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      63 29 341 230 -0.011 45.535    1  0.300    1  0.304    1  0.388    2 0.5424   19  1.070    1  0.365    1  0.410
SABRES         57 38 331 280  0.023 48.631    3  0.211    3  0.184    4  0.189    3 0.5278    7  1.163    2  0.281    9  0.096
PENGUINS       43 45 304 284  0.006 44.563   18 -0.002   19 -0.017   10  0.076   18 0.4987    3  1.248    3  0.278   25 -0.127
HURRICANES     61 29 320 250  0.009 45.469    2  0.296    2  0.302    2  0.233    1 0.5441   11  1.121    4  0.273    4  0.192
OILERS         43 45 303 295 -0.040 43.018   21 -0.027   21 -0.047   15  0.014   21 0.4941    2  1.262    5  0.235   27 -0.206
CANADIENS      56 40 326 294  0.048 50.118    5  0.191    4  0.172    7  0.135    5 0.5253    9  1.149    6  0.211   13  0.060
LIGHTNING      53 36 305 247  0.019 45.377    4  0.192    5  0.168    3  0.204    4 0.5264   17  1.080    7  0.195    3  0.214
WILD           51 42 313 279  0.025 47.625    7  0.092    7  0.094    6  0.150    7 0.5133   10  1.124    8  0.194    8  0.107
SENATORS       44 42 283 257  0.016 43.834   12  0.029   12  0.027    8  0.113   11 0.5057   13  1.118    9  0.150   11  0.076
DUCKS          49 45 312 330 -0.023 46.783   14  0.015   14  0.016   24 -0.110   14 0.5015    1  1.275   10  0.129   31 -0.350
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
STARS          52 36 294 249  0.001 44.247    6  0.160    6  0.148    5  0.151    6 0.5210   21  1.053   11  0.109    5  0.192
CAPITALS       43 39 263 244 -0.000 41.300    9  0.035   10  0.035    9  0.085    9 0.5066   15  1.107   12  0.109   12  0.062
BRUINS         47 41 284 270  0.029 45.364    8  0.066    8  0.072   11  0.073    8 0.5118   16  1.104   13  0.093   14  0.054
MAMMOTH        45 43 286 263 -0.009 44.044   15  0.014   15  0.009   13  0.042   16 0.5006   14  1.116   14  0.076   18  0.007
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 48 47 313 283 -0.024 46.949   17  0.004   17 -0.009   12  0.072   17 0.4991   18  1.075   15  0.056   10  0.087
MAPLE LEAFS    32 50 253 299  0.010 41.945   30 -0.177   30 -0.173   28 -0.148   30 0.4750    4  1.241   16  0.045   30 -0.342
PANTHERS       40 42 251 276  0.009 41.845   20 -0.007   18 -0.016   21 -0.086   20 0.4983    6  1.192   17  0.045   28 -0.217
SHARKS         39 43 251 292 -0.028 40.752   22 -0.046   22 -0.060   29 -0.178   22 0.4910    5  1.214   18 -0.020   29 -0.336
BLUE JACKETS   40 42 253 253  0.008 41.699   19 -0.006   20 -0.017   16 -0.013   19 0.4986   20  1.060   19 -0.047   15  0.022
PREDATORS      38 44 247 269 -0.015 41.096   23 -0.055   23 -0.071   23 -0.102   23 0.4890   12  1.121   20 -0.062   26 -0.142
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
RED WINGS      41 41 241 258  0.007 41.715   16  0.008   16  0.002   18 -0.054   15 0.5010   22  1.036   21 -0.117   17  0.008
BLUES          37 45 231 258 -0.023 40.757   24 -0.080   24 -0.095   19 -0.069   24 0.4855   23  1.027   22 -0.143   19  0.004
RANGERS        34 48 238 250  0.011 41.869   26 -0.128   26 -0.133   20 -0.071   25 0.4809   25  1.015   23 -0.158   16  0.017
FLYERS         47 45 271 267  0.027 47.457   11  0.030   11  0.034   14  0.023   12 0.5055   31  0.916   24 -0.177    2  0.224
ISLANDERS      43 39 233 241  0.003 41.550   10  0.034    9  0.038   17 -0.031   10 0.5066   29  0.947   25 -0.197    7  0.134
JETS           35 47 231 260 -0.013 41.183   25 -0.124   25 -0.128   26 -0.124   26 0.4804   24  1.022   26 -0.204   23 -0.045
DEVILS         42 40 230 254  0.011 41.926   13  0.022   13  0.023   25 -0.118   13 0.5044   27  0.996   27 -0.229   20 -0.008
KRAKEN         34 48 226 263 -0.026 40.764   28 -0.162   28 -0.159   27 -0.144   28 0.4763   26  0.997   28 -0.253   22 -0.036
CANUCKS        25 57 216 316 -0.024 41.135   32 -0.318   32 -0.336   32 -0.396   32 0.4500    8  1.160   29 -0.306   32 -0.485
BLACKHAWKS     29 53 213 275 -0.018 41.104   31 -0.244   31 -0.253   31 -0.229   31 0.4621   28  0.985   30 -0.352   24 -0.107
TEAM            W  L  PF  PA  SCHED  ELOSS  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING  RNK RATING
KINGS          35 51 230 260 -0.008 43.331   29 -0.164   29 -0.162   22 -0.086   29 0.4762   32  0.847   31 -0.362    6  0.190
FLAMES         34 48 212 259 -0.022 40.946   27 -0.160   27 -0.156   30 -0.195   27 0.4768   30  0.931   32 -0.379   21 -0.011

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
OILERS         43 45 303 295 -0.040 43.018   21 -0.027   21 -0.047   15  0.014   21 0.4941    2  1.262    5  0.235   27 -0.206
DUCKS          49 45 312 330 -0.023 46.783   14  0.015   14  0.016   24 -0.110   14 0.5015    1  1.275   10  0.129   31 -0.350
GOLDEN KNIGHTS 48 47 313 283 -0.024 46.949   17  0.004   17 -0.009   12  0.072   17 0.4991   18  1.075   15  0.056   10  0.087
SHARKS         39 43 251 292 -0.028 40.752   22 -0.046   22 -0.060   29 -0.178   22 0.4910    5  1.214   18 -0.020   29 -0.336
KRAKEN         34 48 226 263 -0.026 40.764   28 -0.162   28 -0.159   27 -0.144   28 0.4763   26  0.997   28 -0.253   22 -0.036
CANUCKS        25 57 216 316 -0.024 41.135   32 -0.318   32 -0.336   32 -0.396   32 0.4500    8  1.160   29 -0.306   32 -0.485
KINGS          35 51 230 260 -0.008 43.331   29 -0.164   29 -0.162   22 -0.086   29 0.4762   32  0.847   31 -0.362    6  0.190
FLAMES         34 48 212 259 -0.022 40.946   27 -0.160   27 -0.156   30 -0.195   27 0.4768   30  0.931   32 -0.379   21 -0.011

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      63 29 341 230 -0.011 45.535    1  0.300    1  0.304    1  0.388    2 0.5424   19  1.070    1  0.365    1  0.410
WILD           51 42 313 279  0.025 47.625    7  0.092    7  0.094    6  0.150    7 0.5133   10  1.124    8  0.194    8  0.107
STARS          52 36 294 249  0.001 44.247    6  0.160    6  0.148    5  0.151    6 0.5210   21  1.053   11  0.109    5  0.192
MAMMOTH        45 43 286 263 -0.009 44.044   15  0.014   15  0.009   13  0.042   16 0.5006   14  1.116   14  0.076   18  0.007
PREDATORS      38 44 247 269 -0.015 41.096   23 -0.055   23 -0.071   23 -0.102   23 0.4890   12  1.121   20 -0.062   26 -0.142
BLUES          37 45 231 258 -0.023 40.757   24 -0.080   24 -0.095   19 -0.069   24 0.4855   23  1.027   22 -0.143   19  0.004
JETS           35 47 231 260 -0.013 41.183   25 -0.124   25 -0.128   26 -0.124   26 0.4804   24  1.022   26 -0.204   23 -0.045
BLACKHAWKS     29 53 213 275 -0.018 41.104   31 -0.244   31 -0.253   31 -0.229   31 0.4621   28  0.985   30 -0.352   24 -0.107

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
PENGUINS       43 45 304 284  0.006 44.563   18 -0.002   19 -0.017   10  0.076   18 0.4987    3  1.248    3  0.278   25 -0.127
HURRICANES     61 29 320 250  0.009 45.469    2  0.296    2  0.302    2  0.233    1 0.5441   11  1.121    4  0.273    4  0.192
CAPITALS       43 39 263 244 -0.000 41.300    9  0.035   10  0.035    9  0.085    9 0.5066   15  1.107   12  0.109   12  0.062
BLUE JACKETS   40 42 253 253  0.008 41.699   19 -0.006   20 -0.017   16 -0.013   19 0.4986   20  1.060   19 -0.047   15  0.022
RANGERS        34 48 238 250  0.011 41.869   26 -0.128   26 -0.133   20 -0.071   25 0.4809   25  1.015   23 -0.158   16  0.017
FLYERS         47 45 271 267  0.027 47.457   11  0.030   11  0.034   14  0.023   12 0.5055   31  0.916   24 -0.177    2  0.224
ISLANDERS      43 39 233 241  0.003 41.550   10  0.034    9  0.038   17 -0.031   10 0.5066   29  0.947   25 -0.197    7  0.134
DEVILS         42 40 230 254  0.011 41.926   13  0.022   13  0.023   25 -0.118   13 0.5044   27  0.996   27 -0.229   20 -0.008

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
SABRES         57 38 331 280  0.023 48.631    3  0.211    3  0.184    4  0.189    3 0.5278    7  1.163    2  0.281    9  0.096
CANADIENS      56 40 326 294  0.048 50.118    5  0.191    4  0.172    7  0.135    5 0.5253    9  1.149    6  0.211   13  0.060
LIGHTNING      53 36 305 247  0.019 45.377    4  0.192    5  0.168    3  0.204    4 0.5264   17  1.080    7  0.195    3  0.214
SENATORS       44 42 283 257  0.016 43.834   12  0.029   12  0.027    8  0.113   11 0.5057   13  1.118    9  0.150   11  0.076
BRUINS         47 41 284 270  0.029 45.364    8  0.066    8  0.072   11  0.073    8 0.5118   16  1.104   13  0.093   14  0.054
MAPLE LEAFS    32 50 253 299  0.010 41.945   30 -0.177   30 -0.173   28 -0.148   30 0.4750    4  1.241   16  0.045   30 -0.342
PANTHERS       40 42 251 276  0.009 41.845   20 -0.007   18 -0.016   21 -0.086   20 0.4983    6  1.192   17  0.045   28 -0.217
RED WINGS      41 41 241 258  0.007 41.715   16  0.008   16  0.002   18 -0.054   15 0.5010   22  1.036   21 -0.117   17  0.008

DIVISION                W   L   PCT  RNK RATING
ATLANTIC DIVISION     370 330 0.529    1  0.072
CENTRAL DIVISION      350 339 0.508    2  0.033
METROPOLITAN DIVISION 353 327 0.519    3  0.032
PACIFIC DIVISION      307 384 0.444    4 -0.170

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

Predict score:








Team Strength vs. Time Plot:






posted: Thu May 21 05:30:09 2026
games through: Wed May 20 2026

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