Since the NHL is at the unofficial halfway point of the season, it seems like a perfect opportunity to take a look at all 30 teams and the obstacles that face each organization as they try to surge towards a playoff berth. Teams like the New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings can play average hockey and coast towards the second season; while teams like the Carolina Hurricanes and Anaheim Ducks would need historic runs to capture the eight seed.
What’s the old saying? You can’t win the Stanley Cup in November—but you can certainly lose it. Just ask the New Jersey Devils last season.
With that in mind, here are some basic numbers for both the Eastern and Western Conference playoff races. We took a look at the past few years to get an idea of where to put the projected playoff point threshold (more three-point games, increased rates of point-per-game numbers, etc) and came up with 97 points for the Eastern Conference this season and 95 points for the Western Conference. Both numbers seems high; but fall right in line with some of the projections. If you don’t like them—you can subtract the numbers from each table accordingly. Honestly, we’re all guessing projecting at this point.
Still, these numbers should serve to give everyone a general idea of what their team will need to do in the final few months of the season to make the playoffs.
Western Conference – First Half results
|
Team |
Record |
Points |
Winning Percentage |
Points Per Game |
| DETROIT | 33-16-1 |
67 |
0.670 |
1.340 |
| VANCOUVER | 30-15-4 |
64 |
0.653 |
1.306 |
| SAN JOSE | 27-14-6 |
60 |
0.638 |
1.277 |
| ST LOUIS | 29-13-7 |
65 |
0.663 |
1.327 |
| NASHVILLE | 30-16-4 |
64 |
0.640 |
1.280 |
| CHICAGO | 29-15-6 |
64 |
0.640 |
1.280 |
| LOS ANGELES | 24-16-10 |
58 |
0.580 |
1.160 |
| MINNESOTA | 24-18-7 |
55 |
0.561 |
1.122 |
| COLORADO | 26-23-2 |
54 |
0.529 |
1.059 |
| DALLAS | 25-21-2 |
52 |
0.542 |
1.083 |
| CALGARY | 23-21-6 |
52 |
0.520 |
1.040 |
| PHOENIX | 22-20-8 |
52 |
0.520 |
1.040 |
| ANAHEIM | 18-23-7 |
43 |
0.448 |
0.896 |
| EDMONTON | 18-26-5 |
41 |
0.418 |
0.837 |
| COLUMBUS | 13-30-6 |
32 |
0.327 |
0.653 |
With those stats in mind, here’s what each team presumably needs to accomplish in the second-half of the season to make the playoffs. Remember: we are estimating that Western Conference teams will need 95 points to capture the 8th seed. If you’re a Columbus Blue Jackets fan, you may want to skip this part.
Western Conference – Second half projections
|
Team |
Games Remaining |
Points Needed |
Record Needed |
Winning Percentage |
Points Per Game |
| DETROIT |
32 |
28 |
14-18-0 |
0.438 |
0.875 |
| VANCOUVER |
33 |
31 |
15-17-1 |
0.470 |
0.939 |
| SAN JOSE |
35 |
35 |
17-17-1 |
0.500 |
1.000 |
| ST LOUIS |
33 |
30 |
15-18-0 |
0.455 |
0.909 |
| NASHVILLE |
32 |
31 |
15-16-1 |
0.484 |
0.969 |
| CHICAGO |
32 |
31 |
15-16-1 |
0.484 |
0.969 |
| LOS ANGELES |
32 |
37 |
18-13-1 |
0.578 |
1.156 |
| MINNESOTA |
33 |
40 |
20-13-0 |
0.606 |
1.212 |
| COLORADO |
31 |
41 |
20-10-1 |
0.661 |
1.323 |
| DALLAS |
34 |
43 |
21-12-1 |
0.632 |
1.265 |
| CALGARY |
32 |
43 |
21-10-1 |
0.672 |
1.344 |
| PHOENIX |
32 |
43 |
21-10-1 |
0.672 |
1.344 |
| ANAHEIM |
34 |
52 |
26-8-0 |
0.765 |
1.529 |
| EDMONTON |
33 |
54 |
27-6-0 |
0.818 |
1.636 |
| COLUMBUS |
33 |
63 |
31-1-1 |
0.955 |
1.909 |
In the Eastern Conference, there’s a noticeable drop-off between the 6th-9th seeds and 10th and below. Of course, the Winnipeg Jets, Montreal Canadiens, and Tampa Bay Lightning can still make a run at the final playoff spot, but it’s going to take a serious sprint down the stretch to make it happen. Here are the results from the first half of the season—and the reason why the Jets, Habs, and Bolts are all sitting in a deep hole.
Eastern Conference – First Half results
| Team |
Record |
Points |
Winning Percentage |
Points Per Game |
| NY RANGERS |
31-12-4 |
66 |
0.702 |
1.404 |
| BOSTON |
31-14-2 |
64 |
0.681 |
1.362 |
| WASHINGTON |
26-19-3 |
55 |
0.573 |
1.146 |
| PHILADELPHIA |
29-14-5 |
63 |
0.656 |
1.313 |
| PITTSBURGH |
28-17-4 |
60 |
0.612 |
1.224 |
| OTTAWA |
27-19-6 |
60 |
0.577 |
1.154 |
| FLORIDA |
22-15-11 |
55 |
0.573 |
1.146 |
| NEW JERSEY |
26-19-3 |
55 |
0.573 |
1.146 |
| TORONTO |
25-19-5 |
55 |
0.561 |
1.122 |
| WINNIPEG |
22-22-6 |
50 |
0.500 |
1.000 |
| MONTRÉAL |
19-21-9 |
47 |
0.480 |
0.959 |
| TAMPA BAY |
21-23-4 |
46 |
0.479 |
0.958 |
| NY ISLANDERS |
19-22-7 |
45 |
0.469 |
0.938 |
| BUFFALO |
20-24-5 |
45 |
0.459 |
0.918 |
| CAROLINA |
18-24-9 |
45 |
0.441 |
0.882 |
Eastern Conference – Second half projections
|
Team |
Games Remaining |
Points Needed |
Record Needed |
Winning Percentage |
Points Per Game |
| NY RANGERS |
35 |
31 |
15-19-1 |
0.443 |
0.886 |
| BOSTON |
35 |
33 |
16-18-1 |
0.471 |
0.943 |
| WASHINGTON |
34 |
42 |
21-13-0 |
0.618 |
1.235 |
| PHILADELPHIA |
34 |
34 |
17-17-0 |
0.500 |
1.000 |
| PITTSBURGH |
33 |
37 |
18-14-1 |
0.561 |
1.121 |
| OTTAWA |
30 |
37 |
18-11-1 |
0.617 |
1.233 |
| FLORIDA |
34 |
42 |
21-13-0 |
0.618 |
1.235 |
| NEW JERSEY |
34 |
42 |
21-13-0 |
0.618 |
1.235 |
| TORONTO |
33 |
42 |
21-12-0 |
0.636 |
1.273 |
| WINNIPEG |
32 |
47 |
23-8-1 |
0.734 |
1.469 |
| MONTRÉAL |
33 |
50 |
25-8-0 |
0.758 |
1.515 |
| TAMPA BAY |
34 |
51 |
25-8-1 |
0.750 |
1.500 |
| NY ISLANDERS |
34 |
52 |
26-8-0 |
0.765 |
1.529 |
| BUFFALO |
33 |
52 |
26-7-0 |
0.788 |
1.576 |
| CAROLINA |
31 |
52 |
26-5-0 |
0.839 |
1.677 |
Matt Reitz is the Editor-In-Chief here at ViewFromMySeats.com and former NHL Writer for ProHockeyTalk on NBCSports. When he’s not shoving a mic in the face of NHLers or explaining why home teams should wear white, he’s usually trying to figure out what song to play next on his iPod. It’s a never-ending job.
