The NHL playoff odds put the Carolina Hurricanes at 90–100% after an Eastern Conference-best 14-5 start, but with only 18 of 84 games played, no team has clinched a playoff berth or been eliminated. The early standings have created separation at the top, not certainty at the cutoff: Montréal, Washington and the Rangers are all below 70% in the model.
Eastern race: three teams below 70%
Carolina’s 112-point projection leads the field, and its 90–100% playoff band is shared with Boston, New Jersey and Tampa Bay. Those are strong early indicators, not guarantees, with the season only 21% complete.
The more immediate pressure is among the teams with less cushion. The Montréal Canadiens are 11-6 and projected for 100 points, but sit in the 60–70% band. The Washington Capitals are 9-6 with a 98-point projection and the same 60–70% odds; their record is based on three fewer games than Montréal’s.
The New York Rangers are 10-8 and projected for 97 points, yet their playoff band is 50–60%, the lowest among the 12 teams listed. That gap between a winning record and a near-even model outlook shows how little the first few weeks can settle a long race.
Western race: strong projections, early tests
The top Western teams in this data have more breathing room than the Rangers, though none is close to a clinch. The Edmonton Oilers are 12-6 with a 104-point projection and an 80–90% playoff band. The Vegas Golden Knights, 12-7, project for 103 points and share that band.
The Dallas Stars are 10-7 and also in the 80–90% range, with a 103-point projection. Colorado, by comparison, has a 90–100% band despite a 10-8 record, a reminder that the model’s season outlook is not simply a ranking of current records. These odds are meaningful as a snapshot, but early-season results can still shift the picture substantially.
New Jersey’s hot start meets a short sample
The Devils are 13-5 and projected for 105 points, putting them in the 80–90% playoff band. They have won five straight, including a 4–0 shutout of Toronto on November 8, according to NHL.com. That run strengthens the recent-form case, but it does not turn an early-season projection into a clinched place.
Next week’s schedule needs a closer look
The supplied standings and odds do not include the upcoming schedule, so they cannot establish which two or three matchups will define the next week. New Jersey’s next meeting with Winnipeg is described as looming in NHL.com’s report, but the available information provides no date or further fixtures. For now, the clearest race to monitor is whether the Canadiens, Capitals and Rangers can turn their early records into playoff odds above their current bands.
Research sources
Additional reporting checked 2026-11-09T14:01:09.751Z.
