NHL Standings 2026-27: Division, Conference & Overall Rankings
9 teams · 2 divisions 6 teams · 2 divisions
Eastern Conference
Western Conference
The NHL standings above rank every team by division, conference, and league-wide, so you can see who leads the race for a Stanley Cup Playoffs spot at a glance. Use the tabs to switch views, pick a season from the dropdown, and open any team row to see its home, away, conference, and division win rates.
Below, you will find a quick guide to reading the table, how points and tiebreakers work, how the playoff field is set, and how bettors can use the standings alongside NHL odds.
How to Read the NHL Standings Table
Each row in the table packs in a team’s record and recent form. Here is what every column means:
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| # | The team’s rank within the division, conference, or league view you selected. |
| Team | The team abbreviation, linked to its NHL line combinations page. |
| W-L | Wins, regulation losses, and overtime or shootout losses. The table may omit the third number when it is zero. A record of 0-1-1 means no wins, one regulation loss, and one overtime or shootout loss. |
| Trend | A quick visual read on how the team’s recent results have moved. |
| STRK | The current streak. W3 means three straight wins, and L2 means two straight losses. |
Select the Division tab to see each team ranked against its closest rivals, the Conference tab for the full 16-team race in the East or West, or the Overall tab for a single league-wide ranking. Expanding a row also breaks the team’s win rate down by home, away, conference, and division games.
NHL Standings by Conference and Division
The National Hockey League is split into two conferences of 16 teams, and each conference has two divisions of eight teams. Under the 2026-27 schedule, each team faces every division rival four times, compared with three games against each opponent in the other division of its conference and two against each opponent in the opposite conference. That heavier division schedule is why division rankings matter so much for the playoff picture.
| Conference | Division | Teams |
|---|---|---|
| Eastern | Atlantic | Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, Detroit Red Wings, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens, Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightning, Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Eastern | Metropolitan | Carolina Hurricanes, Columbus Blue Jackets, New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals |
| Western | Central | Chicago Blackhawks, Colorado Avalanche, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Utah Mammoth, Winnipeg Jets |
| Western | Pacific | Anaheim Ducks, Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Seattle Kraken, Vancouver Canucks, Vegas Golden Knights |
The conference view is the one to watch for the wild card chase, since it shows how teams from different divisions stack up against each other. The overall view ranks every team in the league together and shows which club is on pace for the Presidents’ Trophy, which goes to the team with the most regular-season points. A record only tells part of the story, so the NHL team rankings and NHL defense rankings are useful companions when you want to compare teams beyond wins and losses.
How Points Work in the NHL Standings
During the regular season, teams earn points based on how each game ends. A win is worth two points whether it comes in regulation, overtime, or a shootout, and a loss in overtime or a shootout still earns one point.
| Game result | Points earned |
|---|---|
| Regulation win | 2 |
| Overtime or shootout win | 2 |
| Overtime or shootout loss (OTL) | 1 |
| Regulation loss | 0 |
Because of that loser point, a game that goes past regulation hands out three points in total, while a regulation game hands out two. Early in the season, teams may have played different numbers of games, so points percentage gives a fairer comparison than raw points. It is calculated as points divided by two times games played, and it is different from the win rates shown in the expanded rows of the table.
If teams are tied on points, the team with fewer games played ranks higher. The remaining tiebreakers are regulation wins, regulation plus overtime wins, total wins including shootouts, points earned in head-to-head games, goal differential, and total goals scored, in that order. Special rules apply when the head-to-head schedule is uneven or more than two teams are tied.
How the NHL Playoff Picture Works
Sixteen teams reach the postseason, eight from each conference. In each conference, the top three teams in each division qualify automatically, and the next two best teams by record, regardless of division, take the wild card spots.
In the first round, the division winner with the better record in each conference faces the second wild card, the other division winner faces the first wild card, and the second- and third-place teams in each division meet each other. Every round is a best-of-seven series, and the Eastern and Western Conference champions meet in the Stanley Cup Final. Watching the standings tells you which teams hold those spots and who is chasing them.
Using the NHL Standings for Betting
Standings show how a team has performed, not what its odds should be, so they work best as one input alongside prices and matchups. Home and away win rates, current streaks, and division records can all add context when you compare a team against the NHL schedule or look at Stanley Cup odds.
Keep sample size in mind too. Early in the season, a team’s record rests on only a handful of games, so a hot or cold start says less than its roster and underlying play do. If you are ready to wager, compare offers at the top NHL betting sites. This content is intended for readers aged 21+. Before wagering, check the legal age, location requirements, and sportsbook availability in your jurisdiction, and only bet what you are comfortable spending.
NHL Standings FAQs
The NHL standings rank all 32 teams by their results during the season. They can be viewed by division, by conference, or league-wide, and they determine which teams qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sixteen teams qualify, eight from each conference. The top three teams in each division earn a spot, and two wild card teams per conference fill out the field.
OTL stands for overtime loss. A team that loses in overtime or a shootout still earns one point, which is why it is tracked separately from regulation losses.
Division standings rank a team against the other seven teams in its division, while conference standings rank all 16 teams in the East or West together. The conference view is the best way to follow the wild card race.
The leader changes as games are played. Open the Overall tab in the table above to see the top team in the league, or the Division tab to see each division leader.
Records change after every game, and the table follows the season as it moves along, so check back after each game night to see the latest rankings.
