If the game of musical chairs that is the NHL standings ends with multiple teams tied in points, who gets the seat? It’s a question that’s undoubtedly been swirling around the minds of new hockey fans as they watch the Utah Hockey Club inch closer and closer to that last spot.
Here’s how it works.
NHL standings tie-breaking procedure
1: Fewer games played
Barring a situation like the league’s COVID-19 shutdown in 2020, the number of games played always evens itself out in the end. But during the season, if multiple teams are tied, the one that has played the fewest games holds the highest playoff spot.
2: Regulation wins
Many people believe that if you get the job done in regulation, it should be rewarded higher than winning in overtime or a shootout. That’s how most international hockey tournaments do it, but in the NHL, the only advantage it gives is the tiebreaker.
In a tie, the team with the most regulation wins gets the higher seed.
3: Regulation wins plus overtime wins
To further expand the above sentiment, winning a game in overtime is better than winning it in a shootout. So, if teams are still tied, the one with the most combined wins in regulation and overtime is the winner.
4: Total wins
Because teams can scrounge points from overtime losses, it’s possible that they’re still tied after all the above tiebreakers. If that’s the case, the team with the most wins of any fashion finishes ahead of the others.
5: Head-to-head results
If a tie still prevails, it’s clear that the teams are extremely evenly matched. At that point, the reasonable way to crown the better team is to look at their records against each other. Whichever team managed to get the most points in the standings during those games is the winner.
6: Goal differential
The next tiebreaker is goal differential: goals for minus goals against.
7: Most total goals
If it’s somehow still tied, the team with the most goals wins.
How does it affect Utah HC?
No team has been to overtime this season more than Utah HC (though the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Philadelphia Flyers are tied with Utah). That hinders them in tiebreaker situations.
The three teams Utah HC is battling with, the Vancouver Canucks, the Calgary Flames and the St. Louis Blues, each have two more regulation wins than Utah. UHC is tied with everyone but the Flames in combined regulation and overtime wins, but it tied with the Flames for last in total wins.
If, somehow, it were to get to the head-to-head category, Utah would prevail against both Vancouver and Calgary. There’s still time for St. Louis to tie its season series with Utah, but the worst Utah can do there is a tie.
It almost never gets to goal differential, but if it somehow did, Utah HC would come in second place behind only the Blues. The same goes for total goals.
It’s not out of the question for Utah to surpass the others in the first few tiebreakers, but it’s not super likely either. Their best bet is to gather enough points that they won’t have to rely on anything else to determine their postseason fate.
