Updating NHL Playoff Picture

We're over halfway though the NHL season. With the new divisional playoff structure, I wondered where (if any) our playoff races will be.

Here's the current playoff picture:

Great. Here it is with league standings ranking next to each team.

This is my concern, dude.

Under the old system, the Avs would be the 4th best team in the West and draw the 5th best team in the West, the Sharks. But if they passed Chicago and became the 3rd best team in the West, they would get the 6th best, the Kings.

Currently, they are 3rd in the Central and draw the Blackhawks. If they pass Chicago and become the 2nd best team in the Central, they draw...the Blackhawks.

The bright side is that they have a comfortable lead on the Wild and Minnesota is still projected to make the playoffs anyways. So it would seem Colorado will be playing Chicago or St. Louis, and they've had better success against Chicago. Bring on the Blackhawks.

- - -

In the West, 7 teams have a playoff odds of over 87%. Minnesota, Phoenix and Dallas are fighting for the last spot.

In the East, only 4 teams have odds above 60%. 9 teams have a chance of claiming the 4 other spots.

Let's Just End The Season Today

Current NFL Playoff Picture:

Of course, the NHL has a new "divisional" format that's a bit more complicated. Let's work it out. (It's also tougher, since the teams have played a different number of games you need to sort by point percentages, not total standings points.)

This paints a much better picture than these standings. Here, we see the Blues have a firm hold on a playoff spot. The Avs have a better record then the Sharks, so they get to face the worse of the Western wild-cards, at the moment the Canucks.

It's kind of nice, personally, to not have to worry about facing the Sharks/Ducks/Coyotes until the conference finals, as they seem to be the hottest teams. (Yes, I know it's early. And the Blackhawks/Blues are probably just as good.)

In the East, the Lightning currently have a better points-percentage than the Penguins, so they get the Canadiens instead of the Bruins.

Overall, it's a bit strange that it's billed as divisional playoffs, and as it stands, 3 of the 8 first-round series aren't divisional. But shit happens.