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Jeff Sagarin'stm NHL Hockey Ratings


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my ratings are no longer updated on the USA Today website

Email: Jeff Sagarin

All Contents Copyright © 2026 Jeff Sagarintm. All Rights Reserved.


NHL 2025-2026 ratings through results of 2026 MARCH 10 TUESDAY

this output has three parts: (1) teams listed by RATING top-to-bottom
                             (2) DIVISION AVERAGES
                                 (listed top-to-bottom & by conference)
                             (3) teams listed by DIVISION
                                 (listed in order within divisions)
The SCHEDULE ratings represent what the rating would have to be for a
hypothetical team to have a mathematical expectation of winning precisely 50%
of their games against the schedule played by the team in question in the games
that it has played so far.  The schedule difficulty of each given game takes
into account the rating of the opponent and the location of the game. This
is the same concept that is used in computing the WIN50% conference ratings.
To make predictions for upcoming games, simply compare the RATINGS of
the teams in question and allow an ADDITIONAL  .50  goals for the home
team.  Thus, for example, a HOME team with a rating of 4.43 would be
favored by  .82  goals over a VISITING team having a rating of 4.11
Or a VISITING team with a rating of 4.56 would be favored by .17 goals
over a HOME team having a rating of 3.89
NOTE: Use whatever home advantage is listed in the output below.
      In the example just above, a home edge of .50 was shown for
      illustrative purposes. The home edge will vary during the season.
Several different home edges are shown, one for each of the several different type of ratings
directly over their respective columns.
The numbers to the right of a team's schedule strength are its rank of
schedule - (in parentheses) - and its record versus teams in these
rating's CURRENT top 10 and CURRENT top 16 respectively.
Teams that appear to be tied to two decimal places in a given column are actually
different when carried to more decimal places in the computer's internal arithmetic.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The PREDICTOR, is such that the score is the only thing that matters.
PREDICTOR is also known as PURE_POINTS, BALLANTINE, RHEINGOLD, WHITE OWL
and is a very good PREDICTOR of future games.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
GOLDEN_MEAN also utilizes the actual SCORES of the games in a different way but is also completely SCORE BASED
and thus should be a good match for the PURE POINTS in terms of predictive accuracy for upcoming games.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The RECENT, is score-based and weights RECENT play more heavily than earlier games. Its effect will become
more pronounced the longer a season goes if a given team happens to have an upward or downward trend.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The overall RATING is a synthesis of the three different SCORE-BASED methods, PREDICTOR(PURE_POINTS), GOLDEN_MEAN,
and RECENT and thus should be a good predictor in its own right.

Predictions_with_Totals_and_Moneylines

just click on "Predictions_with_Totals_and_Moneylines" and it will take you to the daily predictions at the bottom of the file where you'll also see the additional set of EXPERIMENTAL predictions which are the basic predictions that are adjusted to take into account each team's tendencies of performance at home and away along with the extra picks column of STRONG RECENT
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday
                                RATING    W   L  SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 |  PREDICTOR   | GOLDEN_MEAN  |  RECENT      | STRONG RECENT
                HOME ADVANTAGE=[  0.16]                                               [  0.17]       [  0.17]       [  0.15]       [  0.15]
   1  Colorado Avalanche      =   4.97   43  20    4.00(  17)   13   9  |   20  11  |    4.98    1 |    5.03    1 |    4.92    1 |    5.05    2  central
   2  Tampa Bay Lightning     =   4.68   39  24    4.01(  15)   10   6  |   17  14  |    4.77    2 |    4.67    3 |    4.61    3 |    4.67    4  ATLANTIC
   3  Carolina Hurricanes     =   4.62   41  23    3.97(  27)   10   7  |   15  13  |    4.67    3 |    4.71    2 |    4.52    6 |    4.59    6  METROPOLITAN
   4  Dallas Stars            =   4.57   40  24    3.93(  32)   10   8  |   16  11  |    4.53    4 |    4.66    4 |    4.55    4 |    4.67    5  central
   5  Minnesota Wild          =   4.46   38  27    3.99(  23)   12   8  |   20  12  |    4.43    5 |    4.41    5 |    4.55    5 |    4.80    3  central
   6  Buffalo Sabres          =   4.44   40  25    4.02(   9)   11  10  |   17  16  |    4.42    6 |    4.33    6 |    4.63    2 |    5.15    1  ATLANTIC
   7  Montreal Canadiens      =   4.26   35  28    4.01(  13)   11   9  |   17  16  |    4.27    9 |    4.23    7 |    4.29    9 |    4.47    9  ATLANTIC
   8  Utah Mammoth            =   4.25   34  31    4.01(  16)    7  13  |   13  17  |    4.28    8 |    4.19    9 |    4.29    8 |    4.38   11  central
   9  Edmonton Oilers         =   4.22   32  33    3.95(  29)    6  11  |   12  17  |    4.34    7 |    4.20    8 |    4.14   13 |    4.04   15  pacific
  10  Ottawa Senators         =   4.20   32  31    4.00(  18)    4  13  |   15  16  |    4.13   11 |    4.19   10 |    4.29    7 |    4.54    8  ATLANTIC
NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday
                                RATING    W   L  SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 |  PREDICTOR   | GOLDEN_MEAN  |  RECENT      | STRONG RECENT
                HOME ADVANTAGE=[  0.16]                                               [  0.17]       [  0.17]       [  0.15]       [  0.15]
  11  Washington Capitals     =   4.13   32  33    3.99(  22)    7  13  |   14  17  |    4.22   10 |    4.13   11 |    4.05   14 |    3.91   17  METROPOLITAN
  12  Boston Bruins           =   4.11   36  28    4.00(  19)    9  13  |   18  15  |    4.10   12 |    4.04   15 |    4.18   11 |    4.30   12  ATLANTIC
  13  Pittsburgh Penguins     =   4.06   32  32    3.95(  30)    7  11  |   13  16  |    4.02   17 |    3.91   20 |    4.28   10 |    4.55    7  METROPOLITAN
  14  Vegas Golden Knights    =   4.06   29  36    3.98(  26)    3  17  |    6  22  |    4.10   13 |    4.11   12 |    3.98   17 |    3.81   20  pacific
  15  New York Islanders      =   4.05   37  28    4.02(  10)   11   6  |   17  14  |    4.05   14 |    4.07   13 |    4.05   15 |    4.07   13  METROPOLITAN
  16  Columbus Blue Jackets   =   4.04   33  31    4.01(  12)   12   8  |   15  18  |    3.98   18 |    3.99   18 |    4.14   12 |    4.39   10  METROPOLITAN
  17  Detroit Red Wings       =   4.01   36  29    4.01(  14)    9  11  |   14  21  |    4.03   16 |    4.00   17 |    4.01   16 |    4.04   14  ATLANTIC
  18  Florida Panthers        =   3.97   32  32    4.05(   1)   11  12  |   20  15  |    4.03   15 |    4.06   14 |    3.80   20 |    3.62   23  ATLANTIC
  19  Anaheim Ducks           =   3.91   36  28    3.99(  20)    6  13  |   16  16  |    3.90   19 |    3.96   19 |    3.89   18 |    3.94   16  pacific
  20  New Jersey Devils       =   3.85   32  32    4.05(   2)   11  10  |   16  21  |    3.86   20 |    4.02   16 |    3.64   27 |    3.39   28  METROPOLITAN
NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday
                                RATING    W   L  SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 |  PREDICTOR   | GOLDEN_MEAN  |  RECENT      | STRONG RECENT
                HOME ADVANTAGE=[  0.16]                                               [  0.17]       [  0.17]       [  0.15]       [  0.15]
  21  Philadelphia Flyers     =   3.78   29  34    4.03(   5)    6  16  |   13  23  |    3.84   21 |    3.76   25 |    3.73   24 |    3.52   26  METROPOLITAN
  22  Winnipeg Jets           =   3.78   26  37    3.98(  24)    4  19  |    9  22  |    3.77   22 |    3.83   21 |    3.73   23 |    3.57   25  central
  23  Los Angeles Kings       =   3.75   26  38    4.03(   4)    9  12  |   13  21  |    3.77   23 |    3.78   24 |    3.71   25 |    3.51   27  pacific
  24  New York Rangers        =   3.74   26  38    4.05(   3)    8  12  |   14  24  |    3.67   24 |    3.80   23 |    3.74   22 |    3.64   22  METROPOLITAN
  25  Nashville Predators     =   3.71   29  35    4.03(   7)    7  16  |   14  21  |    3.66   26 |    3.68   26 |    3.77   21 |    3.86   19  central
  26  Toronto Maple Leafs     =   3.71   27  38    4.03(   6)    8  14  |   12  23  |    3.67   25 |    3.82   22 |    3.61   28 |    3.26   30  ATLANTIC
  27  Seattle Kraken          =   3.70   29  34    3.94(  31)    2  16  |    8  21  |    3.65   27 |    3.62   27 |    3.81   19 |    3.88   18  pacific
  28  San Jose Sharks         =   3.57   30  32    4.02(   8)   10  11  |   14  19  |    3.48   28 |    3.52   28 |    3.69   26 |    3.79   21  pacific
  29  St. Louis Blues         =   3.49   25  39    3.99(  21)   11  10  |   13  19  |    3.42   29 |    3.51   29 |    3.54   29 |    3.59   24  central
  30  Chicago Blackhawks      =   3.38   24  40    3.98(  25)    8  12  |   10  21  |    3.39   30 |    3.20   31 |    3.48   30 |    3.36   29  central
NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday
                                RATING    W   L  SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 |  PREDICTOR   | GOLDEN_MEAN  |  RECENT      | STRONG RECENT
                HOME ADVANTAGE=[  0.16]                                               [  0.17]       [  0.17]       [  0.15]       [  0.15]
  31  Calgary Flames          =   3.37   25  39    3.96(  28)    9  11  |   14  18  |    3.32   31 |    3.40   30 |    3.39   31 |    3.20   31  pacific
  32  Vancouver Canucks       =   3.16   19  45    4.01(  11)    4  17  |    9  23  |    3.26   32 |    3.15   32 |    3.00   32 |    2.44   32  pacific
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Divisional Rankings

There are three group ratings, the "central mean", the
"simple average" (also known as the "arithmetic mean",)
and the WIN50%.
The "central mean" gives the most weight to the middle team(s)
in the group and progressively less weight to teams as you go
away from the middle in either direction, up or down.
This tends to smooth out the effect of anomalous teams that are rated
much higher and lower than the middle team(s) in the group.  The
"simple average" ("arithmetic mean") weights each team equally
no matter where they are relative to the middle.
Here are a few examples of how the "central mean" is computed.
  4-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-2-1
  5-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-2-1
  6-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-3-2-1
  7-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-3-2-1
  8-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-4-3-2-1
  9-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1
 10-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-5-5-4-3-2-1
 11-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-5-6-5-4-3-2-1
 12-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-5-6-6-5-4-3-2-1
 13-team group ___ the weights are   1-2-3-4-5-6-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
This is an expanded version of the "tri-mean".
The WIN50% is the rating required to win 50% of the games if playing an
infinite number of round-robins in the given group at a neutral location.
      DIVISION            CENTRAL MEAN    SIMPLE AVERAGE  TEAMS      WIN50%         RATING          PREDICTOR         GOLDEN_MEAN         RECENT
   1  ATLANTIC                =   4.16       4.17  (  1)      8       4.17  (  1)   4.1714( 0.2996)   4.1764( 0.3239)   4.1700( 0.2567)   4.1780( 0.3607)
   2  central                 =   4.05       4.08  (  2)      8       4.07  (  2)   4.0757( 0.5710)   4.0577( 0.5788)   4.0628( 0.6192)   4.1039( 0.5438)
   3  METROPOLITAN            =   4.01       4.03  (  3)      8       4.03  (  3)   4.0343( 0.2773)   4.0394( 0.3023)   4.0491( 0.2947)   4.0191( 0.3021)
   4  pacific                 =   3.73       3.72  (  4)      8       3.72  (  4)   3.7186( 0.3512)   3.7265( 0.3758)   3.7181( 0.3631)   3.6991( 0.3601)
       OVERALL                                                                      4.0000( 0.4110)   4.0000( 0.4248)   4.0000( 0.4248)   4.0000( 0.4248)
      DIVISION            CENTRAL MEAN    SIMPLE AVERAGE  TEAMS      WIN50%         RATING          PREDICTOR         GOLDEN_MEAN         RECENT
   3  METROPOLITAN            =   4.01       4.03  (  3)      8       4.03  (  3)   4.0343( 0.2773)   4.0394( 0.3023)   4.0491( 0.2947)   4.0191( 0.3021)
   1  ATLANTIC                =   4.16       4.17  (  1)      8       4.17  (  1)   4.1714( 0.2996)   4.1764( 0.3239)   4.1700( 0.2567)   4.1780( 0.3607)
   2  central                 =   4.05       4.08  (  2)      8       4.07  (  2)   4.0757( 0.5710)   4.0577( 0.5788)   4.0628( 0.6192)   4.1039( 0.5438)
   4  pacific                 =   3.73       3.72  (  4)      8       3.72  (  4)   3.7186( 0.3512)   3.7265( 0.3758)   3.7181( 0.3631)   3.6991( 0.3601)
       OVERALL                                                                      4.0000( 0.4110)   4.0000( 0.4248)   4.0000( 0.4248)   4.0000( 0.4248)
__________________________________________________________________________________________________

By Division

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3 METROPOLITAN = 4.01 NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT | STRONG RECENT HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 0.16] [ 0.17] [ 0.17] [ 0.15] [ 0.15] 3 Carolina Hurricanes = 4.62 41 23 3.97( 27) 10 7 | 15 13 | 4.67 3 | 4.71 2 | 4.52 6 | 4.59 6 METROPOLITAN 11 Washington Capitals = 4.13 32 33 3.99( 22) 7 13 | 14 17 | 4.22 10 | 4.13 11 | 4.05 14 | 3.91 17 METROPOLITAN 13 Pittsburgh Penguins = 4.06 32 32 3.95( 30) 7 11 | 13 16 | 4.02 17 | 3.91 20 | 4.28 10 | 4.55 7 METROPOLITAN 15 New York Islanders = 4.05 37 28 4.02( 10) 11 6 | 17 14 | 4.05 14 | 4.07 13 | 4.05 15 | 4.07 13 METROPOLITAN 16 Columbus Blue Jackets = 4.04 33 31 4.01( 12) 12 8 | 15 18 | 3.98 18 | 3.99 18 | 4.14 12 | 4.39 10 METROPOLITAN 20 New Jersey Devils = 3.85 32 32 4.05( 2) 11 10 | 16 21 | 3.86 20 | 4.02 16 | 3.64 27 | 3.39 28 METROPOLITAN 21 Philadelphia Flyers = 3.78 29 34 4.03( 5) 6 16 | 13 23 | 3.84 21 | 3.76 25 | 3.73 24 | 3.52 26 METROPOLITAN 24 New York Rangers = 3.74 26 38 4.05( 3) 8 12 | 14 24 | 3.67 24 | 3.80 23 | 3.74 22 | 3.64 22 METROPOLITAN _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1 ATLANTIC = 4.16 NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT | STRONG RECENT HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 0.16] [ 0.17] [ 0.17] [ 0.15] [ 0.15] 2 Tampa Bay Lightning = 4.68 39 24 4.01( 15) 10 6 | 17 14 | 4.77 2 | 4.67 3 | 4.61 3 | 4.67 4 ATLANTIC 6 Buffalo Sabres = 4.44 40 25 4.02( 9) 11 10 | 17 16 | 4.42 6 | 4.33 6 | 4.63 2 | 5.15 1 ATLANTIC 7 Montreal Canadiens = 4.26 35 28 4.01( 13) 11 9 | 17 16 | 4.27 9 | 4.23 7 | 4.29 9 | 4.47 9 ATLANTIC 10 Ottawa Senators = 4.20 32 31 4.00( 18) 4 13 | 15 16 | 4.13 11 | 4.19 10 | 4.29 7 | 4.54 8 ATLANTIC 12 Boston Bruins = 4.11 36 28 4.00( 19) 9 13 | 18 15 | 4.10 12 | 4.04 15 | 4.18 11 | 4.30 12 ATLANTIC 17 Detroit Red Wings = 4.01 36 29 4.01( 14) 9 11 | 14 21 | 4.03 16 | 4.00 17 | 4.01 16 | 4.04 14 ATLANTIC 18 Florida Panthers = 3.97 32 32 4.05( 1) 11 12 | 20 15 | 4.03 15 | 4.06 14 | 3.80 20 | 3.62 23 ATLANTIC 26 Toronto Maple Leafs = 3.71 27 38 4.03( 6) 8 14 | 12 23 | 3.67 25 | 3.82 22 | 3.61 28 | 3.26 30 ATLANTIC _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2 central = 4.05 NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT | STRONG RECENT HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 0.16] [ 0.17] [ 0.17] [ 0.15] [ 0.15] 1 Colorado Avalanche = 4.97 43 20 4.00( 17) 13 9 | 20 11 | 4.98 1 | 5.03 1 | 4.92 1 | 5.05 2 central 4 Dallas Stars = 4.57 40 24 3.93( 32) 10 8 | 16 11 | 4.53 4 | 4.66 4 | 4.55 4 | 4.67 5 central 5 Minnesota Wild = 4.46 38 27 3.99( 23) 12 8 | 20 12 | 4.43 5 | 4.41 5 | 4.55 5 | 4.80 3 central 8 Utah Mammoth = 4.25 34 31 4.01( 16) 7 13 | 13 17 | 4.28 8 | 4.19 9 | 4.29 8 | 4.38 11 central 22 Winnipeg Jets = 3.78 26 37 3.98( 24) 4 19 | 9 22 | 3.77 22 | 3.83 21 | 3.73 23 | 3.57 25 central 25 Nashville Predators = 3.71 29 35 4.03( 7) 7 16 | 14 21 | 3.66 26 | 3.68 26 | 3.77 21 | 3.86 19 central 29 St. Louis Blues = 3.49 25 39 3.99( 21) 11 10 | 13 19 | 3.42 29 | 3.51 29 | 3.54 29 | 3.59 24 central 30 Chicago Blackhawks = 3.38 24 40 3.98( 25) 8 12 | 10 21 | 3.39 30 | 3.20 31 | 3.48 30 | 3.36 29 central _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4 pacific = 3.73 NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday RATING W L SCHEDL(RANK) VS top 10 | VS top 16 | PREDICTOR | GOLDEN_MEAN | RECENT | STRONG RECENT HOME ADVANTAGE=[ 0.16] [ 0.17] [ 0.17] [ 0.15] [ 0.15] 9 Edmonton Oilers = 4.22 32 33 3.95( 29) 6 11 | 12 17 | 4.34 7 | 4.20 8 | 4.14 13 | 4.04 15 pacific 14 Vegas Golden Knights = 4.06 29 36 3.98( 26) 3 17 | 6 22 | 4.10 13 | 4.11 12 | 3.98 17 | 3.81 20 pacific 19 Anaheim Ducks = 3.91 36 28 3.99( 20) 6 13 | 16 16 | 3.90 19 | 3.96 19 | 3.89 18 | 3.94 16 pacific 23 Los Angeles Kings = 3.75 26 38 4.03( 4) 9 12 | 13 21 | 3.77 23 | 3.78 24 | 3.71 25 | 3.51 27 pacific 27 Seattle Kraken = 3.70 29 34 3.94( 31) 2 16 | 8 21 | 3.65 27 | 3.62 27 | 3.81 19 | 3.88 18 pacific 28 San Jose Sharks = 3.57 30 32 4.02( 8) 10 11 | 14 19 | 3.48 28 | 3.52 28 | 3.69 26 | 3.79 21 pacific 31 Calgary Flames = 3.37 25 39 3.96( 28) 9 11 | 14 18 | 3.32 31 | 3.40 30 | 3.39 31 | 3.20 31 pacific 32 Vancouver Canucks = 3.16 19 45 4.01( 11) 4 17 | 9 23 | 3.26 32 | 3.15 32 | 3.00 32 | 2.44 32 pacific _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ These are the "regular method". _ HOME or CLOSEBY (c) is denoted _ by an "@" next to the HOME or CLOSER team _ An "n" for NEUTRAL location will appear if a neutral game Rating Favorite _ Strong MONEYLINE=odds to 100 _ FAVORITE Rating Predict Golden Recent Recent UNDERDOG ODDS PCT% TOTAL _ ====================================================================================================================================

Predictions_with_Totals_and_Moneylines

NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday HOME ADVANTAGE= 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.15 0.15 FAVORITE Rating Pred Golden Recent Strong UNDERDOG MONEY WIN% home away TOTAL 1 Washington Capitals 0.19 0.21 0.20 0.18 0.24 @ Philadelphia Flyers 114 53% 2.89 3.04 5.93 2 @ Ottawa Senators 0.10 0.03 0.13 0.15 0.22 Montreal Canadiens 107 52% 3.33 3.21 6.53 EXPERIMENTAL NUMBERS INVOLVING HOME-AWAY ADJUSTMENTS FOR EACH TEAM NHL 2025-2026 through games of 2026 March 10 Tuesday HOME ADVANTAGE= 0.16 0.17 0.17 0.15 0.15 FAVORITE Rating Pred Golden Recent Strong UNDERDOG MONEY WIN% home away TOTAL 1 Washington Capitals 0.10 0.12 0.10 0.09 0.15 @ Philadelphia Flyers 107 52% 2.89 3.04 5.93 2 @ Ottawa Senators 0.10 0.03 0.13 0.15 0.22 Montreal Canadiens 107 52% 3.33 3.21 6.53
EIGENVECTOR Analysis            eigen MONEY=odds to 100  EPCT%=confidence
          EFAVORITE           ESPREAD EODDS EPCT%    EUNDERDOG
    1    Washington Capitals    0.29   122   55%  @ Philadelphia Flyers
    2    Montreal Canadiens     0.09   106   52%  @ Ottawa Senators
endfile

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