and the Leafs' brass would probably be best served waiting until at least the summer to upgrade on the blue line.

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Follow theScore's fantasy feed on Twitter (@theScoreFantasy) for the latest news, features and more. And download Squad Up, theScore's free-to-win-money sports game.

Here is a look at the Squad Up daily NHL fantasy picture for Friday, Feb. 24 (all advanced statistics courtesy of Corsica.Hockey and apply to 5v5 situations):

Dynamic Duos

• C Aleksander Barkov (75K) & LW Jonathan Huberdeau (59K), Panthers (vs. Flames): While this tandem is still getting re-acquainted, it's still part of the team's sixth-most common line along with RW Jaromir Jagr. Their stability plus power play exposure against a potentially exhausted traveling Flames squad makes this an ideal duo.

• LW Jamie Benn (86K) & RW Patrick Eaves (51K), Stars (vs. Coyotes): Exploiting road teams as they play back-to-backs is a sound strategy. Benn and Eaves have skated together more often than any other Stars duo, culminating in an expected goals for of 17.88 to date.

• C Elias Lindholm (53K) & RW Sebastian Aho (56K), Hurricanes (vs. Senators): Even if the two don't skate with Jordan Staal, with whom they have combined for a team-best scoring chances per 60 of 15.99, this is the combo to pick from this game. The last few games have not been kind to Carolina, especially since the two have combined for only seven shots on goal in that time. A rebound is incoming, especially since Aho is regularly firing more shots at opposing nets.

Bargain Plays

• C Zack Smith (33K), Senators (at Hurricanes): Smith is quietly having a career year with 29 points in 56 games. While his scoring has understandably dropped following a 20.7 shooting percentage in 2016, he's responded by tallying more assists already, and has almost matched his shot total from last year. He's shooting more, but converting less often.

• D Dion Phaneuf (32K), Senators (at Hurricanes): On a short slate, Phaneuf is a fine supplementary option on the back end. He's still averaging 23 minutes per game and will let a few shots off. If you don't pick his teammate Erik Karlsson at 56K, save salary and take Phaneuf.

• LW Matthew Tkachuk (28K), Flames (at Panthers): Tkachuk is still as good a fringe option as you can ask for relative to his salary. His physicality and increasing shot totals elevate his floor ever so slightly. With Panthers G Roberto Luongo shaky of late, Tkachuk could run into one.

Top Fades

• D Oliver Ekman-Larsson (53K), Coyotes (at Stars): Considered an offensive threat from the blueline, Ekman-Larsson is shooting far less often than he has in years past. He isn't even averaging two shots per game, which has been his routine for the last four seasons. At this salary, even against the Stars' Swiss cheese goaltending, he's best left on the bench.

• G Louis Domingue (105K), Coyotes (at Stars): Nope. Whether it's Domingue or regular starter Mike Smith, in no reality are you spending this much on a Coyotes netminder against the likes of Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn. The Stars haven't been as dominant offensively, but the Coyotes have allowed the fourth-most goals in the NHL.

• C Derick Brassard (60K), Senators (at Hurricanes): Riding a four-game point streak, Brassard seems primed to keep going, especially after logging more than 20 minutes of ice time in two straight contests. Still, he only has three goals in his last 22 games while averaging fewer than three shots per game. He's more likely to tally an assist, but he's too pricey for such a low floor.

Contrarian Options

• LW Johnny Gaudreau (66K), Flames (at Panthers): Gaudreau, as middling as his season has been, has already tallied more road points than he did a year ago. With the shine having dulled on Gaudreau on the whole, he's worth his still-buoyed salary, though it would be nice to see him take a few more shots on goal -- he still only has two goals in 2017.

• RW Jaromir Jagr (60K), Panthers (vs. Flames): Since LW Huberdeau's return, Jagr has seen his production slowly creep forward again. His salary combined with his age is still a bit daunting, especially with cheaper options averaging better daily totals. He took five SOG against the Oilers on Wednesday.

• G Cam Talbot (75K), Oilers (at Capitals): Few teams are as efficient with their scoring as the Capitals, and few Squad Up owners will take the plunge on a visiting Talbot. Talbot, however, has a .925 save percentage in eight February games, five of which have been away from Edmonton.

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The KHL playoffs have gone to the dogs.

SKA St. Petersburg invited a four-legged guest to drop the puck Thursday before Game 2 of their first-round postseason series against Vityaz as part of Russia's Defender of the Fatherland Day celebrations.

It was the best performance by a canine since the military service dog that conducted the ceremonial faceoff in Anaheim in November.

- With h/t to Puck Daddy

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This week, theScore's NHL editors debate which general manager has the most to lose between now and the March 1 trade deadline.

Jim Benning

Josh Gold-Smith: Maybe Benning learned his lesson from last summer's free-agency debacle, but the Vancouver Canucks general manager is taking a relatively quiet approach to this trade deadline. Still, the GM widely regarded as the worst in the NHL has a great deal to prove and just as much to lose in the days leading up to March 1.

First things first, he has to admit the club isn't a legitimate playoff threat, even if the league's widespread faux parity has them within range of the final Western Conference postseason berth. The Canucks aren't going far even if they do manage to squeak into the playoffs, and the time is now to begin overhauling the roster.

Benning has to convince Alex Burrows, Jannik Hansen, and Ryan Miller to waive their respective clauses that limit the teams to which they can each be dealt. He has to acquire assets in return for this trio, especially because two of them (Burrows and Miller) are pending UFAs. If he fails to do this, it'll be just another chapter in his embarrassing GM tenure.

Ken Holland

Cory Wilkins: Ken Holland has been at the helm of the Detroit Red Wings for 20 years, and this season marks the first where his team will be a deadline seller.

The Red Wings sit second last in the East, ahead of only the Carolina Hurricanes, and are poised to miss the postseason for the first time since 1990.

The good news is, Detroit has a handful of pending unrestricted free agents available for sale, from defenseman Brendan Smith to crown-jewel forward Thomas Vanek. Holland could even up the ante if he opts to move blue-liner Mike Green, who is signed through the 2017-18 campaign.

Hockey fans will get to see how Holland operates as a seller and if he can kick-start the Red Wings' rebuild by bringing in premium assets. With so few sellers on the market less than a week before the trade deadline - only the Colorado Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes are truly out of the playoff mix - the Red Wings general manager has a prime opportunity to command top dollar in trade talks.

Steve Yzerman

Ian McLaren: The Tampa Bay Lightning are in quite the spot. After falling near the bottom of the Eastern Conference, Steve Yzerman's club has inched back into the playoff race, with an outside shot at making good on their apparent contender status ... IF they can squeak in without the services of captain Steven Stamkos for most of the season.

A spot among the final 16 is far from guaranteed, however, and the GM is left with big decisions to make prior to the trade deadline.

For example:

• Does he keep Ben Bishop for insurance down the stretch, or pull off a trade to avoid losing him for nothing in free agency or the expansion draft?
• Does he hold onto veteran forward Brian Boyle, or deal him to a playoff team in a clear seller's market?
• Does he float pending RFA Tyler Johnson, knowing Ondrej Palat and Jonathan Drouin will also be in need of new contracts this summer?

Things have not gone according to plan for the Lightning this season, and how Yzerman proceeds in the coming days could have a profound effect on the roster moving forward.

Bob Murray

Justin Cuthbert: Five days. It's all the time Bob Murray has left to board up his roster.

Perhaps the repercussions won't immediately be felt, but if the Anaheim Ducks fail to redistribute talent, and parlay wealth accrued on the back end into help up front, they stand to suffer one of the most significant losses when the Vegas Golden Knights choose their expansion roster.

Yet even having hoarded the rarest jewel, netting comparable value in return for a talented defender won't come at the snap of the fingers over the next few days. Few teams seem willing, or are in a position to move major assets.

More importantly, the Ducks cannot lose sight of the fact that they're slotted comfortably in a postseason seed in a wide-open Western Conference with the core designed to win a title still in place.

But should Murray reconfigure, and land an impact forward in a deal, he won't just be taking a major step towards solving the Ducks' expansion conundrum - he'll be providing a boost to a roster that seems to need a shake.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Claude Julien's arrival hasn't yet invigorated the Montreal Canadiens the way other coaching changes have rejuvenated some of their Eastern Conference counterparts, and he believes the problem is self-esteem.

"There's certainly a lack of confidence when you don't score. You can see the guys are frustrated," the Canadiens head coach said after they were blanked 3-0 by the New York Islanders on Thursday night, according to NHL.com's Arpon Basu.

"The execution, the plays that don't become scoring chances, those things are totally confidence."

Montreal has scored only three goals in the three games since Julien took over, and the only victory so far in his second go-around with the club came following a shootout Tuesday against the New York Rangers.

The Canadiens' scoring woes predate Julien's arrival, though. They've now been shut out in four of their last eight games, and they're 2-7-1 in their last 10.

The captain agrees with his head coach's assessment.

"It seems like at times when you don't have confidence we're just content with going out there, make it look like you're working hard," Max Pacioretty said.

"You've got to want to be a difference-maker, every time you're on the ice you've got to want to change the game. Whether that comes with confidence or, I'm not sure how to get it, but everyone's got to have that mindset, and it's obvious that that's not the mindset."

The Canadiens haven't relinquished their lead in the Atlantic Division all season, but they're in danger of being usurped by the Ottawa Senators on Friday night. The Senators sit two points back with three games in hand.

Montreal will look to gain some of that much-needed confidence when it faces the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre on Saturday night.

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MONTREAL - It was a big night for rookie Anthony Beauvillier and the New York Islanders.

Beauvillier scored in the first period, Thomas Greiss had stopped 24 shots for his third shutout of the season, and the Islanders beat the slumping Montreal Canadiens 3-0 Thursday night.

The 19-year-old Beauvillier, who grew up in nearby Sorel-Tracy, had a large group of family and friends on hand for his first game in Montreal.

''It's really special,'' he said. ''I couldn't ask for a better night than getting the two points in Montreal with family and friends around, and for the ovation at the end.''

Beauvillier said he bought 19 tickets for the game and several other of his supporters got their own to give the rookie a sizeable cheering section among the sellout crowd.

His parents' emotional reaction to his goal was shown on the scoreboard.

''They're the reason I'm here,'' he said. ''They supported me since I'm young. They paid for everything. It means everything for me to have them here. It was a little gift for them to score a goal and get the win here.''

Anders Lee scored in the second period and John Tavares added an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the Islanders' third straight win. New York has won the first two games on a crucial nine-game road swing and improved to 12-4-2 since interim coach Doug Weight replaced the fired Jack Capuano.

''Pretty good from the drop of the puck,'' Tavares said. ''We didn't give them a lot.

''And a big goal by Bo. It was nice to see him score in his hometown. We knew how pumped up he was. I remember my first game in my hometown (Toronto). It's really exciting with lots of friends and family. We really wanted him to soak it in. He stepped up and it was great to see him get rewarded.''

Josh Bailey and Brock Nelson each had two assists, and Greiss got his third shutout of the season.

Carey Price finished with 21 saves as the Canadiens lost coach Claude Julien's 1,000th NHL game. Montreal is 1-2-0 since Julien replaced Michel Therrien last week and has totaled just 14 goals while going 2-7-1 in the last 10 games, including four shutouts.

Instead of a pregame ceremony to mark Julien's milestone, a prerecorded video of the 56-year-old receiving a commemorative medal from team president Geoff Molson was played early in the first period on the scoreboard, drawing a standing ovation.

''It's more my personality,'' he said. ''It's great that I've had 1,000 games, but I didn't want to be the center of attention.

''I wanted to win that game more than I wanted to celebrate it. Unfortunately that didn't happen.''

Julien cited his team's poor puck management and execution for the lack of offense, although the Canadiens picked up the pace in the third period. They will need to be better on Saturday when they visit the Maple Leafs.

''In order to have an identity, you need consistency and we haven't had that in the three games that I've been here,'' Julien said.

The Islanders owned the puck early and got the opening goal when Brock Nelson fed Beauvillier, who is from nearby Sorel-Tracy and was playing in Montreal for the first time, on the left side for a shot that beat Price to the near post at 5:28.

Lee made it 2-0 at 5:58 of the second when he sneaked behind Alexei Emelin to take a pass from Bailey and score his 23rd of the season with a nifty shot from in close.

Montreal had a goal disallowed at 6:50 of the third when both Tomas Plekanec and Paul Byron reached for the puck with high sticks on a shot by Shea Weber. Another was waived off at 7:46 because Artturi Lehkonen put it in with a hand.

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The elusive sign-and-trade deal in the NHL nearly came to pass.

The St. Louis Blues had reportedly agreed to the framework on a seven-year, $42-million sign-and-trade agreement with defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk six weeks ago, but the prized puck mover nixed the deal, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Jeremy Rutherford.

Rutherford suggests that the Tampa Bay Lightning was the team involved in the sign-and-trade negotiation, and the return assets included in the proposed deal remain unknown.

He also notes that since the deal fell through, Blues general manager Doug Armstrong has shifted his focus to moving Shattenkirk to a buyer whose interest doesn't hinge on the defenseman signing long term.

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