NHL Playoff Clock: Rangers, Penguins Predictions

NewsForYouNow October 11, 2022

NHL Playoff Clock: Rangers, Penguins Predictions

Sports
March 18, 2023
No Comment
6

8:00 a.m. ET

Tim Kavanagh ESPN.com

CloseTim Kavanagh is a senior NHL editor for ESPN. He is from New York State.

As the New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins gear up for Saturday night’s game (8 ET, ABC and ESPN+), they’re both in great shape to qualify for the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. According to FiveThirtyEight, the Rangers have a better than 99% chance of making the postseason while the Penguins have a 73% chance. But what happens when they get there? And could they reunite for another epic showdown like last year?

The Rangers face a first-round match against their Hudson River rivals, the New Jersey Devils. The Devils won the first tilt between teams 5-3 on Nov. 28. Since then, both teams have won a 4-3 overtime decision, and they will play again on March 30.

Money Puck gives the Rangers a 26.1% chance of reaching the second round of the playoffs (where they would potentially face the Penguins again), a 15.8% chance of reaching the Conference Finals, a 2.0% chance of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals and 0.7% chance of winning it all.

As for the Penguins, they appear poised to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in the first round. The Pens lost two games cleanly to the Canes and two more games OT; However, all of this happened during the “We’ve got Andrei Svechnikov in the lineup” era of Canes 2022-23 hockey. A line-up without Svechnikov would theoretically be less powerful.

Despite Svechnikov’s absence, Money Puck doesn’t like the Pens’ odds, but it offers a slightly rosier picture than Rangers if they get past the Metro Division: It’s a 25.2 percent chance of a second-round trip , 10.6% chance of reaching the Conference Finals, 4.4% chance of reaching the Stanley Cup Finals, and 1.9% chance of winning the cup.

As we enter the final stages of the regular season, it’s time to review all of the playoff races — along with the teams competing for spots in the NHL’s 2023 draft lottery.

Note: Playoff odds are FiveThirtyEight.

Jump further:
Current playoff matches
Today’s games
Last night’s results
Extended ranking
Race for number 1

Current playoff matches

east conference

A1 Boston Bruins vs. WC2 New York Islanders
A2 Toronto Maple Leafs vs. A3 Tampa Bay Lightning
M1 Carolina Hurricanes vs. WC1 Pittsburgh Penguins
M2 New Jersey Devils vs. M3 New York Rangers

Western Conference

C1 Dallas Stars vs. WC1 Seattle Kraken
C2 Minnesota Wild vs. C3 Colorado Avalanche
P1 Vegas Golden Knights vs. WC2 Winnipeg Jets
P2 Los Angeles Kings vs. P3 Edmonton Oilers

The games on Saturday

Note: All times Eastern. All games not on ESPN, TNT, or NHL Network are available through NHL Power Play included with an ESPN+ subscription (local lockdown restrictions apply).

Colorado Avalanche at Detroit Red Wings, 1 p.m. (NHLN)
Boston Bruins at the Minnesota Wild, 2 p.m
Winnipeg Jets at Nashville Predators, 2 p.m
Edmonton Oilers at Seattle Kraken, 4 p.m
Carolina Hurricanes at Philadelphia Flyers, 5 p.m. (ESPN+/Hulu)
New Jersey Devils at Florida Panthers, 6 p.m
Toronto Maple Leafs at Ottawa Senators, 7 p.m
Montreal Canadiens at Tampa Bay Lightning, 7 p.m
Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers, 8 p.m. (ABC/ESPN+)
Dallas Stars at Calgary Flames, 10 p.m
Vancouver Canucks at Los Angeles Kings, 10 p.m
Chicago Blackhawks at Arizona Coyotes, 10:30 p.m
New York Islanders at San Jose Sharks, 10:30 p.m. (NHLN)

Scoreboard from Friday

Watch In the Crease on ESPN+ for highlights from each game.

Philadelphia Flyers 5, Buffalo Sabers 2
Toronto Maple Leafs 5, Carolina Hurricanes 2
St Louis Blues 5, Washington Capitals 2
Anaheim Ducks 7, Columbus Blue Jackets 4

Extended ranking

Atlantic Division

Points: 107
Rule wins: 44
Playoff position: A1
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 131
Next game: @ MIN (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 100%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 91
Rule wins: 35
Playoff position: A2
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 110
Next game: @OTT (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 88
Rule wins: 33
Playoff position: A3
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 105
Next game: vs. MTL (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Editors Favorites

2 relatives

Points: 75
Rules wins: 29
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 90
Next game: vs. NJ (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 55%
Tragic number: 25

Points: 72
Rule wins: 25
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 87
Next game: vs. BOS (Sunday)
Playoff Chances: 8%
Tragic number: 22

Points: 70
Rule wins: 26
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 84
Next game: vs. TOR (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 2%
Tragic number: 20

Points: 69
Rule wins: 24
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 85
Next game: vs. COL (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 2%
Tragic number: 21

Points: 60
Rule wins: 18
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 71
Next game: @ TB (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 1%
Tragic number: 8

metropolitan department

Points: 96
Rule wins: 33
Playoff position: M1
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 118
Next game: @ PHI (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 95
Rule wins: 32
Playoff position: M2
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 115
Next game: @ FLA (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 88
Rules wins: 29
Playoff position: M3
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 106
Next game: vs. PIT (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

central department

Points: 87
Rules wins: 31st
Playoff position: C1
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 103
Next game: @ CGY (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 86
Rule wins: 28
Playoff position: C2
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 104
Next game: vs. BOS (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 84
Rule wins: 27
Playoff position: C3
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 103
Next game: @ DET (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

The top 10 players in the NHL by position

A panel of NHL players, coaches, GMs, and other front office personnel ranked the top players in each position:

• Goalkeeper
• Defender
• Winger
• centers

Points: 79
Rules wins: 29
Playoff position: WC2
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 94
Next game: @ NSH (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 58%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 75
Rule wins: 25
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 16
Point pace: 93
Next game: vs. WPG (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 27%
Tragic number: 28

Points: 65
Rule wins: 22
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 78
Next game: vs. WPG (Sunday)
Playoff odds: Tragic number: 14

Points: 63
Rule wins: 19
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 75
Next game: vs. CHI (Saturday)
Playoff odds: Tragic number: 10

Points: 54
Rule wins: 16
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 14
Point pace: 65
Next game: @ ARI (Saturday)
Playoff odds: Tragic number: 3

Pacific Division

Points: 90
Rule wins: 30
Playoff position: P1
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 107
Next game: vs. CBJ (Sunday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 89
Rule wins: 30
Playoff position: P2
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 106
Next game: vs. VAN (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: >99%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 84
Rule wins: 36
Playoff position: P3
Remaining games: 13
Point Speed: 100
Next game: @ SEA (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 98%
Tragic number: N/A

Watch NHL games on ESPN networks

This season includes 103 regular season exclusives across ESPN, ESPN+, Hulu and ABC. More than 1,000 out of print games will be available to ESPN+ subscribers via NHL Power Play on ESPN+.
• How to watch
• Subscribe to ESPN+
• Stream the NHL on ESPN

Points: 83
Rule wins: 30
Playoff position: WC1
Remaining games: 14
Point Speed: 100
Next game: vs. EDM (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 93%
Tragic number: N/A

Points: 76
Rule wins: 25
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 90
Next game: vs. DAL (Saturday)
Playoff Odds: 26%
Tragic number: 23

Points: 63
Rule wins: 18
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 15
Point pace: 77
Next game: @ LA (Saturday)
Playoff odds: Tragic number: 14

Points: 56
Rule wins: 13
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 67
Next game: vs. VAN (Sunday)
Playoff odds: Tragic number: 3

Points: 52
Rule wins: 14
Playoff Position: N/A
Remaining games: 13
Point pace: 62
Next game: vs. NYI (Saturday)
Playoff Chances: 0%
Tragic Number: E

Race for number 1

The NHL uses a draft lottery to determine the order of the first round, so whichever team finishes last isn’t guaranteed to be number 1. As of 2021, a team can move up a maximum of 10 spots if they win the lottery, leaving only 11 teams qualified for the number 1 draw. All details about the process can be found here. This summer’s #1 draft board pick is Connor Bedard, who has been hailed as a generational talent.

Points: 49
Rule wins: 15

Points: 52
Rule wins: 14

Points: 54
Rule wins: 16

Points: 56
Rule wins: 13

Points: 60
Rule wins: 18

Points: 61
Rule wins: 23

Points: 63
Rule wins: 18

Points: 63
Rule wins: 19

Points: 65
Rule wins: 22

Points: 69
Rule wins: 24

Points: 70
Rule wins: 26

Points: 72
Rule wins: 25