An East Full of Beasts

We’ve reached the midpoint of the NHL season (more or less) and the Eastern Conference playoff race is all but decided, with eight teams better than 90 percent likely to make the postseason dance and only the Islanders really having any chance at all of crashing the party (HockeyViz’s model tells a similar story):

Yes, even with their recent slide, the Caps are overwhelmingly likely to qualify for the playoffs. As Craig Laughlin likes to do on the Caps’ telecasts, it’s time to start crossing teams off - there’s nothing left to do but jostle for seeding and get ready for the sport’s ultimate tournament.