The All-Star break presented the perfect halfway point in the 2021-22 season to pull together a lot of data from around the league to really see how teams were stacking up against one another.
Or, it would have if not for the 100+ postponed games around the NHL this season creating games-played gaps as high as nine and having some teams not quite at the halfway mark and then quite a few over it.
But it’s as good as it’s going to get, so it’s the reality that we will be working with and working around.
Regardless of that fact though, the truth is that the playoff picture has already started to take shape with the Eastern Conference teams practically figured out and most of the West starting to lock in a bid.