The Playoff picture at Thanksgiving
Every year US Thanksgiving serves as a natural breaking point in the NHL calendar, coming in at the quarter mark of the season. At this point, the playoff picture really starts settling in and teams can already be virtual locks, ready to put the season in cruise control or reach a point-of-no-return, a depressing reality with so many games left to play.
There’s also the “Thanksgiving Day Rule” where – since the league expanded to 30 teams – roughly 80 percent of teams in a playoff position at this point generally hold on to their spot for the rest of the season. That doesn’t leave much room for leeway going forward.
Here are the numbers of teams that qualified for Stanley Cup Playoffs, after being in a spot on US Thanksgiving:
- 2013-14: 13 of 16 qualified
- 2014-15: 13 of 16 qualified
- 2015-16: 12 of 16 qualified
- 2016-17: 13 of 16 qualified
- 2017-18: 11 of 16 qualified
Here’s how things stand right now, and why they may differ from the actual standings.
