Playoff odds for the final stretch of the regular season.
There are still a ton of teams alive in the race, but what are their realistic chances of making it in?
We are heading into the final stretch of the 2023-24 National Hockey League regular season with roughly 3 weeks left to go before the season officially wraps up on April 18th.
In spite of the fact that we are late into the season, there are a surprising number of team's still very much alive when it comes to playoff contention. Admittedly a fair number of the teams that are still technically alive in the race are all but mathematically eliminated but we are still talking about a total of 14 teams whose playoff fates have not yet been sealed.
The race in the NHL's Eastern Conference will likely get the most attention down the stretch as the possibility of some real upsets does remain, here is how the probability breaks down for each of the teams that still haven't made it official just yet.
Lightning: 98.9%
Flyers: 86.2%
Capitals: 66.3%
Red Wings: 24.2%
NYI: 12.7%
NJD: 8.9%
Sabres: 2.2%
Penguins: 0.5%
Teams like the Pittsburgh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils and even the New York Islanders will practically need some form of divine intervention if they are to have any hope of making it in, but the Detroit Red Wings and Washington Capitals are still in range of pulling off an upset late in the season.
Things in the Western Conference are much more solidified with the upset potential in this conference coming entirely in the form of some real long shots.
Predators: 99.7%
Kings: 98.7%
VGK: 93.0%
Blues: 5.8%
Wild: 2.7%
Flames: 0.1%
Realistically speaking the Calgary Flames, Minnesota Wild and St. Louis Blues will be watching the playoffs from a seat on the couch this season, with an absolute miracle required for any of them to even get close to making it in.
Are you predicting any upsets before the end of the season? Let me know your thoughts in the comments.
