The NHL Playoff Races To Watch Down The Stretch
neil (Neil Paine, senior sportswriter): Hard as it is to believe -- it feels like the season just started! -- the average NHL team now has about 20 games left in its schedule. In other words, the stretch run is upon us, and to help make sense of it, we've reassembled some of our hockey chat crew to discuss the playoff races (such as they are). For each division, I've highlighted the teams either currently in fourth place or those with at least a 5 percent chance to slide into the top four and make the playoffs (according to our Elo simulations).
Sizing up the West Division playoff chase
Team record, Elo rating and playoff odds for NHL West Division teams
Chance to...
Team
W
L
OTL
Pts
Elo Rating
Win Division
Make Playoffs
Golden Knights
24
9
2
50
1568
48.0%
99.9%
Avalanche
23
8
4
50
1578
45.3
>99.9
Wild
22
11
2
46
1525
6.6
99.0
Blues
16
13
6
38
1501
0.1
38.2
Coyotes
16
15
5
37
1474
- 16d
- A FiveThirtyEight Chat