The Boston Bruins are in a free fall, the Ottawa Senators are playing their best hockey in years, and the Battle of Ontario is definitively on the table as a possible first-round playoff draw.

Yes, there is a considerable amount of movement that could still happen over the final third of the regular season — especially with the NHL’s trade deadline mere weeks away — but perhaps the biggest story from the winter months of this season has been a decisively changing playoff setup in the Atlantic Division, and it starts with Boston’s fall from grace.

It’d be premature to eliminate the Bruins from the postseason picture, but there is no disputing this season is very different from the two-decade run of success this organization has built its reputation on.

Though the Bruins only have one Stanley Cup (2010-11) over this period, they have been one of the most dominant teams in the league year over year. It’s what makes this season’s collapse — a year where they are pacing for a whopping -39 goal differential — such a notable occurrence:

It’s the first time we have really seen a beatable Bruins lineup, which should be music to the ears........

© TSN