February 16 Seattle Kraken Playoff Chase Update

Kraken Record: 23-21-10

Perhaps trying to figure out this season's Seattle Kraken is a fool's errand. 

This team has played badly enough to lose to the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks, the two worst teams in the NHL. And played well enough to beat the Boston Bruins 4-1 Thursday - adding to previous victories over top-10 teams Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Florida.

Idle thought: maybe the Kraken need to petition the league to switch conferences.

Heading home with a newly-minted two game winning streak, let's see how Seattle's playoff chances have changed.

The top three teams in each NHL division qualify for the playoffs. Of all the remaining teams in each conference, the top two also earn playoff berths. These teams are known as "Wild Card 1" and "Wild Card 2."

For now, we'll focus on the Western Conference Wild Card 2 race, as that appears the most likely way for Seattle to squeeze into the post-season.

The first chart provides an easy comparison among the Kraken, the team currently occupying "WC 2," and the teams closest to the Kraken "in the hunt."

"Regulation Wins" matters (as opposed to overtime or shootout wins), because if teams end up with the same number of points, regulation wins is the first tie-breaker.

"Games Remaining" show how many points a team can still potentially earn (2x number of games). A related term is "games in hand." If Team A has 20 games remaining and Team B has 18 games left, Team A has "two games in hand."

"Last 10 Results" is useful as an indicator of how contending teams are trending."Strength of Schedule" refers to the combined winning percentage of a team's remaining opponents. In this category, a lower number is better - but no guarantee.

Many online sports sites have developed formulas for determining the likelihood a team will reach the post-season. As you'll see, estimates widely vary. Remember, this is for entertainment purposes only.