Dolphin Ratings - National Hockey League

Explanation: Each team is listed with its record, overall score differential, and its ratings. Brief explanations of the ratings follow.

Schedule The number in this column is the effective opponent strength of a team. In other words, they would be expected to have the same record had they played all games against an opponent of this predictive rating at a neutral site. Because this calculation depends on the strength of the team in question, it is not possible to rank schedules using these values.
Expected Losses For college teams, this number is the number of losses an average ranked (top 15 hockey; otherwise top 25) team would be expected to have against the team's schedule. For pro teams, this is the number of losses an average team would be expected to have against the team's schedule. Unlike the schedule ranking, this value can be used to rank schedules.
Standard Ranks teams in an order such that a team is "probably better" than all teams ranked lower than it. This calculation uses margin of victory only for computing a team's opponents strengths; the team's rating itself is computed using only wins, losses, and ties relative to its schedule
Median Likelihood Determines the likely ratings for each team, based on its wins, losses, and ties relative to its schedule. This generally produces the same or similar ratings as the standard ranking.
Predictive Both schedule strength and rating vs. schedule strength are determined considering both the wins and losses and the score differentials. This rating contains none of the biases in the standard rating, but does weight recent games slightly more than past games since those are a better indication of the team's current strength. This rating is the best of the first three for seeing how good teams are, and thus is the best for predicting future results.
Improved RPI Rating The improved RPI formula is similar to the standard RPI, except that the schedule strength is carried out to infinite depth instead of ending with opponents' opponents, thus allows for a better comparison of isolated groups of teams than is given by the standard RPI calculation. It is similar to the simple rating, except that all games are given equal weight.
Scoring. This value indicates how many points a team would be expected to score if it played an identical team.
Offense. This combines the predictive and scoring ratings to measure how many points a team scores. The number is the predictive rating of an opponent against whom the team would be expected to score the league average number of points. This does not necessarily rate a team's offensive abilities, as a fast pace in basketball or big-play defense in football can make a team score more points.
Defense. This combines the predictive and scoring ratings to measure how many points a team allows. The number is the predictive rating of an opponent against whom the team would be expected to allow the league average number of points. The same caveat in the predictive-offense rating applies here.

In order to increase early-season stability, the three main rankings, the improved RPI, and the college pseudopoll include priors based on the previous season final predictive ratings and occasionally incorporating preseason predictions of various major publications. The other rankings for college sports do not include priors, and thus can be wildly unstable early in the year. A team whose rankings are affected by this prior is noted with a P following its rankings.

Full Ranking

                                             STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
AVALANCHE      34 15 194 121 -0.003 24.174    1  0.220    1  0.202    1  0.340    1 0.5484   15  1.104    1  0.371    2  0.310
LIGHTNING      32 17 172 122  0.011 24.586    2  0.174    2  0.163    2  0.208    2 0.5398   23  1.029   10  0.147    3  0.268
HURRICANES     31 20 176 149 -0.003 25.472    3  0.112    3  0.115    4  0.102    3 0.5281   13  1.131    8  0.166   14  0.038
RED WINGS      31 21 162 158 -0.019 25.779    4  0.086    4  0.096   16 -0.001    4 0.5221   20  1.045   21 -0.042   13  0.040
BRUINS         29 22 170 159  0.000 25.602    5  0.063    5  0.073    9  0.053    5 0.5167    7  1.186    6  0.186   23 -0.080
SABRES         28 22 167 155 -0.008 24.960    6  0.049    6  0.059   12  0.035    6 0.5149    8  1.168   11  0.146   22 -0.076
WILD           29 23 168 150 -0.009 25.856    7  0.048    7  0.058    5  0.092   10 0.5116   22  1.031   17  0.035    6  0.150
STARS          29 23 172 144 -0.015 25.716    8  0.047    8  0.056    3  0.113    7 0.5130   21  1.044   15  0.071    5  0.156
ISLANDERS      27 23 146 141  0.024 25.600    9  0.044    9  0.053   11  0.036    8 0.5126   29  0.933   24 -0.134    4  0.206
CANADIENS      28 23 174 171 -0.003 25.597   10  0.042   10  0.051   14  0.010   12 0.5099    3  1.243    3  0.217   28 -0.198
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
DEVILS         27 24 136 155  0.042 26.640   11  0.040   11  0.050   25 -0.068    9 0.5120   30  0.915   28 -0.259    8  0.123
PANTHERS       26 23 148 161  0.025 25.230   12  0.035   12  0.043   21 -0.041   11 0.5108   10  1.151   16  0.049   24 -0.130
DUCKS          27 24 169 178  0.023 26.213   13  0.034   13  0.042   22 -0.043   13 0.5091    1  1.304    2  0.245   32 -0.331
SHARKS         26 24 156 174  0.031 25.915   14  0.028   14  0.035   26 -0.079   14 0.5069    5  1.225   13  0.104   30 -0.262
MAMMOTH        26 24 158 139 -0.006 24.963   15  0.019   15  0.019   10  0.053   15 0.5051   24  1.009   19 -0.031    7  0.136
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 25 25 170 154 -0.019 24.698   16 -0.000   16 -0.009    7  0.064   16 0.5005   11  1.151    9  0.153   18 -0.025
PENGUINS       25 25 166 150 -0.031 24.471   17 -0.003   17 -0.012    6  0.067   17 0.4986   14  1.115   12  0.111   16  0.022
FLYERS         24 26 154 158  0.011 25.406   18 -0.009   19 -0.016   17 -0.012   18 0.4970   19  1.070   18 -0.024   17 -0.001
PREDATORS      24 26 146 169  0.008 25.503   19 -0.011   18 -0.016   28 -0.104   21 0.4930   12  1.134   20 -0.036   26 -0.172
CAPITALS       25 27 165 153 -0.012 25.837   20 -0.018   20 -0.027    8  0.058   19 0.4960   16  1.091   14  0.073   12  0.043
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
MAPLE LEAFS    24 27 169 172 -0.006 25.567   21 -0.024   21 -0.032   15  0.001   20 0.4935    4  1.226    7  0.185   27 -0.183
OILERS         25 27 173 166 -0.029 25.520   22 -0.025   22 -0.034   13  0.030   22 0.4917    6  1.209    5  0.193   25 -0.133
BLUE JACKETS   23 27 150 164  0.018 25.623   23 -0.028   23 -0.034   24 -0.064   23 0.4914   17  1.082   23 -0.060   21 -0.068
SENATORS       23 27 166 169 -0.013 24.920   24 -0.037   24 -0.048   18 -0.016   24 0.4895    2  1.258    4  0.211   29 -0.243
KRAKEN         22 28 139 152 -0.021 24.792   25 -0.062   25 -0.073   23 -0.048   25 0.4832   27  0.937   27 -0.213    9  0.118
KINGS          20 29 129 139  0.013 24.965   26 -0.081   26 -0.090   19 -0.022   27 0.4780   32  0.757   32 -0.381    1  0.337
RANGERS        21 31 139 162  0.026 26.875   27 -0.086   27 -0.092   29 -0.113   26 0.4799   28  0.935   29 -0.282   11  0.056
BLACKHAWKS     21 30 140 159 -0.025 25.264   28 -0.099   28 -0.104   27 -0.084   28 0.4747   25  0.976   26 -0.205   15  0.038
JETS           20 30 148 153 -0.007 25.083   29 -0.103   30 -0.109   20 -0.041   30 0.4728   18  1.071   22 -0.051   19 -0.031
FLAMES         21 30 129 152 -0.032 25.144   30 -0.108   29 -0.108   30 -0.121   29 0.4741   31  0.871   31 -0.359   10  0.118
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
BLUES          19 32 123 174 -0.012 25.662   31 -0.151   31 -0.141   31 -0.176   31 0.4672   26  0.970   30 -0.304   20 -0.048
CANUCKS        17 34 137 188 -0.008 25.820   32 -0.199   32 -0.181   32 -0.228   32 0.4600    9  1.152   25 -0.139   31 -0.318

PACIFIC DIVISION
                                             STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
DUCKS          27 24 169 178  0.023 26.213   13  0.034   13  0.042   22 -0.043   13 0.5091    1  1.304    2  0.245   32 -0.331
SHARKS         26 24 156 174  0.031 25.915   14  0.028   14  0.035   26 -0.079   14 0.5069    5  1.225   13  0.104   30 -0.262
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 25 25 170 154 -0.019 24.698   16 -0.000   16 -0.009    7  0.064   16 0.5005   11  1.151    9  0.153   18 -0.025
OILERS         25 27 173 166 -0.029 25.520   22 -0.025   22 -0.034   13  0.030   22 0.4917    6  1.209    5  0.193   25 -0.133
KRAKEN         22 28 139 152 -0.021 24.792   25 -0.062   25 -0.073   23 -0.048   25 0.4832   27  0.937   27 -0.213    9  0.118
KINGS          20 29 129 139  0.013 24.965   26 -0.081   26 -0.090   19 -0.022   27 0.4780   32  0.757   32 -0.381    1  0.337
FLAMES         21 30 129 152 -0.032 25.144   30 -0.108   29 -0.108   30 -0.121   29 0.4741   31  0.871   31 -0.359   10  0.118
CANUCKS        17 34 137 188 -0.008 25.820   32 -0.199   32 -0.181   32 -0.228   32 0.4600    9  1.152   25 -0.139   31 -0.318

CENTRAL DIVISION
                                             STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
AVALANCHE      34 15 194 121 -0.003 24.174    1  0.220    1  0.202    1  0.340    1 0.5484   15  1.104    1  0.371    2  0.310
WILD           29 23 168 150 -0.009 25.856    7  0.048    7  0.058    5  0.092   10 0.5116   22  1.031   17  0.035    6  0.150
STARS          29 23 172 144 -0.015 25.716    8  0.047    8  0.056    3  0.113    7 0.5130   21  1.044   15  0.071    5  0.156
MAMMOTH        26 24 158 139 -0.006 24.963   15  0.019   15  0.019   10  0.053   15 0.5051   24  1.009   19 -0.031    7  0.136
PREDATORS      24 26 146 169  0.008 25.503   19 -0.011   18 -0.016   28 -0.104   21 0.4930   12  1.134   20 -0.036   26 -0.172
BLACKHAWKS     21 30 140 159 -0.025 25.264   28 -0.099   28 -0.104   27 -0.084   28 0.4747   25  0.976   26 -0.205   15  0.038
JETS           20 30 148 153 -0.007 25.083   29 -0.103   30 -0.109   20 -0.041   30 0.4728   18  1.071   22 -0.051   19 -0.031
BLUES          19 32 123 174 -0.012 25.662   31 -0.151   31 -0.141   31 -0.176   31 0.4672   26  0.970   30 -0.304   20 -0.048

METROPOLITAN DIVISION
                                             STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
HURRICANES     31 20 176 149 -0.003 25.472    3  0.112    3  0.115    4  0.102    3 0.5281   13  1.131    8  0.166   14  0.038
ISLANDERS      27 23 146 141  0.024 25.600    9  0.044    9  0.053   11  0.036    8 0.5126   29  0.933   24 -0.134    4  0.206
DEVILS         27 24 136 155  0.042 26.640   11  0.040   11  0.050   25 -0.068    9 0.5120   30  0.915   28 -0.259    8  0.123
PENGUINS       25 25 166 150 -0.031 24.471   17 -0.003   17 -0.012    6  0.067   17 0.4986   14  1.115   12  0.111   16  0.022
FLYERS         24 26 154 158  0.011 25.406   18 -0.009   19 -0.016   17 -0.012   18 0.4970   19  1.070   18 -0.024   17 -0.001
CAPITALS       25 27 165 153 -0.012 25.837   20 -0.018   20 -0.027    8  0.058   19 0.4960   16  1.091   14  0.073   12  0.043
BLUE JACKETS   23 27 150 164  0.018 25.623   23 -0.028   23 -0.034   24 -0.064   23 0.4914   17  1.082   23 -0.060   21 -0.068
RANGERS        21 31 139 162  0.026 26.875   27 -0.086   27 -0.092   29 -0.113   26 0.4799   28  0.935   29 -0.282   11  0.056

ATLANTIC DIVISION
                                             STANDARD   MED LIKELY  PREDICTIVE  IMPRVD RPI    SCORING     OFFENSE     DEFENSE 
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
LIGHTNING      32 17 172 122  0.011 24.586    2  0.174    2  0.163    2  0.208    2 0.5398   23  1.029   10  0.147    3  0.268
RED WINGS      31 21 162 158 -0.019 25.779    4  0.086    4  0.096   16 -0.001    4 0.5221   20  1.045   21 -0.042   13  0.040
BRUINS         29 22 170 159  0.000 25.602    5  0.063    5  0.073    9  0.053    5 0.5167    7  1.186    6  0.186   23 -0.080
SABRES         28 22 167 155 -0.008 24.960    6  0.049    6  0.059   12  0.035    6 0.5149    8  1.168   11  0.146   22 -0.076
CANADIENS      28 23 174 171 -0.003 25.597   10  0.042   10  0.051   14  0.010   12 0.5099    3  1.243    3  0.217   28 -0.198
PANTHERS       26 23 148 161  0.025 25.230   12  0.035   12  0.043   21 -0.041   11 0.5108   10  1.151   16  0.049   24 -0.130
MAPLE LEAFS    24 27 169 172 -0.006 25.567   21 -0.024   21 -0.032   15  0.001   20 0.4935    4  1.226    7  0.185   27 -0.183
SENATORS       23 27 166 169 -0.013 24.920   24 -0.037   24 -0.048   18 -0.016   24 0.4895    2  1.258    4  0.211   29 -0.243

DIVISION                W   L   PCT  RNK RATING
ATLANTIC DIVISION     221 182 0.548    1  0.058
CENTRAL DIVISION      202 203 0.499    2  0.043
METROPOLITAN DIVISION 203 203 0.500    3  0.001
PACIFIC DIVISION      183 221 0.453    4 -0.104

Home field advantage amounts to:
     0.055 points in main ratings (0.079 for semineutral)
     0.007 points in improved RPI (0.008 for semineutral)
Average of 1.00 points per score

Predict score:








Team Strength vs. Time Plot:






posted: Sat Jan 24 05:30:09 2026
games through: Fri Jan 23 2026

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