The 2023-24 regular season in the NHL runs between 10 and 13 more games, depending on a team’s schedule. Four of the eight Eastern Conference slots in the Stanley Cup Playoffs have been claimed – by Boston, Florida, the Rangers, and Carolina. In the Western Conference, the only team that has clinched a spot is the Dallas Stars, leaving seven slots open. As we play the last few weeks of the regular season, the postseason picture will clear up. Right now, though, just one Eastern Conference team (Columbus) and four Western Conference teams (Arizona, Chicago, Anaheim, and San Jose) are definitely out. Which other teams will miss out? As you start to plan your sports betting for the NHL Playoffs, read on to get our perspective.
NHL Playoffs Analysis: Which Teams Will Miss the 2024 Stanley Cup Postseason?
New Jersey Devils
It’s only been a year since the Devils stormed into the Stanley Cup Playoffs and eliminated the heavily favored New York Rangers in the first round. At that time, it looked like the Devils were just getting started with a revitalization of a once-proud postseason tradition. However, the Devils would be out of the playoffs if the regular season ended today. Head coach Lindy Ruff was shown the door. Injuries have bedeviled some of New Jersey’s key players, and none of the team’s top goaltenders have played particularly well. Vitek Vanecek, Akira Schmid, and Nico Daws have all had chances in net, and each of them has a GAA over 3.00. The fact that the Devils have been able to hang around in contention this long is actually impressive given the number of goals the team has given up. Right now, the Devils are looking up at the Washington Capitals and the Detroit Red Wings in the playoff chase. If the Devils can start making up some ground, then we might get optimistic, but for now, the Devils look to be out.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues have won six of their last ten and haven’t had any extended losing streaks this season. Both of those trends have kept their Stanley Cup Playoff hopes alive. They are just four points behind another resurgent team, the Vegas Golden Knights. If the Blues end up missing out, it would be the second year in a row. The last time the Blues missed two straight postseasons came 16 years ago. The fact that the West is just so stacked this year in comparison to the East and the Blues’ inability to score on the power play are the top two reasons why the Blues are likely to finish on the outside.
Seattle Kraken
In their second season, the Kraken went to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs before losing to the Dallas Stars. This season, they are 14 points behind Los Angeles for the second wild-card position and 15 points behind Vegas for third place in the Pacific Division. They have a 2-6-2 record over their last ten games that has given credence to rumors that the team is tanking to get a high draft choice before next season. They did just snap an eight-game skid on Tuesday when they beat Anaheim, getting their first home win in almost four weeks. That streak included a home loss to Montreal in which the Kraken were down 4-0 after the first period and never really seemed to wake up in the eventual 5-1 loss. They also lost at home to Buffalo, 6-2, and the Sabres are almost as far out of the playoff race as the Kraken are. In that win over the Ducks, Anaheim only put a dozen shots on net, looking even less interested than the Kraken did. It’s a shame to see a team that looked so electric last year playing without passion this time of year.
Detroit Red Wings
The Wings went on a five-game losing streak, briefly snapped out of it, and then started a new three-game skid on which they find themselves now. They are two points out of the second wild-card position in the East, although the team they trail (Washington) has a game in hand on them. Their overall play (and primary metrics) haven’t changed much, but the results have. Teams were already outshooting them by wide margins, but the Red Wings had a high enough shooting percentage to compensate for the gap. Captain Dylan Larkin went down for extended time due to injury, but those metrics were a problem before he went on the shelf. If the defense doesn’t improve, the Red Wings are not going to climb back into the wild-card picture.
Buffalo Sabres
At the trade deadline, the Sabres made some interesting moves, including the trade of Casey Mittelstadt for Bowen Byram. They added a high-ceiling defenseman, even though it’s another left shot to go along with Owen Power and Rasmus Dahlin. Also, Mittelstadt was having a tremendous season before the Sabres shipped him out. They did pick up some early wins after their trades but have split their last ten games and are eight points behind the Caps for the second wild card in the East.
New York Islanders
The Isles looked buried through much of the first half of the 2023-24 season, but then they went on a six-game winning streak shortly after the trade deadline and briefly occupied one of the wild-card slots in the East. When Lou Lamoriello fired coach Lane Lambert and replaced him with the mercurial Patrick Roy, the team had a bit of a burst. With 77 points, the Isles are just four points out of the last wild card and five points behind Philadelphia for third in the Metropolitan Division. With only 31 regular-season wins (the Caps and Flyers have 36 each), the Islanders would have to finish with more points than either of those two teams to take their playoff spot away, as they would lose the first tiebreaker if they finish with the same number of points. The Isles have scored 215 goals so far on the season with a -26 differential; the only team above them in the East with worse numbers there is Washington (199 goals, -30 differential). The Islanders are normally known for stingy defense, but those 241 goals allowed are a major red flag for a team looking to gain ground.
Minnesota Wild
By sending Brandon Duhaime, Connor Dewar and Patrick Maroon elsewhere at the trade deadline, the Wild seemed to indicate that they were in “sell” mode. However, they got points in four straight games after the deadline. With a 6-1-3 record over their last ten games, they are slowly creeping up the standings. At 79 points, they are eight points out of the second wild-card slot in the West, and they have three fewer regular-season wins than the team ahead of them (Los Angeles). Their goals allowed number (231) is a bit high for a contending team, but they have lit the lamp 223 times. It seems a bit late for a team with these defensive issues to make up ground at this point.