Question 1

How are NHL playoff probabilities calculated?

Accepted Answer

NHL playoff probabilities on In The Playoffs are calculated using 25,000 Monte Carlo simulations of the remaining schedule. Each simulation uses Elo-based win probability adjusted for home ice advantage and rest. The model applies official NHL tiebreaker rules to determine which 16 teams qualify. The probability shown is the percentage of simulations in which a team makes the playoffs.

Question 2

How are NBA playoff probabilities calculated?

Accepted Answer

NBA playoff probabilities on In The Playoffs are calculated using 25,000 Monte Carlo simulations of the remaining schedule. The model applies official NBA tiebreaker rules and models the Play-In Tournament (seeds 7–10 per conference) as a separate stage. The probability shown is the percentage of simulations in which a team qualifies for the playoffs.

Question 3

How often are playoff odds updated?

Accepted Answer

Playoff probabilities on In The Playoffs are updated every day at 9 AM ET, incorporating the previous night's game results and the latest standings for both the NHL and NBA.

Question 4

How does the NHL wild card work?

Accepted Answer

The NHL playoffs include 16 teams: the top 3 teams from each of the four divisions, plus two wild card teams from each conference. Wild card spots go to the two non-division-winner teams in each conference with the most points. In The Playoffs tracks both division winner probability and wild card probability separately for each team.

Question 5

How does the NBA Play-In Tournament work?

Accepted Answer

The NBA Play-In Tournament determines the 7th and 8th playoff seeds in each conference. The 7 vs 8 seed play — the winner gets the 7 seed. The 9 vs 10 seed play — the loser is eliminated. Then the losers of 7v8 and winners of 9v10 play for the final playoff spot. In The Playoffs models this entire Play-In stage in its simulations.

Question 6

Which teams are on the playoff bubble?

Accepted Answer

Bubble teams are those with playoff probabilities between 10% and 75%. In The Playoffs shows real-time probabilities for all 32 NHL teams and all 30 NBA teams, making it easy to identify which teams are in danger of missing the playoffs in the 2025-26 season.

	── Offense ──				── Defense ──
Team	GF/GP Goals For	SF/GP Shots For	PP% Power Play	FOW% Faceoffs	GA/GP Goals Against	SA/GP Shots Against	PK% Penalty Kill
1 COLAvalanche Central	3.701	33.681	17.9%25	51.2%8	2.471	26.065	84.1%1
2 CARHurricanes Metropolitan	3.592	32.392	24.7%5	50.3%16	2.918	23.861	80.6%10
3 PITPenguins Metropolitan	3.523	28.6510	24.3%7	48.1%24	3.1022	27.3012	81.6%7
4 TBLLightning Atlantic	3.504	28.1514	21.1%16	47.5%28	2.773	26.738	82.5%3
5 BUFSabres Atlantic	3.445	28.2012	19.9%18	45.7%32	2.9511	29.2423	81.7%6
6 EDMOilers Pacific	3.446	29.665	30.6%1	52.5%6	3.2926	26.8210	77.3%23
7 MTLCanadiens Atlantic	3.427	26.2624	23.4%9	50.9%11	3.0516	27.8418	78.2%20
8 OTTSenators Atlantic	3.368	28.809	23.5%8	54.5%2	3.0113	24.463	75.5%29
9 DALStars Central	3.309	25.1831	28.5%2	51.6%7	2.672	26.187	80.3%12
10 MINWild Central	3.2710	29.277	25.4%3	46.7%30	2.844	29.4024	79.6%15
11 BOSBruins Atlantic	3.2611	27.0421	23.4%10	52.9%4	3.0517	29.8029	76.9%24
12 UTAMammoth Central	3.2512	27.6620	19.6%20	49.2%21	2.907	26.156	78.6%18
13 ANADucks Pacific	3.2313	30.613	18.4%23	47.9%25	3.5129	28.5620	76.8%25
14 WSHCapitals Metropolitan	3.2014	28.1117	17.6%27	49.3%20	2.939	28.1519	80.0%13
15 VGKGolden Knights Pacific	3.1715	28.918	24.7%6	51.0%9	2.9912	24.432	81.4%8
16 TORMaple Leafs Atlantic	3.0816	26.4023	21.2%15	54.5%1	3.5831	32.3832	82.1%4
17 CBJBlue Jackets Metropolitan	3.0217	29.416	19.0%22	50.6%14	3.0719	28.9421	76.1%27
18 SJSSharks Pacific	3.0118	25.8026	20.6%17	47.8%27	3.5730	29.7728	75.7%28
19 NSHPredators Central	2.9519	27.9518	22.6%12	50.5%15	3.2425	29.5726	82.0%5
20 FLAPanthers Atlantic	2.9420	28.1415	19.3%21	46.9%29	3.3928	26.809	80.5%11
21 DETRed Wings Atlantic	2.9421	28.2511	23.1%11	50.8%12	3.0214	27.8117	77.4%22
22 PHIFlyers Metropolitan	2.9222	25.5028	15.5%32	49.4%18	2.9410	25.404	77.6%21
23 NYRRangers Metropolitan	2.8623	25.2330	24.9%4	54.4%3	3.0518	28.9622	79.6%16
24 WPGJets Central	2.8224	26.4322	18.1%24	51.0%10	3.0315	27.4714	78.5%19
25 NYIIslanders Metropolitan	2.8125	28.1216	16.7%30	52.7%5	2.896	27.7815	80.8%9
26 NJDDevils Metropolitan	2.7926	29.694	22.1%13	50.7%13	3.0720	27.3813	79.3%17
27 SEAKraken Pacific	2.7827	25.5727	19.7%19	47.9%26	3.1123	29.4225	71.6%32
28 STLBlues Central	2.6828	25.2529	17.8%26	49.3%19	3.0821	27.7816	76.4%26
29 LAKKings Pacific	2.6729	27.9119	17.0%29	49.9%17	2.895	27.2211	74.9%30
30 VANCanucks Pacific	2.5630	26.1525	21.6%14	49.2%23	3.8132	29.6927	71.7%31
31 CHIBlackhawks Central	2.5531	24.7032	17.5%28	46.0%31	3.2927	30.1831	83.6%2
32 CGYFlames Pacific	2.5532	28.1813	16.1%31	49.2%22	3.1524	29.8430	79.9%14

Team Stat Rankings

NHL Team Stat Rankings