Stanley Cup Playoff scenarios
Anyone up for a Stanley Cup playoff primer? The Capitals have nine games left starting tonight in Philadelphia. Here’s a chart showing most outcomes as teams race for seeding in the Eastern Conference. The first real tiebreaker used will be wins – but without shootout victories included. The general managers made that change after last season. The next tiebreaker is head-to-head competition. If for some reason that isn’t enough then goal differential is used as a last resort.
I limited this to regulation wins and losses. No need to include every possible scenario involving overtime or shootouts. That’s not the purpose here. Just wanted to give a sense of what it will take for the Caps to hold off teams below them, win the Southeast Division and possibly finish first in the conference. Note: Washington has three shootout wins this season so use that when figuring the initial tiebreaker.
PHILADELPHIA (No. 1)
Games left » 11
Season series » Flyers 2-0-1 (5 points); Caps 1-0-2 (4 points)
Remaining meetings » at Philadelphia, March 22
Shootout wins » 3
Flyers Outcomes
11-0, 118 points
10-1, 116 points
9-2, 114 points
8-3, 112 points Caps 9-0, 112 points
7-4, 110 points Caps 8-1, 110 points
6-5, 108 points Caps 7-2, 108 points
5-6, 106 points Caps 6-3, 106 points
4-7, 104 points Caps 5-4, 104 points
BOSTON (No. 3)
Games left » 11
Season series » Bruins 3-1 (6 points); Caps 1-3 (2 points)
Remaining meetings » None
Shootout wins » 2
Bruins Outcomes
11-0, 110 points Caps 8-1, 110 points
10-1, 108 points Caps 7-2, 108 points
9-2, 106 points Caps 6-3, 106 points
8-3, 104 points Caps 5-4, 104 points
7-4 102 points Caps 4-5, 102 points
6-5, 100 points Caps 3-6, 100 points
5-6, 98 points Caps 2-7, 98 points
PITTSBURGH (No. 4)
Games left » 9
Season series » Penguins 1-3 (2 points); Caps 3-0-1 (7 points)
Remaining meetings » None
Shootout wins » 6
Penguins Outcomes
9-0, 110 points Caps 8-1, 110 points
8-1, 108 points Caps 7-2, 108 points
7-2, 106 points Caps 6-3, 106 points
6-3, 104 points Caps 5-4, 104 points
5-4, 102 points Caps 4-5, 102 points
4-5, 100 points Caps 3-6, 100 points
TAMPA BAY (No. 5)
Games left » 10
Season Series » Lightning 2-3-1 (5 points); Caps 4-1-1 (9 points)
Remaining meetings » None
Shootout wins » 6
Lightning Outcomes
10-0, 109 points Caps 8-1, 110 points
9-1, 107 points Caps 7-2, 108 points
8-2, 105 points Caps 6-3, 106 points
7-3, 103 points Caps 5-4, 104 points
6-4, 101 points Caps 4-5, 102 points
5-5, 99 points Caps 3-6, 100 points
4-6, 97 points Caps 2-7, 98 points
3-7, 95 points Caps 1-8, 96 points
2-8, 93 points Caps 0-9, 94 points
MONTREAL (No. 6)
Games left » 9
Season Series » Canadiens 1-2 (2 points); Caps 2-0-1 (5 points)
Remaining meetings » at Montreal, March 26
Shootout wins » 3
Canadiens Outcomes
9-0, 105 points Caps 6-3, 106 points
8-1, 103 points Caps 5-4, 104 points
7-2, 101 points Caps 4-5, 102 points
6-3, 99 points Caps 3-6, 100 points
5-4, 97 points Caps 2-7, 98 points
4-5, 95 points Caps 1-8, 96 points
NEW YORK RANGERS (No. 7)
Games left » 9
Season Series » Rangers 3-1 (6 points); Caps (1-2-1, 3 points)
Remaining meetings » None
Shootout wins » 8
Rangers Outcomes
9-0, 100 points Caps 3-6, 100 points
8-1, 98 points Caps 2-7, 98 points
7-2, 96 points Caps 1-8, 96 points
6-3, 94 points Caps 0-9, 94 points
BUFFALO SABRES (No. 8)
Games left » 10
Season Series » Sabres 1-2 (2 points); Caps 2-0-1 (5 points)
Remaining meetings » vs. Sabres, April 2
Shootout wins » 5
Outcomes
10-0, 99 points Caps 3-6, 100 points
9-1, 97 points Caps 2-7, 98 points
8-2, 95 points Caps 1-8, 96 points
7-3, 93 points Caps, 0-9, 94 points
CAROLINA HURRICANES (No. 9)
Games left » 10
Season Series » Hurricanes 0-4-1 (1 point); Caps 5-0 (10 points)
Remaining meetings » vs. Hurricanes, March 29
Shootout wins » 4
Hurricanes Outcomes
10-0. 96 points Caps 1-8, 96 points
9-1, 94 points Caps 0-9, 94 points
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