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Points, tiebreakers, and playoff seeding. Everything you need to know about reading an NHL standings table and understanding what each column actually tells you.
TL;DR
Every NHL game is worth at least two standings points. A win gets you two, an overtime/shootout loss gets you one, and a regulation loss gets you zero. Division winners and wild cards earn playoff spots, and when teams are tied on points the league uses a five-step tiebreaker starting with regulation wins.
The NHL uses a three-tier point system. Unlike leagues with a simple win/loss format, hockey awards a consolation point to teams that lose after regulation. This means overtime and shootout games inject an extra point into the standings pool.
2 pts
Regulation, overtime, or shootout. All wins are worth the same.
1 pt
Lose in overtime or a shootout and you still earn a point. The "loser point."
0 pts
Lose in regulation and you walk away with nothing.
NHL standings tables pack a lot of information into abbreviated column headers. Here is what each one tracks.
When two or more teams finish with the same number of points, the NHL uses the following sequence to break the tie. The league moves to the next step only if the previous one does not separate the teams.
The team with fewer games played ranks higher because it earned the same points in fewer opportunities. This matters most late in the season when schedule imbalances exist.
Winning in 60 minutes is worth more than needing extra time. The team with more regulation wins gets the edge.
If regulation wins are equal, the league adds overtime wins. Shootout wins are excluded because they are considered less indicative of team strength.
If ROW is still tied, total wins (including shootout wins) are compared.
Points earned in games between the tied teams during the regular season. If the teams played an uneven number of home/away games, the first game at the city with more home games is excluded.
The NHL playoff format sends 16 teams to the postseason: eight from each conference. Here is how those spots are allocated.
Each of the four divisions sends its top three teams. The team with the best record in the division is the division winner and earns the first seed in its bracket. The second and third place teams fill the next two spots.
After the top three from each division are locked in, two wild card spots go to the next two best records in the conference regardless of division. A wild card team can come from either division.
The division winner with the better record plays the second wild card (WC2). The other division winner plays the first wild card (WC1). The second and third place teams in each division play each other. Home ice goes to the higher seed.
Standings context is one of many inputs in the prediction model. Teams fighting for a playoff spot or locked in a tight divisional race tend to perform differently than teams that have already clinched or been eliminated. The model captures this through features like points percentage, recent form (L10), and standings position relative to the playoff cutline.
PuckCast also publishes its own power rankings, which go beyond raw standings by incorporating underlying performance metrics like expected goals, special teams efficiency, and schedule strength.
Standings in the model
ROW stands for Regulation and Overtime Wins. It counts all wins except shootout wins. The NHL uses ROW as the first tiebreaker when two teams have the same number of points. A team that wins more games in regulation or overtime is considered stronger than one that relies on shootouts.
OTL stands for Overtime Loss. When a game goes to overtime or a shootout and your team loses, you still earn one point. The OTL column tracks how many of those extra-time losses a team has. It is sometimes called the "loser point" because you get credit just for forcing overtime.
A win is worth two points regardless of whether it comes in regulation, overtime, or a shootout. A loss in overtime or a shootout is worth one point. A loss in regulation is worth zero points. Every game puts at least two points into the standings, and overtime games put three.
When two teams finish with the same number of points, the NHL breaks the tie in this order: (1) fewer games played, (2) more regulation wins (RW), (3) more regulation and overtime wins (ROW), (4) more total wins, and (5) head-to-head points in the season series. If the tie remains after all five steps, goal differential decides.
Each division sends its top three teams. The division winner gets the first seed, and the next two teams fill seeds two and three. The remaining spots go to two wild card teams, which are the next two best records in the entire conference regardless of division. In the first round, the division winner with the better record plays the lower wild card, and the other division winner plays the higher wild card.