NHL Tiebreakers Explained
The NHL ranks teams by points, not by record: two for a win, one for an overtime or shootout loss.
When teams are level on points the league applies a fixed list, starting with regulation wins, and stops at the first step that separates them.
This page explains every step in plain English, shows which 2026-27 races are currently tied on points and how they break today, and lets you compare any two teams.
Current Ties in the 2026-27 Standings
Teams in the same conference with identical records, and the step that separates them right now. Playoff seeding uses these exact comparisons.
Tampa Bay LightningAtlantic · Eastern Conference No. 5
New Jersey DevilsMetropolitan · Eastern Conference No. 6
Florida PanthersAtlantic · Eastern Conference No. 7
Toronto Maple LeafsAtlantic · Eastern Conference No. 8
With four teams tied, the combined head-to-head record among them comes first. Taking the order as it stands today, the Lightning are ahead of the Devils on games played (fewer is better), the Devils are ahead of the Panthers on regulation wins and the Panthers are ahead of the Maple Leafs on games played (fewer is better).
Washington CapitalsMetropolitan · Eastern Conference No. 10
New York IslandersMetropolitan · Eastern Conference No. 11
| Step | Capitals | Islanders |
|---|---|---|
| Points2 per win, 1 per overtime or shootout loss. | 16 | 16 |
| Games played (fewer is better) | 12 | 14 |
| Regulation wins | 7 | 5 |
| Regulation + OT wins | 8 | 6 |
| Total wins | 8 | 7 |
| Head-to-head points | not played | not played |
| Goal differential | +6 | +1 |
| Goals for | 43 | 40 |
The Washington Capitals rank ahead on games played (fewer is better).
New York RangersMetropolitan · Eastern Conference No. 12
Detroit Red WingsAtlantic · Eastern Conference No. 13
| Step | Rangers | Red Wings |
|---|---|---|
| Points2 per win, 1 per overtime or shootout loss. | 15 | 15 |
| Games played (fewer is better) | 14 | 14 |
| Regulation wins | 7 | 4 |
| Regulation + OT wins | 7 | 4 |
| Total wins | 7 | 6 |
| Head-to-head points | 2 (1-0) | 0 (0-1) |
| Goal differential | +2 | -2 |
| Goals for | 44 | 41 |
The New York Rangers rank ahead on regulation wins.
Columbus Blue JacketsMetropolitan · Eastern Conference No. 15
Philadelphia FlyersMetropolitan · Eastern Conference No. 16
| Step | Blue Jackets | Flyers |
|---|---|---|
| Points2 per win, 1 per overtime or shootout loss. | 10 | 10 |
| Games played (fewer is better) | 12 | 15 |
| Regulation wins | 1 | 3 |
| Regulation + OT wins | 4 | 3 |
| Total wins | 5 | 3 |
| Head-to-head points | 2 (1-0) | 0 (0-1) |
| Goal differential | -10 | -22 |
| Goals for | 29 | 29 |
The Columbus Blue Jackets rank ahead on games played (fewer is better).
Colorado AvalancheCentral · Western Conference No. 5
Seattle KrakenPacific · Western Conference No. 6
Dallas StarsCentral · Western Conference No. 7
With three teams tied, the combined head-to-head record among them comes first. Taking the order as it stands today, the Avalanche are ahead of the Kraken on regulation wins and the Kraken are ahead of the Stars on regulation wins.
St. Louis BluesCentral · Western Conference No. 8
Nashville PredatorsCentral · Western Conference No. 9
San Jose SharksPacific · Western Conference No. 10
With three teams tied, the combined head-to-head record among them comes first. Taking the order as it stands today, the Blues are ahead of the Predators on regulation wins and the Predators are ahead of the Sharks on games played (fewer is better).
Anaheim DucksPacific · Western Conference No. 12
Winnipeg JetsCentral · Western Conference No. 13
| Step | Ducks | Jets |
|---|---|---|
| Points2 per win, 1 per overtime or shootout loss. | 11 | 11 |
| Games played (fewer is better) | 13 | 14 |
| Regulation wins | 4 | 4 |
| Regulation + OT wins | 5 | 4 |
| Total wins | 5 | 4 |
| Head-to-head points | 2 (1-0) | 0 (0-1) |
| Goal differential | -7 | -13 |
| Goals for | 43 | 34 |
The Anaheim Ducks rank ahead on games played (fewer is better).
Tiebreaker Checker
Pick any two NHL teams. The checker walks the official order using this season's results and stops at the first step that separates them.
The Official Tiebreaker Order
Two teams tied for a division title. With three or more, head-to-head means the combined record among all tied teams, and if one team drops out the list restarts from step 1 for the rest.
- 1
Points
Two points for a win, one for an overtime or shootout loss. This is the standings order itself; the steps below break ties on points.
Example Bruins 98 pts, Maple Leafs 98 pts: go to the next step.
- 2
Games played
Fewer games played ranks higher, because that team has more points available. In the final standings every team has 84, so this only matters during the season.
- 3
Regulation wins (RW)
Wins in the first 60 minutes. Overtime and shootout wins do not count here.
Example Bruins 38 RW, Maple Leafs 35 RW: Bruins rank higher.
- 4
Regulation plus overtime wins (ROW)
Regulation wins plus overtime wins. Shootout wins are excluded.
- 5
Total wins
All wins including shootouts.
- 6
Head-to-head points
Points earned in games between the tied teams. If the teams played an uneven number of home games, the first game at the team with the extra home game is discarded.
- 7
Goal differential
Goals for minus goals against across the season.
Example +42 beats +31.
- 8
Goals for
Total goals scored.
Two or more teams tied for a wild card spot, or for seeding among division winners.
- 1
Points
Same first step.
- 2
Games played
Fewer games played ranks higher.
- 3
Regulation wins
Wins in regulation time.
- 4
Regulation plus overtime wins
Shootout wins excluded.
- 5
Total wins
All wins.
- 6
Head-to-head points
Points in games among the tied teams.
- 7
Goal differential
Goals for minus goals against.
- 8
Goals for
Total goals scored.
Regulation Wins, ROW and Goal Differential
The three numbers that separate teams level on points. RW = regulation wins, ROW = regulation plus overtime wins (shootouts excluded). Tap a heading to sort.
| # | Team | Record | PTS | RW | ROW | GF-GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Carolina HurricanesCAREastern Conference |
11-2-2 | 24 | 10 | 11 | +20 |
| 2 |  Edmonton OilersEDMWestern Conference |
10-2-2 | 22 | 8 | 9 | +17 |
| 3 |  Minnesota WildMINWestern Conference |
9-3-3 | 21 | 9 | 9 | +12 |
| 4 |  Boston BruinsBOSEastern Conference |
10-4-1 | 21 | 8 | 10 | +19 |
| 5 |  Montréal CanadiensMTLEastern Conference |
9-3-2 | 20 | 6 | 7 | +6 |
| 6 |  Vegas Golden KnightsVGKWestern Conference |
9-5-1 | 19 | 7 | 8 | +9 |
| 7 |  Ottawa SenatorsOTTEastern Conference |
9-5-1 | 19 | 7 | 7 | +4 |
| 8 | Tampa Bay LightningTBEastern Conference |
8-3-2 | 18 | 7 | 8 | +5 |
| 9 | New Jersey DevilsNJEastern Conference |
9-5-0 | 18 | 7 | 9 | +8 |
| 10 |  Utah MammothUTAWestern Conference |
9-5-0 | 18 | 7 | 9 | +5 |
| 11 | Florida PanthersFLAEastern Conference |
8-4-2 | 18 | 6 | 8 | +5 |
| 12 | Toronto Maple LeafsTOREastern Conference |
8-6-2 | 18 | 7 | 8 | +7 |
| 13 | Colorado AvalancheCOLWestern Conference |
8-5-1 | 17 | 8 | 8 | +15 |
| 14 | Seattle KrakenSEAWestern Conference |
8-5-1 | 17 | 6 | 6 | 0 |
| 15 | Dallas StarsDALWestern Conference |
8-5-1 | 17 | 5 | 7 | +7 |
| 16 |  Buffalo SabresBUFEastern Conference |
7-4-3 | 17 | 5 | 7 | -6 |
| 17 | Washington CapitalsWSHEastern Conference |
8-4-0 | 16 | 7 | 8 | +6 |
| 18 | New York IslandersNYIEastern Conference |
7-5-2 | 16 | 5 | 6 | +1 |
| 19 | New York RangersNYREastern Conference |
7-6-1 | 15 | 7 | 7 | +2 |
| 20 | St. Louis BluesSTLWestern Conference |
7-6-1 | 15 | 7 | 7 | +2 |
| 21 | Detroit Red WingsDETEastern Conference |
6-5-3 | 15 | 4 | 4 | -2 |
| 22 | Nashville PredatorsNSHWestern Conference |
5-4-5 | 15 | 4 | 4 | -5 |
| 23 | San Jose SharksSJWestern Conference |
7-7-1 | 15 | 2 | 6 | -11 |
| 24 |  Calgary FlamesCGYWestern Conference |
6-8-0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | -16 |
| 25 |  Pittsburgh PenguinsPITEastern Conference |
5-7-2 | 12 | 2 | 4 | -2 |
| 26 | Anaheim DucksANAWestern Conference |
5-7-1 | 11 | 4 | 5 | -7 |
| 27 | Winnipeg JetsWPGWestern Conference |
4-7-3 | 11 | 4 | 4 | -13 |
| 28 | Columbus Blue JacketsCBJEastern Conference |
5-7-0 | 10 | 1 | 4 | -10 |
| 29 |  Los Angeles KingsLAWestern Conference |
4-7-2 | 10 | 2 | 4 | -9 |
| 30 | Philadelphia FlyersPHIEastern Conference |
3-8-4 | 10 | 3 | 3 | -22 |
| 31 |  Chicago BlackhawksCHIWestern Conference |
4-9-1 | 9 | 3 | 4 | -22 |
| 32 |  Vancouver CanucksVANWestern Conference |
3-12-1 | 7 | 1 | 3 | -25 |
A shootout win counts as a win and two points but adds nothing to RW or ROW, which is why two teams on the same points can sit in a different order.
Why the Tiebreakers Matter
A team can have fewer wins and still rank higher thanks to overtime losses. The loser point is why P% and regulation wins matter so much late in the year.
Since 2019-20 the first tiebreaker is regulation wins, so a 3-2 win in regulation is worth more than a shootout win when teams are level.
The top three in each division are in regardless of the other division, so a fourth-place team with more points can still be chasing a wild card.
The higher seed hosts games 1, 2, 5 and 7 in every series.
Glossary
Points (PTS)
Two for a win of any kind, one for an overtime or shootout loss, none for a regulation loss.
Points percentage (P%)
Points earned divided by points available (two per game). Used to rank teams that have played a different number of games.
Regulation wins (RW)
Wins inside 60 minutes. The first tiebreaker once games played are equal.
ROW
Regulation plus overtime wins; shootout wins are excluded. The second tiebreaker.
Head-to-head points
Points earned in games between the tied teams. If one team has played more home games in the series, its first extra home game is dropped.
Goal differential
Goals for minus goals against across the season.
Wild card
The two best teams in each conference outside the top three of their division. They take the last two playoff spots.
Clinched (x, y, z, *)
x = playoff berth, y = wild card, z = division title, * = conference and home-ice advantage.
Eliminated
Mathematically unable to reach the playoffs even by winning every remaining game.
🏆 NHL playoff picture → 📊 NHL standings →
Tiebreaker FAQ
How are NHL standings ranked?
By points: two for a win, one for an overtime or shootout loss. Points percentage is used while teams have played different numbers of games.
What is the first NHL tiebreaker?
Regulation wins, once games played are equal. Then regulation plus overtime wins, total wins, head-to-head points, goal differential and goals for.
What is an OTL?
An overtime or shootout loss. It is worth one point, which is why a team can have fewer wins but more points than a rival.
How many teams make the NHL playoffs?
Sixteen: the top three in each of the four divisions plus two wild cards per conference.
Can an NHL game end in a tie?
No. A five-minute 3-on-3 overtime is followed by a shootout in the regular season; playoff games play full 20-minute overtimes until a goal.
Are these standings shown with tiebreakers applied?
Yes for points, points percentage, regulation wins and regulation plus overtime wins. The checker on this page walks the full official order for any two teams.
Updated · last result change Nov 1