It’s starting to look like the end of last season, only this time the Columbus Blue Jackets may end up tied for a playoff spot after 82 games.
If so, the NHL’s standings tiebreaker rules will determine which eight teams in the Eastern Conference get into the playoffs and how they’re matched up. So, with eight games remaining for the Jackets, it’s a good time to examine how the NHL decides standings ties after all 32 teams have played a full slate.
Here’s a breakdown:
First NHL standings tiebreaker: Regulation wins
After the regular season ends, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. These are wins accrued in games that need just the standard three 20-minute periods to decide. Wins in overtime periods or shootouts don’t count. The NHL added this tiebreaker prior to the 2019-20 season due to a close call two seasons prior during a playoff race between the Philadelphia Flyers and Florida Panthers for the second of two playoff wild cards in the east.
Had the Panthers and Flyers finished tied at 96 points and stayed tied by meeting certain criteria in their final regular-season games, the league was prepared to hold an 83rd game for each team as a one-game playoff to battle for the last postseason spot.
The Flyers finished two points ahead of the Panthers to earn the second wild card, so that didn’t come to fruition, but the NHL decided to add regulation wins as a new tiebreaker rule two years later.
How the Columbus Blue Jackets stack up with regulation wins:
The Blue Jackets have won 27 of their first 74 games in regulation time, which ranks them higher than only the Flyers in a sizeable group of teams huddled within two points of the second wild card.
That’s the bad news. The good news is the Jackets have made up a considerable amount of ground in this category since Rick Bowness was hired Jan. 12 as coach.
They’re one behind the New York Islanders and Detroit Red Wings (28), two behind the Pittsburgh Penguins (29) and three behind the Montreal Canadiens (30) and Boston Bruins (30). The Ottawa Senators (32) are likely unreachable, while the Flyers’ 23 is by far the lowest among eight teams vying for the East’s final five playoff spots.
Second NHL standings tiebreaker: Regulation/overtime wins
Should regulation wins not do the trick, the NHL adds overtime wins to the calculation. That’s the “ROW” column in the league’s official standings. It works the same as regulation wins, only with games won in 3-on-3 overtime periods added to the mix.
How the Columbus Blue Jackets stack up in ROW:
The Flyers (28) are the only team in the playoff pack with fewer regulation/overtime wins than the Blue Jackets (32). There is less optimism in this category for the Jackets, who are one behind the Penguins (33) while trailing five other contenders by a considerable amount.
The Canadiens (40), Islanders (38), Bruins (38), Red Wings (37) and Senators (35) may all finish with more regulation/overtime wins than the Blue Jackets.
Third NHL standings tiebreaker: Total wins
Should it get this deep into the tiebreaker rules, the NHL next shifts to the total number of wins by any means, not compartmentalizing them into different types.
How the Columbus Blue Jackets stack up in wins:
The Blue Jackets are doing well in this one. Their 38 total wins rank higher than the Penguins (36) and Flyers (37). They’re also tied with the Senators (38) and within striking distance of the Red Wings (39). The Islanders (42), Canadiens (42) and Bruins (42) are most likely out of reach in this tiebreaker.
Fourth NHL standings tiebreaker: Head-to-Head points/pts%
Ready for this one? It’s a doozie.
First, here is the NHL’s official rule language via the league’s site:
“The greater number of points earned in games against each other among two or more tied Clubs. For the purpose of determining standing for two or more Clubs that have not played an even number of games with one or more of the other tied Clubs, the first game played in the city that has the extra game (the ‘odd’ game) shall not be included. When more than two Clubs are tied, the percentage of available points earned in games among each other (and not including any ‘odd games’) shall be used to determine standing.”
Got all that? Good.
Let’s hope it never gets this far for the Blue Jackets. Essentially, this tiebreaker is based on the total number of points earned against other teams. Not all teams play an even number of games in their season series, so teams that host more games than an opponent within a season series have the first game held in their city removed to make it even.
The second part pertains to ties that persist through the head-to-head points count, shifting to points percentage among tied teams while still tossing out the first game in cities that host ‘odd’ games in uneven series. Yes, it’s confusing, like much of the NHL rule book, and we’re not even going to attempt mapping out the Blue Jackets’ standing against seven other teams.
Not yet anyway.
Fifth NHL standings tiebreaker: Goal differential
This is determined by subtracting a team’s total goals allowed from goals scored, which is labeled “goal differential” in NHL standings. The league includes overtime goals and adds one goal scored to a shootout winning team’s tally and a goal allowed to the shootout loser’s number.
How Columbus stacks up in goal differential:
The Blue Jackets are +11 in goal differential, which is higher than the islanders (-7), Red Wings (-3) and Flyers (-3). They’re trailing the Canadiens (+25), Bruins (+20), Senators (+20), Penguins (+16) and Washington Capitals (+13), who are five points below the playoff cut with eight games left and four teams to jump.
Sixth NHL standings tiebreaker: Goals-For
The NHL’s last listed tiebreaker method is determined by total goals scored, which is listed in the standings under “GF” for Goals-For. This includes goals scored in overtime plus shootout winners.
How Columbus stacks up in Goals-For:
The Blue Jackets are in the middle of playoff hunters at 237, which is more than the Islanders (216), Flyers (216), Red Wings (215) and Capitals (232). They’re trailing the Canadiens (258), Penguins (250), Bruins (250) and Senators 244).
If none of that settles it, get ready for Game 83.
Blue Jackets reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com and @BrianHedger.bsky.social
