February 26 Seattle Kraken Playoff Chase Update

The Seattle Kraken playoff tracker doesn't measure the quality of games played, only the results.

Given how poorly Seattle performed in Saturday's 5-2 throttling by the Minnesota Wild, that's just as well.

The news wasn't any more cheery on this weekend's out of town scoreboard. The Nashville Predators, current occupant of the wild card playoff spot the Kraken are chasing, won in San Jose Saturday and Anaheim Sunday.

Calgary also picked up a Saturday night victory in Edmonton.

The top three teams in each NHL division qualify for the playoffs. Of all the remaining teams in each conference, the top two also earn playoff berths. These teams are known as "Wild Card 1" and "Wild Card 2."

For now, we'll focus on the Western Conference Wild Card 2 race, as that appears the most likely way for Seattle to squeeze into the post-season. The chart above compares the Kraken, the team currently occupying "WC 2," and the teams closest to the Kraken "in the hunt."

Chart Categories Explained

"Regulation Wins" matters (as opposed to overtime or shootout wins), because if teams end up with the same number of points, regulation wins is the first tie-breaker.

"Games Remaining" show how many points a team can still potentially earn (2x number of games). A related term is "games in hand." If Team A has 20 games remaining and Team B has 18 games left, Team A has "two games in hand."

"Last 10 Results" is useful as an indicator of how contending teams are trending.

"Strength of Schedule" refers to the combined winning percentage of a team's remaining opponents. In this category, a lower number is better - but no guarantee.

Odds Of Making Playoffs

Many online sports sites have developed formulas for determining the likelihood a team will reach the post-season. Estimates widely vary. Remember, this is for entertainment purposes only.