The NHL’s top teams are in the Eastern Conference. But the East's playoff race is tighter than last year, as Carol Schram explores in this week's stat pack.
The NHL loves to tout the parity in its standings as a trait that makes the league exciting to watch. If the teams are relatively evenly matched, it's believed we get more excitement because anyone can win on any given night. Over a full season, teams stay in the playoff hunt longer and anything can happen once those first-round playoff matchups are set.
But last season, teams in the Eastern Conference spoiled the fun by setting their eight playoff teams by Jan. 2, 2022. Due to the pandemic-related game postponements around the holiday season, some teams weren't even at 30 games when the playoff berths were decided.
In the West, the race was much more volatile. On Jan. 2, the Vegas Golden Knights were still first in the conference. Their second-half freefall left them three points short by season's end. Over the same timeframe, the Anaheim Ducks fell from fourth to 13th as they became sellers at the NHL trade deadline.
Vegas and Anaheim were replaced in the playoff mix by the Los Angeles Kings, who had been one point out on Jan. 2, and by the Dallas Stars, who had been six back.
By this time last year — Feb. 21, 2022 — 15 of 16 playoff spots had been secured. The only subsequent change was Dallas edging out Vegas, which came down to the last few days of the season.
This year, after Feb. 20, 2023, the standings do look more volatile. The Western Conference is so tightly compressed that it could still be dramatically shuffled by April — and that's a topic for a future stat pack.
For today, let's look at the clear line of delineation that has cropped up again in the East. It's a little higher up this year.
The Beasts From The East
When we look at the full-league standings from one to 32 these days, it's usually to check the bottom and see which team is currently holding the pole position in the Connor Bedard sweepstakes.
But there's actually something quite unusual going on at the other end. The top six teams in the league all come from the Eastern Conference.
By points percentage:
Then, we've got the top eight teams from the West sitting in the chasm between the Eastern Conference's best and the rest.
There's a nine-point gap between the third and fourth-place teams in the Atlantic and 10 in the Metro — margins that are nearly impossible to erase by this point in the season.
Five familiar squads. And welcome back to the party, New Jersey Devils — set to make their post-season return for the first time since the 2017-18 season.
How have these teams opened up such a big gap? Let's look at their records against their own division, the rival Eastern division, and the Western Conference:
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Six teams with excellent records, although the Leafs, Lightning and Rangers have been tested within their own divisions. And one clear trait is consistent across the board — these clubs have all dominated against the teams out west.
The Leafs and the Rangers have already made big trade-deadline moves, acquiring Ryan O'Reilly and Vladimir Tarasenko, respectively. It'll be fascinating to see how the other four squads in this group respond as more talent is injected into their bracket.
No matter how good they are collectively, there can still only be one Eastern Conference champion.
The Best of the Rest
On the other side of the standings gap, a serious race is evolving for those two wild-card spots — and, most likely, an opportunity to play spoiler against the Bruins or the Hurricanes.
As of Tuesday morning, just seven points separate seven teams in the wild-card race. And the two squads that are currently at the top have played the most games, so they're vulnerable.
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By points percentage, the teams with the strongest records are Pittsburgh and Buffalo. And if the Sabres get in, they'd be snapping the NHL's longest current playoff drought — 11 seasons. Detroit has the third-best points percentage in the group. A playoff spot for the Red Wings would end a six-year drought.
Meanwhile, two longstanding playoff streaks — both by recent Stanley Cup winners — are in jeopardy.
Pittsburgh holds the active NHL record of 16 consecutive seasons, which dates back to Sidney Crosby's second year in the league, 2006-07. The Penguins won three championships in those 16 years.
The Washington Capitals are tied with the Nashville Predators for the second-longest active streak, at eight years. The Caps won a Cup along the way, too, in 2018.
Has this group also been as effective at pulling points to the Eastern Conference side?
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It's a mixed bag. And with only a few cross-conference games remaining for most teams, perhaps the clubs that have performed well against their Eastern foes this season will be better-positioned to add to their point totals down the stretch.
If so, that could be great news for the Senators, who've fared better against Atlantic and Metro teams so far this season. Florida also has been good in Eastern Conference games, while Buffalo and Pittsburgh have fared much better against teams from the West.
All told, 14 of 16 Eastern Conference teams have earned points in more games than not against the West. Only Florida and Ottawa do not.
And while the Anaheim Ducks (6-16-3) and Vancouver Canucks (8-19-2), in particular, have bled losses against Eastern teams, the Arizona Coyotes check in at a respectable 14-14-2.
When it comes to facing Eastern opposition, the Vegas Golden Knights are the best in the West, with a record of 15-7-2.