McDonald NHL Power Ratings – October 24, 2021

Hockey playerWe’re two weeks into the season now, and we’re still seeing lots of changes in the ratings, as our models continue to calibrate themselves.  We’ve got a new top team, and two new teams in the top 5.

Carolina has now taken over top spot in our rankings.  They had two wins, both against weaker teams (Montreal ranked 28th, and Columbus ranked 27th), but now have a 4-0-0 record.  Next week will be a test for them, as they start the week with games against Toronto (ranked 12th) and Boston (6th).

Pittsburgh remains in second place in our rankings, but now they’ve got company, as Florida made a big move to move into the second place tie.  Pittsburgh went 1-0-1, with a big 7-1 win over Toronto and a shootout loss to Dallas.  They now have a 3-0-2 record.  Florida had a strong week with 3 wins, beating Tampa Bay, Colorado, and Philadelphia.  They are now 5-0-0, and are currently our favourites to win the President’s Trophy, with them taking it in 12% of our simulations.

Washington stays in fourth place in the McDonald NHL Power Rankings, after going 2-0-1 this week.  They beat Colorado and New Jersey, and lost in overtime to Calgary.

New to the top 5 is Edmonton.  They won all three of their games this week, defeating lowly Anaheim (31st) and Arizona (28th), but also beat Vegas (13th).  They are also 5-0-0, and are currently the most-likely Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, winning it all in 7% of our simulations, which is the same as both Carolina and Florida.

Other big movers this week included the New York Islanders, up 23 rating points to 11th after going 3-0-1, and St. Louis, up 22 points to 7th after notching 3 wins this week.  On the downside, Vegas dropped 25 points and Chicago dropped 24.  Chicago is now the lowest-ranked team in the league.

The Top 5

1. Carolina Hurricanes ▲2 (1559, ▲12)

Record: 4-0-0, 2nd in Metropolitan Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 79% (▲8)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 11% (▲2)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 7% (▲1)

Last week: 2-0-0

  • October 21: Won 4-1 @ Montreal Canadiens (28th, 1456)
  • October 23: Won 5-1 @ Columbus Blue Jackets (27th, 1460)

Next week:

  • October 25: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (12th, 1519)
  • October 28: vs. Boston Bruins (6th, 1542)
  • October 29: vs. Chicago Blackhawks (32nd, 1441)
  • October 31: vs. Arizona Coyotes (28th, 1456)

2 (tie). Florida Panthers ▲6 (1556, ▲22)

Record: 5-0-0, 1st in Atlantic Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 82% (▲15)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 12% (▲6)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 7% (▲2)

Last week: 3-0-0

  • October 19: Won 4-1 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (14th, 1506)
  • October 21: Won 4-1 vs. Colorado Avalanche (7th, 1541)
  • October 23: Won 4-2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (17th, 1496)

Next week:

  • October 25: vs. Arizona Coyotes (28th, 1456)
  • October 27: vs. Boston Bruins (6th, 1542)
  • October 29: @ Detroit Red Wings (22nd, 1478)
  • October 30: @ Boston Bruins (6th, 1542)

2 (tie). Pittsburgh Penguins (1556, ▲4)

Record: 3-0-2, 3rd in Metropolitan Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 74% (▲1)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 9%
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 6%

Last week: 1-0-1

  • October 19: Lost in SO 2-1 vs. Dallas Stars (20th, 1487)
  • October 23: Won 7-1 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (12th, 1519)

Next week:

  • October 26: vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (14th, 1506)
  • October 28: vs. Calgary Flames (18th, 1492)
  • October 30: vs. New Jersey Devils (24th, 1469)

4. Washington Capitals (1554, ▲12)

Record: 3-0-2, 4th in Metropolitan Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 73% (▲7)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 8% (▲2)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 6% (▲1)

Last week: 2-0-1

  • October 19: Won 6-3 vs. Colorado Avalanche (7th, 1541)
  • October 21: Won 4-1 @ New Jersey Devils (24th, 1469)
  • October 23: Lost in OT 4-3 vs. Calgary Flames (18th, 1492)

Next week:

  • October 25: @ Ottawa Senators (23rd, 1477)
  • October 27: vs. Detroit Red Wings (22nd, 1478)
  • October 29: vs. Arizona Coyotes (28th, 1456)

5. Edmonton Oilers ▲5 (1549, ▲20)

Record: 5-0-0, 1st in Pacific Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 86% (▲14)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 10% (▲4)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 7% (▲2)

Last week: 3-0-0

  • October 19: Won 6-5 vs. Anaheim Ducks (31st, 1452)
  • October 21: Won 5-1 @ Arizona Coyotes (28th, 1456)
  • October 22: Won 5-3 @ Vegas Golden Knights (13th, 1511)

Next week:

  • October 27: vs. Philadelphia Flyers (17th, 1496)
  • October 30: @ Vancouver Canucks (21st, 1480)

Here’s the rankings and ratings.  Changes shown are from last week’s report.

Overall Ratings

 1       Carolina Hurricanes (▲2)      1559 (▲12)
 2 (tie) Florida Panthers (▲7)         1556 (▲22)
 2 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins           1556 (▲4)
 4       Washington Capitals           1554 (▲12)
 5       Edmonton Oilers (▲5)          1549 (▲20)
 6       Boston Bruins                 1542 (▲6)
 7 (tie) Colorado Avalanche (▼6)       1541 (▼14)
 7 (tie) St. Louis Blues (▲4)          1541 (▲22)
 9       New York Rangers (▲4)         1527 (▲17)
10       Minnesota Wild (▼5)           1526 (▼14)
11       New York Islanders (▲3)       1524 (▲23)
12       Toronto Maple Leafs (▼4)      1519 (▼16)
13       Vegas Golden Knights (▼7)     1511 (▼25)
14       Tampa Bay Lightning (▼2)      1506 (▼8)
15 (tie) San Jose Sharks (▲7)          1498 (▲20)
15 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▲4)            1498 (▲14)
17       Philadelphia Flyers (▼1)      1496 (▲7)
18       Calgary Flames (▲2)           1492 (▲9)
19       Nashville Predators (▼2)      1489 (▲1)
20       Dallas Stars (▼2)             1487 (▲1)
21       Vancouver Canucks (▲6)        1480 (▲9)
22       Detroit Red Wings (▼1)        1478 (▼1)
23       Ottawa Senators (▼8)          1477 (▼17)
24       New Jersey Devils (▲4)        1469 (▼1)
25       Los Angeles Kings (▼1)        1464 (▼10)
26       Buffalo Sabres (▲5)           1462 (▲1)
27       Columbus Blue Jackets (▼1)    1460 (▼12)
28 (tie) Arizona Coyotes (▼5)          1456 (▼21)
28 (tie) Montreal Canadiens (▲2)       1456 (▼7)
30       Seattle Kraken (▼6)           1453 (▼21)
31       Anaheim Ducks (▲1)            1452 (▼7)
32       Chicago Blackhawks (▼3)       1441 (▼24)

Chances of Winning Division

Metropolitan Division

 1       Carolina Hurricanes (▲1)      26% (▲2)
 2       Pittsburgh Penguins (▼1)      21% (▼4)
 3       Washington Capitals           20% (▲1)
 4       New York Rangers              13% (▲4)
 5       New York Islanders            10% (▲4)
 6       Philadelphia Flyers (▼1)      5% (▼1)
 7       New Jersey Devils (▲1)        3% (▼2)
 8       Columbus Blue Jackets (▼3)    2% (▼4)

Atlantic Division

 1       Florida Panthers              40% (▲18)
 2       Boston Bruins                 24% (▲3)
 3       Toronto Maple Leafs           10% (▼9)
 4       Tampa Bay Lightning           9% (▼5)
 5       Detroit Red Wings (▲1)        6% (▼1)
 6       Buffalo Sabres (▲1)           5%
 7       Ottawa Senators (▼2)          4% (▼5)
 8       Montreal Canadiens            2% (▼1)

Central Division

 1       St. Louis Blues (▲2)          33% (▲15)
 2       Minnesota Wild (▼1)           22% (▼5)
 3       Colorado Avalanche (▼2)       18% (▼9)
 4 (tie) Dallas Stars                  9% (▲2)
 4 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▲1)            9% (▲3)
 6       Nashville Predators (▼1)      6%
 7       Arizona Coyotes (▼2)          2% (▼4)
 8       Chicago Blackhawks            1% (▼3)

Pacific Division

 1       Edmonton Oilers               43% (▲16)
 2       San Jose Sharks (▲1)          17% (▲7)
 3       Calgary Flames (▲1)           12% (▲3)
 4 (tie) Vancouver Canucks (▲3)        9% (▲2)
 4 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights (▼2)     9% (▼15)
 6 (tie) Anaheim Ducks (▲2)            4% (▼2)
 6 (tie) Los Angeles Kings (▼1)        4% (▼4)
 8       Seattle Kraken (▼3)           3% (▼5)

Making the Playoffs

Metropolitan Division

 1       Carolina Hurricanes (▲1)      79% (▲7)
 2       Pittsburgh Penguins (▼1)      74% (▲1)
 3       Washington Capitals           73% (▲6)
 4       New York Rangers              62% (▲13)
 5       New York Islanders            56% (▲16)
 6       Philadelphia Flyers           40% (▲1)
 7       New Jersey Devils (▲1)        31% (▼2)
 8       Columbus Blue Jackets (▼1)    25% (▼12)

Atlantic Division

 1       Florida Panthers              82% (▲15)
 2       Boston Bruins                 70% (▲4)
 3       Toronto Maple Leafs           50% (▼14)
 4       Tampa Bay Lightning           47% (▼8)
 5       Detroit Red Wings (▲1)        35% (▼3)
 6       Buffalo Sabres (▲1)           31% (▼2)
 7       Ottawa Senators (▼2)          30% (▼15)
 8       Montreal Canadiens            16% (▼6)

Central Division

 1       St. Louis Blues (▲2)          82% (▲16)
 2       Minnesota Wild (▼1)           74% (▼2)
 3       Colorado Avalanche (▼2)       70% (▼6)
 4 (tie) Dallas Stars                  52% (▲8)
 4 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▲2)            52% (▲13)
 6       Nashville Predators (▼1)      42% (▲2)
 7       Arizona Coyotes (▼1)          23% (▼16)
 8       Chicago Blackhawks            16% (▼15)

Pacific Division

 1       Edmonton Oilers               86% (▲14)
 2       San Jose Sharks (▲1)          64% (▲17)
 3       Calgary Flames (▲1)           55% (▲11)
 4       Vegas Golden Knights (▼2)     50% (▼20)
 5       Vancouver Canucks (▲2)        48% (▲8)
 6       Los Angeles Kings             32% (▼9)
 7       Anaheim Ducks (▲1)            30% (▼5)
 8       Seattle Kraken (▼3)           25% (▼17)

Winning the President’s Trophy

 1       Florida Panthers (▲3)         12% (▲5)
 2       Carolina Hurricanes           11% (▲3)
 3       Edmonton Oilers (▲3)          10% (▲4)
 4 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins (▼3)      9%
 4 (tie) St. Louis Blues (▲5)          9% (▲4)
 6       Washington Capitals           8% (▲2)
 7       Boston Bruins (▼1)            6%
 8       Minnesota Wild (▼6)           5% (▼3)
 9 (tie) Colorado Avalanche (▼5)       4% (▼3)
 9 (tie) New York Rangers (▲3)         4% (▲1)
11 (tie) New York Islanders (▲3)       3% (▲1)
11 (tie) San Jose Sharks (▲3)          3% (▲1)
13 (tie) Calgary Flames (▲5)           2% (▲1)
13 (tie) Tampa Bay Lightning (▼1)      2% (▼1)
13 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs (▼4)      2% (▼3)
16 (tie) Buffalo Sabres (▲2)           1%
16 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets (▲2)    1%
16 (tie) Dallas Stars (▲2)             1%
16 (tie) Detroit Red Wings (▲2)        1%
16 (tie) Nashville Predators (▲2)      1%
16 (tie) New Jersey Devils (▲2)        1%
16 (tie) Ottawa Senators (▼2)          1% (▼1)
16 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers (▼2)      1% (▼1)
16 (tie) Vancouver Canucks (▲2)        1%
16 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights (▼7)     1% (▼4)
16 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▲2)            1%

Everyone else has less than a 1% chance of winning the President’s Trophy.

Winning the Stanley Cup

 1 (tie) Carolina Hurricanes (▲1)      7% (▲1)
 1 (tie) Edmonton Oilers (▲4)          7% (▲2)
 1 (tie) Florida Panthers (▲4)         7% (▲2)
 4 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins (▼2)      6%
 4 (tie) St. Louis Blues (▲7)          6% (▲2)
 4 (tie) Washington Capitals (▲1)      6% (▲1)
 7 (tie) Boston Bruins (▼2)            5%
 7 (tie) Colorado Avalanche (▼6)       5% (▼2)
 7 (tie) Minnesota Wild (▼5)           5% (▼1)
10 (tie) New York Islanders (▲4)       4% (▲2)
10 (tie) New York Rangers (▲2)         4% (▲1)
12 (tie) Calgary Flames (▲2)           3% (▲1)
12 (tie) San Jose Sharks (▲2)          3% (▲1)
12 (tie) Tampa Bay Lightning           3%
12 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs (▼7)      3% (▼2)
12 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights (▼7)     3% (▼2)
12 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▲2)            3% (▲1)
18 (tie) Dallas Stars (▼4)             2%
18 (tie) Detroit Red Wings (▼4)        2%
18 (tie) Nashville Predators (▼4)      2%
18 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers (▼4)      2%
18 (tie) Vancouver Canucks (▼4)        2%
23 (tie) Anaheim Ducks (▲6)            1%
23 (tie) Arizona Coyotes (▼9)          1% (▼1)
23 (tie) Buffalo Sabres (▲6)           1%
23 (tie) Chicago Blackhawks (▲6)       1%
23 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets (▼9)    1% (▼1)
23 (tie) Los Angeles Kings (▼9)        1% (▼1)
23 (tie) Montreal Canadiens (▲6)       1%
23 (tie) New Jersey Devils (▼9)        1% (▼1)
23 (tie) Ottawa Senators (▼9)          1% (▼1)
23 (tie) Seattle Kraken (▼9)           1% (▼1)

 

McDonald NHL Power Ratings – October 17, 2021

Hockey playerThe NHL season has started!  The first game of the season was last Tuesday, and saw Pittsburgh defeat the defending Stanley Cup champions Tampa Bay.  That day also saw the newest team in the league, the Seattle Kraken, play their first game — they lost, 4-3, to Vegas.  The next night saw the classic Canadian match-up, with Toronto beating Montreal 2-1.  As usual, this meant Toronto continued to be first overall in the NHL — we’ll see how long that lasts!

We introduced uncertainty into our McDonald NHL Power Ratings models, and as a result, there have been a lot of changes to the ratings as the models calibrate themselves.  We expect things to settle down with accurate ratings after the teams have played about 10 games, so that should be in a couple of weeks.

Despite the uncertainty, our top 5 rated teams almost stayed the same as last week.  Colorado retains the number one ranking, having a win and a loss this week, and Pittsburgh stays in the second spot, after having two wins and one overtime loss.  Carolina has now moved into third spot, up two from last week, with two wins.  Washington, who was ranked fourth in the preseason, is still in fourth, having one win and one OTL.  Rounding out the top 5 is Minnesota, who won both of their games this week, and moved up from 9th spot in our preseason rankings.  Dropping out of the top 5 was Vegas, who were tied with Pittsburgh at number two last week, but have dropped four spots to 6th, putting them in a tie with Boston.  Vegas had a win and a loss last week.

How about the two Stanley Cup finalists from last year?  Tampa Bay, last year’s champions, are currently ranked 12th, after losing their opener to Pittsburgh, but winning their next two in overtime against Detroit and Washington.  The runner up, Montreal, is ranked 30th out of 32 teams, having started the season with three straight losses.  Despite the uncertainty in our models, we’re still only giving Montreal a 22% chance of making the playoffs.

The Top 5

1. Colorado Avalanche (1555, ▼4)

Record: 1-1-0, 3rd in Central Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 76%
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 7% (▼3)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 7%

Last week: 1-1-0

  • October 13: Won 4-2 vs. Chicago Blackhawks (29th, 1465)
  • October 16: Lost 5-3 vs. St. Louis Blues (11th, 1519)

Next week:

  • October 19: @ Washington Capitals (4th, 1542)
  • October 21: @ Florida Panthers (9th, 1534)
  • October 23: @ Tampa Bay Lightning (12th, 1514)

2. Pittsburgh Penguins (1552, ▲13)

Record: 2-0-1, 1st in Metropolitan Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 73% (▲7)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 9% (▲3)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 6% (▲1)

Last week: 2-0-1

  • October 12: Won 6-2 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (12th, 1514)
  • October 14: Lost in OT 5-4 @ Florida Panthers (9th, 1534)
  • October 16: Won 5-2 vs. Chicago Blackhawks (29th, 1465)

Next week:

  • October 19: vs. Dallas Stars (18th, 1486)
  • October 23: vs. Toronto Maple Leafs (8th, 1535)

3. Carolina Hurricanes ▲2 (1547, ▲13)

Record: 2-0-0, 3rd in Metropolitan Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 72% (▲9)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 8% (▲2)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 6% (▲1)

Last week: 2-0-0

  • October 14: Won 6-3 vs. New York Islanders (14th, 1501)
  • October 16: Won 3-2 @ Nashville Predators (17th, 1488)

Next week:

  • October 21: @ Montreal Canadiens (30th, 1463)
  • October 23: @ Columbus Blue Jackets (26th, 1472)

4. Washington Capitals (1542, ▲5)

Record: 1-0-1, 4th in Metropolitan Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 67% (▲2)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 6%
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 5%

Last week: 1-0-1

  • October 13: Won 5-1 vs. New York Rangers (13th, 1510)
  • October 16: Lost in OT 2-1 vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (12th, 1514)

Next week:

  • October 19: vs. Colorado Avalanche (1st, 1555)
  • October 21: @ New Jersey Devils (28th, 1470)
  • October 23: vs. Calgary Flames (20th, 1483)

5. Minnesota Wild ▲4 (1540, ▲14)

Record: 2-0-0, 1st in Central Division

Chances of: 

  • Making the playoffs: 76% (▲13)
  • Winning the President’s Trophy: 8% (▲3)
  • Winning the Stanley Cup: 6% (▲2)

Last week: 2-0-0

  • October 15: Won 2-1 @ Anaheim Ducks (32nd, 1459)
  • October 16: Won 3-2 @ Los Angeles Kings (24th, 1474)

Next week:

  • October 19: vs. Winnipeg Jets (19th, 1484)
  • October 23: vs. Anaheim Ducks (32nd, 1459)
  • October 24: vs. Nashville Predators (17th, 1488)

Here’s the rankings and ratings.  Changes shown are from our preseason report.

Overall Ratings

 1       Colorado Avalanche            1555 (▼4)
 2       Pittsburgh Penguins           1552 (▲13)
 3       Carolina Hurricanes (▲2)      1547 (▲13)
 4       Washington Capitals           1542 (▲5)
 5       Minnesota Wild (▲4)           1540 (▲14)
 6 (tie) Boston Bruins (▲1)            1536 (▲6)
 6 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights (▼4)     1536 (▼3)
 8       Toronto Maple Leafs (▼2)      1535 (▲4)
 9       Florida Panthers (▼1)         1534 (▲6)
10       Edmonton Oilers               1529 (▲4)
11       St. Louis Blues (▲2)          1519 (▲9)
12       Tampa Bay Lightning (▼1)      1514 (▼7)
13       New York Rangers (▲1)         1510 (▲1)
14       New York Islanders (▼2)       1501 (▼12)
15       Ottawa Senators (▲5)          1494 (▲9)
16       Philadelphia Flyers (▲2)      1489 (▼1)
17       Nashville Predators (▼2)      1488 (▼16)
18       Dallas Stars (▼2)             1486 (▼12)
19       Winnipeg Jets (▼3)            1484 (▼14)
20       Calgary Flames (▼1)           1483 (▼6)
21       Detroit Red Wings (▲5)        1479 (▲7)
22       San Jose Sharks (▲5)          1478 (▲7)
23       Arizona Coyotes (▼1)          1477 (▼6)
24 (tie) Los Angeles Kings (▲1)        1474 (▲1)
24 (tie) Seattle Kraken (▲5)           1474 (▲5)
26       Columbus Blue Jackets (▲4)    1472 (▲6)
27       Vancouver Canucks (▼4)        1471 (▼4)
28       New Jersey Devils (▼1)        1470 (▼1)
29       Chicago Blackhawks (▼5)       1465 (▼9)
30       Montreal Canadiens (▼9)       1463 (▼21)
31       Buffalo Sabres (▲1)           1461 (▲6)
32       Anaheim Ducks (▼1)            1459 (▲1)

Chances of Winning Division

Metropolitan Division

 1       Pittsburgh Penguins           25% (▲5)
 2       Carolina Hurricanes (▲1)      24% (▲6)
 3       Washington Capitals (▼1)      19%
 4       New York Rangers (▲1)         9% (▼3)
 5 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets (▲2)    6% (▲1)
 5 (tie) New York Islanders (▼1)       6% (▼7)
 5 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers (▲1)      6% (▼2)
 8       New Jersey Devils (▼1)        5%

Atlantic Division

 1       Florida Panthers (▲2)         22% (▲4)
 2       Boston Bruins (▼1)            21% (▲2)
 3       Toronto Maple Leafs (▼2)      19%
 4       Tampa Bay Lightning           14% (▼2)
 5       Ottawa Senators               9% (▲1)
 6       Detroit Red Wings (▲1)        7% (▲1)
 7       Buffalo Sabres (▲1)           5% (▲1)
 8       Montreal Canadiens (▼3)       3% (▼5)

Central Division

 1 (tie) Colorado Avalanche            27% (▼1)
 1 (tie) Minnesota Wild (▲1)           27% (▲10)
 3       St. Louis Blues               18% (▲6)
 4       Dallas Stars (▲1)             7% (▼3)
 5 (tie) Arizona Coyotes (▲2)          6% (▼1)
 5 (tie) Nashville Predators (▼1)      6% (▼5)
 5 (tie) Winnipeg Jets                 6% (▼4)
 8       Chicago Blackhawks            4% (▼2)

Pacific Division

 1       Edmonton Oilers (▲1)          27% (▲5)
 2       Vegas Golden Knights (▼1)     24% (▼3)
 3       San Jose Sharks (▲3)          10% (▲2)
 4       Calgary Flames (▼1)           9% (▼3)
 5 (tie) Los Angeles Kings (▼1)        8% (▼1)
 5 (tie) Seattle Kraken (▲1)           8%
 7       Vancouver Canucks (▼3)        7% (▼2)
 8       Anaheim Ducks                 6%

Making the Playoffs

Metropolitan Division

 1       Pittsburgh Penguins           73% (▲7)
 2       Carolina Hurricanes (▲1)      72% (▲9)
 3       Washington Capitals (▼1)      67% (▲2)
 4       New York Rangers (▲1)         49% (▼3)
 5       New York Islanders (▼1)       40% (▼15)
 6       Philadelphia Flyers           39% (▼3)
 7       Columbus Blue Jackets (▲1)    37% (▲5)
 8       New Jersey Devils (▼1)        33% (▼1)

Atlantic Division

 1       Florida Panthers (▲2)         67% (▲6)
 2       Boston Bruins (▼1)            66% (▲3)
 3       Toronto Maple Leafs (▼2)      64% (▲1)
 4       Tampa Bay Lightning           55% (▼3)
 5       Ottawa Senators               45% (▲4)
 6       Detroit Red Wings (▲1)        38% (▲2)
 7       Buffalo Sabres (▲1)           33% (▲5)
 8       Montreal Canadiens (▼3)       22% (▼19)

Central Division

 1 (tie) Colorado Avalanche            76%
 1 (tie) Minnesota Wild (▲1)           76% (▲13)
 3       St. Louis Blues               66% (▲11)
 4       Dallas Stars (▲1)             44% (▼5)
 5       Nashville Predators (▼1)      40% (▼12)
 6 (tie) Arizona Coyotes (▲1)          39% (▼3)
 6 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▼1)            39% (▼10)
 8       Chicago Blackhawks            31% (▼7)

Pacific Division

 1       Edmonton Oilers (▲1)          72% (▲7)
 2       Vegas Golden Knights (▼1)     70%
 3       San Jose Sharks (▲3)          47% (▲8)
 4       Calgary Flames (▼1)           44% (▼4)
 5       Seattle Kraken (▲2)           42% (▲4)
 6       Los Angeles Kings (▼1)        41% (▲1)
 7       Vancouver Canucks (▼3)        40% (▼1)
 8       Anaheim Ducks                 35% (▲1)

Winning the President’s Trophy

 1       Pittsburgh Penguins (▲1)      9% (▲3)
 2 (tie) Carolina Hurricanes           8% (▲2)
 2 (tie) Minnesota Wild (▲4)           8% (▲3)
 4 (tie) Colorado Avalanche (▼3)       7% (▼3)
 4 (tie) Florida Panthers (▲2)         7% (▲2)
 6 (tie) Boston Bruins                 6% (▲1)
 6 (tie) Edmonton Oilers               6% (▲1)
 6 (tie) Washington Capitals (▼4)      6%
 9 (tie) St. Louis Blues (▲4)          5% (▲2)
 9 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs (▼3)      5%
 9 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights (▼7)     5% (▼1)
12 (tie) New York Rangers (▲1)         3%
12 (tie) Tampa Bay Lightning (▼1)      3% (▼1)
14 (tie) New York Islanders (▼3)       2% (▼2)
14 (tie) Ottawa Senators (▲2)          2%
14 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers (▲2)      2%
14 (tie) San Jose Sharks (▲9)          2% (▲1)
18 (tie) Anaheim Ducks (▲5)            1%
18 (tie) Arizona Coyotes (▼2)          1% (▼1)
18 (tie) Buffalo Sabres (▲5)           1%
18 (tie) Calgary Flames (▼2)           1% (▼1)
18 (tie) Chicago Blackhawks (▲5)       1%
18 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets (▲5)    1%
18 (tie) Dallas Stars (▼2)             1% (▼1)
18 (tie) Detroit Red Wings (▲5)        1%
18 (tie) Los Angeles Kings (▲5)        1%
18 (tie) Nashville Predators (▼5)      1% (▼2)
18 (tie) New Jersey Devils (▲5)        1%
18 (tie) Seattle Kraken (▲5)           1%
18 (tie) Vancouver Canucks (▲5)        1%
18 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▼2)            1% (▼1)

Everyone else has less than a 1% chance of winning the President’s Trophy.

Winning the Stanley Cup

 1       Colorado Avalanche            7%
 2 (tie) Carolina Hurricanes (▲1)      6% (▲1)
 2 (tie) Minnesota Wild (▲7)           6% (▲2)
 2 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins (▲1)      6% (▲1)
 5 (tie) Boston Bruins (▼2)            5%
 5 (tie) Edmonton Oilers (▼2)          5%
 5 (tie) Florida Panthers (▲4)         5% (▲1)
 5 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs (▼2)      5%
 5 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights (▼3)     5% (▼1)
 5 (tie) Washington Capitals (▼2)      5%
11       St. Louis Blues (▲1)          4% (▲1)
12 (tie) New York Rangers              3%
12 (tie) Tampa Bay Lightning (▼3)      3% (▼1)
14 (tie) Arizona Coyotes (▲4)          2%
14 (tie) Calgary Flames (▲4)           2%
14 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets (▲16)   2% (▲1)
14 (tie) Dallas Stars (▼2)             2% (▼1)
14 (tie) Detroit Red Wings (▲4)        2%
14 (tie) Los Angeles Kings (▲4)        2%
14 (tie) New York Islanders (▼2)       2% (▼1)
14 (tie) Nashville Predators (▼2)      2% (▼1)
14 (tie) New Jersey Devils (▲4)        2%
14 (tie) Ottawa Senators (▲4)          2%
14 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers (▲4)      2%
14 (tie) San Jose Sharks (▲4)          2%
14 (tie) Seattle Kraken (▲4)           2%
14 (tie) Vancouver Canucks (▲4)        2%
14 (tie) Winnipeg Jets (▼2)            2% (▼1)
29 (tie) Anaheim Ducks (▲1)            1%
29 (tie) Buffalo Sabres (▲1)           1%
29 (tie) Chicago Blackhawks (▼11)      1% (▼1)
29 (tie) Montreal Canadiens (▼11)      1% (▼1)

 

McDonald NHL Power Ratings – Preseason Report

Hockey playerAh, the NHL season is about to start!  The team at McDonald NHL Power Ratings has updated our models and run our simulations, and we’ve come up with our predictions for the upcoming season.

Be aware that things have changed from last year — players have moved, retired, or come into the league, there’s a brand new team, the division alignments are back to how they were before last year’s COVID-shortened season.  As a result, we’ve added uncertainty into our models; that results in the initial ratings being lower than they might otherwise be, but they’ll eventually sort themselves out.  Our experience has been that after the first 10 games, our ratings have adjusted to the new reality.

Our rankings might seem a little surprising — last year’s Stanley Cup winning Tampa Bay Lightning are ranked 11th, and we’re only giving them a 4% chance of repeating for the third time.  We’ll see if they’ll prove us wrong!  The other Cup finals team, Montreal, is ranked 21st, and we’re giving them just a 2% chance of winning the Cup.  In fact, we’re only giving them a 41% chance of even making the playoffs!  They did just barely squeak in last year, and then had an incredible run behind their star goaltender, Carey Price.  But, we’ll see what happens.

The most-likely Canadian teams to win the Cup are the Toronto Maple Leafs and Edmonton Oilers, both at 5%.  We really should update our models to automatically give the Leafs no chance of winning, but maybe this is the year….

Our favourites to win the Stanley Cup this year are the Colorado Avalanche.  We’re currently giving them a 7% chance of winning, closely followed by Vegas with 6%.  The teams at the bottom are ABC — Anaheim, Buffalo, and Columbus (1% chance each of winning).  We’re even giving the new team, the Seattle Kraken, a better chance of winning, at 2%

Anyways, here’s the rankings and ratings.

Overall Ratings

 1       Colorado Avalanche            1559
 2 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins           1539
 2 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights          1539
 4       Washington Capitals           1537
 5       Carolina Hurricanes           1534
 6       Toronto Maple Leafs           1531
 7       Boston Bruins                 1530
 8       Florida Panthers              1528
 9       Minnesota Wild                1526
10       Edmonton Oilers               1525
11       Tampa Bay Lightning           1521
12       New York Islanders            1513
13       St. Louis Blues               1510
14       New York Rangers              1509
15       Nashville Predators           1504
16 (tie) Dallas Stars                  1498
16 (tie) Winnipeg Jets                 1498
18       Philadelphia Flyers           1490
19       Calgary Flames                1489
20       Ottawa Senators               1485
21       Montreal Canadiens            1484
22       Arizona Coyotes               1483
23       Vancouver Canucks             1475
24       Chicago Blackhawks            1474
25       Los Angeles Kings             1473
26       Detroit Red Wings             1472
27 (tie) New Jersey Devils             1471
27 (tie) San Jose Sharks               1471
29       Seattle Kraken                1469
30       Columbus Blue Jackets         1466
31       Anaheim Ducks                 1458
32       Buffalo Sabres                1455

Chances of Winning Division

Metropolitan Division

 1       Pittsburgh Penguins           20%
 2       Washington Capitals           19%
 3       Carolina Hurricanes           18%
 4       New York Islanders            13%
 5       New York Rangers              12%
 6       Philadelphia Flyers           8%
 7 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets         5%
 7 (tie) New Jersey Devils             5%

Atlantic Division

 1 (tie) Boston Bruins                 19%
 1 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs           19%
 3       Florida Panthers              18%
 4       Tampa Bay Lightning           16%
 5 (tie) Montreal Canadiens            8%
 5 (tie) Ottawa Senators               8%
 7       Detroit Red Wings             6%
 8       Buffalo Sabres                4%

Central Division

 1       Colorado Avalanche            28%
 2       Minnesota Wild                17%
 3       St. Louis Blues               12%
 4       Nashville Predators           11%
 5 (tie) Dallas Stars                  10%
 5 (tie) Winnipeg Jets                 10%
 7       Arizona Coyotes               7%
 8       Chicago Blackhawks            6%

Pacific Division

 1       Vegas Golden Knights          27%
 2       Edmonton Oilers               22%
 3       Calgary Flames                12%
 4 (tie) Los Angeles Kings             9%
 4 (tie) Vancouver Canucks             9%
 6 (tie) San Jose Sharks               8%
 6 (tie) Seattle Kraken                8%
 8       Anaheim Ducks                 6%

Making the Playoffs

Metropolitan Division

 1       Pittsburgh Penguins           66%
 2       Washington Capitals           65%
 3       Carolina Hurricanes           63%
 4       New York Islanders            55%
 5       New York Rangers              52%
 6       Philadelphia Flyers           42%
 7       New Jersey Devils             34%
 8       Columbus Blue Jackets         32%

Atlantic Division

 1 (tie) Boston Bruins                 63%
 1 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs           63%
 3       Florida Panthers              61%
 4       Tampa Bay Lightning           58%
 5 (tie) Montreal Canadiens            41%
 5 (tie) Ottawa Senators               41%
 7       Detroit Red Wings             36%
 8       Buffalo Sabres                28%

Central Division

 1       Colorado Avalanche            76%
 2       Minnesota Wild                63%
 3       St. Louis Blues               55%
 4       Nashville Predators           52%
 5 (tie) Dallas Stars                  49%
 5 (tie) Winnipeg Jets                 49%
 7       Arizona Coyotes               42%
 8       Chicago Blackhawks            38%

Pacific Division

 1       Vegas Golden Knights          70%
 2       Edmonton Oilers               65%
 3       Calgary Flames                48%
 4       Vancouver Canucks             41%
 5       Los Angeles Kings             40%
 6       San Jose Sharks               39%
 7       Seattle Kraken                38%
 8       Anaheim Ducks                 34%

Winning the President’s Trophy

 1       Colorado Avalanche            10%
 2 (tie) Carolina Hurricanes           6%
 2 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins           6%
 2 (tie) Vegas Golden Knights          6%
 2 (tie) Washington Capitals           6%
 6 (tie) Boston Bruins                 5%
 6 (tie) Edmonton Oilers               5%
 6 (tie) Florida Panthers              5%
 6 (tie) Minnesota Wild                5%
 6 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs           5%
11 (tie) New York Islanders            4%
11 (tie) Tampa Bay Lightning           4%
13 (tie) New York Rangers              3%
13 (tie) Nashville Predators           3%
13 (tie) St. Louis Blues               3%
16 (tie) Arizona Coyotes               2%
16 (tie) Calgary Flames                2%
16 (tie) Dallas Stars                  2%
16 (tie) Montreal Canadiens            2%
16 (tie) Ottawa Senators               2%
16 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers           2%
16 (tie) Winnipeg Jets                 2%
23 (tie) Anaheim Ducks                 1%
23 (tie) Buffalo Sabres                1%
23 (tie) Chicago Blackhawks            1%
23 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets         1%
23 (tie) Detroit Red Wings             1%
23 (tie) Los Angeles Kings             1%
23 (tie) New Jersey Devils             1%
23 (tie) San Jose Sharks               1%
23 (tie) Seattle Kraken                1%
23 (tie) Vancouver Canucks             1%

Winning the Stanley Cup

 1       Colorado Avalanche            7%
 2       Vegas Golden Knights          6%
 3 (tie) Boston Bruins                 5%
 3 (tie) Carolina Hurricanes           5%
 3 (tie) Edmonton Oilers               5%
 3 (tie) Pittsburgh Penguins           5%
 3 (tie) Toronto Maple Leafs           5%
 3 (tie) Washington Capitals           5%
 9 (tie) Florida Panthers              4%
 9 (tie) Minnesota Wild                4%
 9 (tie) Tampa Bay Lightning           4%
12 (tie) Dallas Stars                  3%
12 (tie) New York Islanders            3%
12 (tie) New York Rangers              3%
12 (tie) Nashville Predators           3%
12 (tie) St. Louis Blues               3%
12 (tie) Winnipeg Jets                 3%
18 (tie) Arizona Coyotes               2%
18 (tie) Calgary Flames                2%
18 (tie) Chicago Blackhawks            2%
18 (tie) Detroit Red Wings             2%
18 (tie) Los Angeles Kings             2%
18 (tie) Montreal Canadiens            2%
18 (tie) New Jersey Devils             2%
18 (tie) Ottawa Senators               2%
18 (tie) Philadelphia Flyers           2%
18 (tie) San Jose Sharks               2%
18 (tie) Seattle Kraken                2%
18 (tie) Vancouver Canucks             2%
30 (tie) Anaheim Ducks                 1%
30 (tie) Buffalo Sabres                1%
30 (tie) Columbus Blue Jackets         1%

 

McDonald CFL Power Ratings – Week 12

CFL logoThis week saw a return to a typical 4 game weekend.  The first game was Friday night, featuring the top two teams in the East, Toronto (1st place with a 6-3 record) visiting Montreal (2nd place with a 5-4 record).  Both teams were riding 3 game winning streaks coming into this game, but it was Montreal prevailing with a convincing 37-16 over Toronto.  The star of the game was Alouettes’ running back William Stanback, who rushed for 203 yards and one touchdown.  Although Toronto quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson was 24-for-38 for 268 yards, he didn’t throw any touchdowns and was picked off four times.  The teams are now tied atop the East with identical 6-4 records.

On a triple-header Saturday, there were two blowouts and one close game.  In the first game of the day, Hamilton hosted bottom-dwelling Ottawa, and they weren’t good hosts, as Hamilton thumped Ottawa 32-3.  Hamilton quarterback Jeremiah Masoli threw for 320 yards and two touchdowns, while backup quarterback Dane Evans, used in short-yardage situations, added a couple more rushing touchdowns.  The game was 0-0 after one quarter, but Hamilton got rolling from there.

The second game of the day resulted in the second blowout of the day, as Winnipeg also were lousy hosts, destroying British Columbia 45-0.  With the win, Winnipeg clinches first place in the West Division.  The Blue Bombers took the lead 15-0 after the first quarter with two touchdowns and a rouge (arguably the most exciting play in Canadian football), and added another rouge in the second quarter.  And on the last play of the game, not satisfied with a 44-0 lead, they added yet another rouge to finish off the scoring!  Quarterback Zach Collaros threw for three touchdowns in the victory.

The third game of the day featured two teams seemingly headed in opposite directions.  Home team Calgary were on a 3 game winning streak, while Saskatchewan had lost their last 2 games, both to Calgary.  But, both of those Saskatchewan / Calgary games were close, with the Stampeders winning on the last play of the game in the previous one, and the Riders getting picked off on the last play of the game while trying to take the lead the week before that.  This was another close on, as Saskatchewan defeated Calgary 20-17.  Rider quarterback Cody Fajardo completed 21 of 26 passes, including two second-half touchdowns, to lead them to victory.  In a losing cause, Stampeders quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell passed Henry Burris as the all-time Calgary completions leader, completing 21 passes for 311 yards.  With these two teams the most likely to face each other in the Western Semi-Final, it should make for an exciting game!

Week 12 Results

Toronto 16  at Montreal 37
Ottawa 3  at Hamilton 32
British Columbia 0  at Winnipeg 45
Saskatchewan 20  at Calgary 17

McDonald CFL Power Ratings

Winnipeg, who clinched first place in the West Division this week, remains at the top of our rankings.  With their road win over Calgary, Saskatchewan has moved back into 2nd spot.  With Montreal’s win over Toronto, Montreal moved into 3rd, while Toronto dropped back down to 6th.  Note, though, that Montreal, Hamilton, and Calgary are separated by only 5 rating points, so really, it’s a little too close to say who is actually the better team among those three.  Ottawa has dropped below the 1400 mark, which marks a really bad team.  Let’s hope they can turn things around.

Ranking Team Rating Record
1 Winnipeg 1619 (▲6) 10-1, 1st West
2 (▲1) Saskatchewan 1540 (▲14) 6-4, 2nd West
3 (▲3) Montreal 1519 (▲11) 6-4, T-1st East
4 (▲1) Hamilton 1518 (▲7) 5-5, 3rd East
5 (▼3) Calgary 1514 (▼14) 5-6, 3rd West
6 (▼2) Toronto 1506 (▼11) 6-4, T-1st East
7 British Columbia 1463 (▼6) 4-6, 4th West
8 Edmonton 1446 2-7, 5th West
9 Ottawa 1399 (▼7) 2-9, 4th East

Grey Cup Predictions

Winnipeg remains the favourite to win the Grey Cup, at 41% probability!  With their win over Toronto, Montreal now moves up into 2nd with a 15% chance, dropping Toronto to 3rd (14%).  Ottawa has been eliminated from the playoffs.  Despite being ranked 2nd in the McDonald CFL Power Ratings, Saskatchewan only has a 10% chance of winning; that’s the problem of being in the same division as the powerful Blue Bombers.  But, anything can happen in the playoffs!

Grey Cup Ranking Team Rating Win Grey Cup
1 Winnipeg 1619 41% (▲1)
2 (▲1) Montreal 1519 15% (▲3)
3 (▼1) Toronto 1506 14% (▼4)
4 Hamilton 1518 14% (▲2)
5 Saskatchewan 1540 10% (▲2)
6 Calgary 1514 5% (▼3)
7 British Columbia 1463 2%
8 Edmonton 1446 <1%
9 Ottawa 1399 —

Our Full Predictions

Winnipeg has clinched the West Division, while Ottawa has been eliminated from the playoffs.  Why haven’t the other three Eastern teams clinched playoff spots?  It’s because Western teams still have a chance to make the cross-over, although it’s a slim chance.

Team Rating Make Playoffs Host Playoff Game Win Division Make Division Final Make Grey Cup Win Grey Cup
Winnipeg

10-1, 1st in West

 1619 ✔ ✔ ✔ ✔ 67% 41%
Montreal

6-4, T-1st in East

 1519 >99% 75% 35% 69% 35% 15%
Toronto

6-4, T-1st in East

 1506 99% 77% 45% 71% 36% 14%
Hamilton

5-5, 3rd in East

 1518 93% 48% 20% 56% 28% 14%
Saskatchewan

6-4, 2nd in West

 1540 97% 80% — 57% 19% 10%
Calgary

5-6, 3rd in West

 1514 65% 16% — 29% 10% 5%
British Columbia

4-6, 4th in West

 1463 40% 2% — 14% 4% 2%
Edmonton

2-7, 5th in West

 1446 5% 1% — 2% 1% <1%
Ottawa

2-9, 4th in East

 1399 — — — — — —

Week 13 Game Predictions

Friday: Calgary (58%) at Ottawa (41%)
Friday: Hamilton (52%) at Edmonton (47%)
Saturday: British Columbia (37%) at Toronto (62%)
Saturday: Saskatchewan (46%) at Montreal (53%)

McDonald CFL Power Ratings – Week 11

CFL logoIt was a little slower week in the CFL, with only three games, as opposed to last week’s 5 games.  In Friday night’s game, the West’s top team, Winnipeg, visited last-in-the-West Edmonton.  In a closer game than expected, Winnipeg beat Edmonton 26-16.  The game was tied at 16 after three quarters, but Winnipeg put another touchdown and a field goal on the board, while their defense shut out Edmonton — Winnipeg hasn’t given up a touchdown in the fourth quarter yet this season!  Winnipeg is now 9-1, their best start since 1960.

There were two games on Saturday.  In the first, Montreal defeated lowly Ottawa 27-16.  Matthew Shiltz, Montreal’s quarterback, threw for 281 yards in his first start of the season.  Montreal’s defense recorded 10 (yes, 10!!!) sacks in the game.  With the score at 25-13 in Montreal’s favour at the half, there were only 5 more points scored in the second half, three on a field goal for Ottawa in the 3rd quarter, and 2 for Montreal on a safety in the fourth.

In the last game of the week, Calgary powered past British Columbia, 39-10.  This was Calgary’s third straight win, and moved them into 2nd place in the West, tied with Saskatchewan, although the Riders do have a game in hand.  British Columbia has lost three straight, all at home, and have now dropped out of a playoff spot.  Things don’t look much better for them coming up, as they head to Winnipeg next week, while Calgary will host Saskatchewan; that will be Saskatchewan’s third game in a row against Calgary, as they had a bye this week.

Week 11 Results

Winnipeg 26  at Edmonton 16
Montreal 27  at Ottawa 16
Calgary 39  at British Columbia 10

McDonald CFL Power Ratings

Winnipeg remains on top of the McDonald CFL Power Rankings, with a season-high rating of 1613, far ahead of any other team.  But, this is the CFL, and anything can happen!  With their win, Calgary moved up to 2nd spot, pushing Saskatchewan down into 3rd, although they are only 2 rating points ahead of the Riders.  With Montreal’s win, there are now 6 teams with higher than a 1500 rating.  Ottawa continues to dwell in the cellar.

Ranking Team Rating Record
1 Winnipeg 1613 (▲9) 9-1, 1st West
2 (▲2) Calgary 1528 (▲13) 5-5, T-2nd West
3 (▼1) Saskatchewan 1526 5-4, T-2nd West
4 (▼1) Toronto 1517 6-3, 1st East
5 Hamilton 1511 4-5, 3rd East
6 Montreal 1508 (▲12) 5-4, 2nd East
7 British Columbia 1469 (▼13) 4-5, 4th West
8 Edmonton 1446 (▼9) 2-7, 5th West
9 Ottawa 1406 (▼11) 2-8, 4th East

Grey Cup Predictions

Winnipeg is just so much better than any other team in the league this year.  Based on that, we’re now giving them a 40% chance of winning the Grey Cup.  Toronto continues to be the top team in the East, but with only an 18% chance of winning.  Edmonton and Ottawa now have less than a 1% chance of winning, but they’re not completely eliminated yet!

Grey Cup Ranking Team Rating Win Grey Cup
1 Winnipeg 1613 40% (▲1)
2 Toronto 1517 18% (▲1)
3 (▲1) Montreal 1508 12% (▲2)
4 (▼1) Hamilton 1511 12%
5 Saskatchewan 1526 8% (▼1)
6 Calgary 1528 8% (▲2)
7 British Columbia 1469 2% (▼2)
8 Edmonton 1446 <1% (▼1)
9 Ottawa 1406 <1%

Our Full Predictions

According to our calculations, Winnipeg is guaranteed at least 2nd place in the West, so they will definitely be hosting a playoff game.  In fact, we’re giving them a greater than 99% chance of winning the Western Division!  British Columbia, Edmonton, and Ottawa are unable to win their divisions, but they all still have a chance of making the playoffs, although we’re only giving Ottawa a 1% chance of that happening.

Team Rating Make Playoffs Host Playoff Game Win Division Make Division Final Make Grey Cup Win Grey Cup
Winnipeg
9-1,
1st in West		 1613 ✔ ✔ >99% >99% 66% 40%
Toronto
6-3,
1st in East		 1517 99% 89% 67% 83% 45% 18%
Montreal
5-4,
2nd in East		 1508 95% 63% 21% 58% 28% 12%
Hamilton
4-5
3rd in East		 1511 84% 48% 12% 50% 23% 12%
Saskatchewan
5-4,
T-2nd in West		 1526 89% 47% <1% 46% 16% 8%
Calgary
5-5,
T-2nd in West		 1528 82% 45% <1% 43% 15% 8%
British Columbia
4-5,
4th in West		 1469 43% 8% — 17% 6% 2%
Edmonton
2-7,
5th in West		 1446 7% 1% — 3% 1% <1%
Ottawa
2-8,
4th in East		 1406 1% <1% — <1% <1% <1%

Week 12 Game Predictions

Friday: Toronto (44%) at Montreal (55%)
Saturday: Ottawa (29%) at Hamilton (70%)
Saturday: British Columbia (25%) at Winnipeg (74%)
Saturday: Saskatchewan (43%) at Calgary (56%)

 

McDonald CFL Power Ratings – Week 10

CFL logoI’ve been away from my computer for a few weeks, so I’m a little behind on my CFL Power Ratings.  But, in the interests of maintaining consistency, I’m catching up with all the reports.  Anyways, here goes…

It was a busy Thanksgiving weekend for football in the CFL, with 5 games played — in a 9 team league!  In fact, British Columbia even had a bye week!  Both Ottawa and Toronto played twice, but spaced out with playing each other on Wednesday, then playing other teams on Monday.

In the Wednesday night game, Toronto scored 27 points in the third quarter to easily defeat Ottawa 35-16.  Although that improved their record to only 5-3, Toronto is 4-0 at home this year.  Ottawa led 9-8 at the half, but Toronto’s strong third quarter, which included a couple of pick-sixes by their defense, put the game away for the home team.  Ottawa rookie quarterback went 23-for-41 for 334 yards, but was intercepted three times.

Friday’s game saw first-place in the West Winnipeg host last-place in the West Edmonton.  The result was as expected, as Winnipeg dominated Edmonton 30-3.  Winnipeg is now 8-1, having won their last 6 games in a row, and are 5-0 at home.  Winnipeg scored 3 safeties in the game, and were led on offense by Andrew Harris, who rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns.

Saturday’s game had Saskatchewan looking for revenge, as they hosted Calgary after losing a close game in Calgary last week.  They were disappointed, as Calgary defeated Saskatchewan 22-19 on a 44-yard field goal as time expired.  Calgary scored their only touchdown of the game on their very first play from scrimmage, a 71 yard pass.  All the rest of their scoring came on Rene Paredes’ 5  field goals.  Saskatchewan also scored only one touchdown.  Bo Levi Mitchell passed for 296 yards and Ka’Deem Carey rushed for another 109 in the winning effort.

There were two games on Thanksgiving Monday.  In the first, Montreal scored a touchdown with 42 seconds left in the contest to defeat Ottawa 20-16.  Montreal’s quarterback, Vernon Adams Jr., was injured with just over two minutes left, but backup Matthew Shiltz came in and completed Adams’ drive to give Montreal the victory.  Ottawa sacked Adams six times in the game, but Cameron Artis-Payne’s ground game, 122 yards on 21 carries in his first CFL start, carried the Alouettes to victory.

The last game of the weekend, played while most of the country was eating turkey or napping, saw Toronto defeat Hamilton 24-23.  Both quarterbacks had big games, with Toronto’s Mclead Bethel-Thompson passing for 388 yards and two touchdowns and Hamilton’s Jeremiah Masoli passing for 361 yards and his own pair of touchdowns.  Toronto scored 19 points in the fourth quarter, to Hamilton’s 10, including the game-winning 51 yard field goal from Boris Bede.

Week 10 Results

Ottawa 16  at Toronto 35
Edmonton 3  at Winnipeg 30
Calgary 22  at Saskatchewan 19
Ottawa 16  at Montreal 20
Toronto 24  at Hamilton 23

McDonald CFL Power Ratings

With their two wins in the week, Toronto made a big move up in the McDonald CFL Power Rankings, now ranking 3rd.  Winnipeg continues to lead the rankings, with Saskatchewan far behind in second.  Despite staying in second place, Saskatchewan has lost 29 points in the last two weeks, following back-to-back losses to Calgary.  The race for second place in the West has become a lot closer, with Calgary only a game back of Saskatchewan.  Interesting to note, 5 teams are above a 1500 rating, the first time that has happened this season.  Ottawa continues to trail in the rankings.

Ranking Team Rating Record
1 Winnipeg 1604 (▲7) 8-1, 1st West
2 Saskatchewan 1526 (▼16) 5-4, 2nd West
3 Toronto (▲2) 1517 (▲24) 6-3, 1st East
4 Calgary 1515 (▲16) 4-5, T-3rd West
5 Hamilton (▼2) 1511 (▼15) 4-5, T-2nd East
6 Montreal 1496 (▲9) 4-4, T-2nd East
7 British Columbia 1482 4-4, T-3rd West
8 Edmonton 1455 (▼6) 2-6, 5th West
9 Ottawa 1417 (▼17) 2-7, 4th East

Grey Cup Predictions

Winnipeg remains the favourite to win the Grey Cup.  They win in 39% of our simulations.  Toronto is now the most likely team from the East to win, with a 19% chance.  In fact, the second, third, and fourth most likely teams to win all come from the East.  Calgary has been moving up in the rankings, but we still only give them a 6% chance of winning it all.  It’s tough playing in the same division as Winnipeg!  Overall, we’re giving Western teams a 58% chance of winning the Grey Cup.

Grey Cup Ranking Team Rating Win Grey Cup
1 Winnipeg 1604 39% (▲3)
2 (▲1) Toronto 1517 19% (▲6)
3 (▼1) Hamilton 1511 12% (▼8)
4 (▲1) Montreal 1496 10% (▲2)
5 (▼1) Saskatchewan 1526 9% (▼3)
6 (▲1) Calgary 1515 6% (▲2)
7 (▼1) British Columbia 1482 4%
8 (▲1) Edmonton 1455 1%
9 (▼1) Ottawa 1417 <1% (▼2)

Our Full Predictions

Winnipeg has clinched a playoff spot, while it is now impossible for Edmonton to win the West Division.

Team Rating Make Playoffs Host Playoff Game Win Division Make Division Final Make Grey Cup Win Grey Cup
Winnipeg
8-1,
1st in West		 1604 ✔ >99% 99% 99% 65% 39%
Toronto
6-3,
1st in East		 1517 99% 91% 71% 86% 47% 19%
Hamilton
4-5,
T-2nd in East		 1511 85% 57% 14% 52% 25% 12%
Montreal
4-4,
T-2nd in East		 1496 85% 50% 15% 49% 23% 10%
Saskatchewan
5-4,
2nd in West		 1526 86% 51% <1% 46% 17% 9%
Calgary
4-5,
T-3rd in West		 1515 62% 28% 1% 32% 12% 6%
British Columbia
4-4,
T-3rd in West		 1482 64% 20% <1% 28% 9% 4%
Edmonton
2-6,
5th in West		 1455 12% 2% — 5% 2% 1%
Ottawa
2-7,
4th in East		 1417 6% 2% <1% 3% 1% <1%

Week 11 Game Predictions

Friday: Winnipeg (63%) at Edmonton (36%)
Saturday: Montreal (53%) at Ottawa (46%)
Saturday: Calgary (48%) at British Columbia (51%)

 

McDonald CFL Power Ratings – Week 9

CFL logo

I’ve been away from my computer for a few weeks, so I’m a little behind on my CFL Power Ratings.  But, in the interests of maintaining consistency, I’m catching up with all the reports.  Anyways, here goes…

A Tuesday night game in the CFL?  Strange, but in a high-scoring contest, the last place in the East Ottawa RedBlacks defeated the last place in the West Edmonton Elks, 34-24.  Ottawa’s rookie quarterback Caleb Evans made his CFL start, and threw three touchdown passes.  Punt returner DeVonte Dedmon scored another touchdown on a punt return.  Despite passing for 334 yards and two touchdowns, QB Taylor Cornelius couldn’t lead the Elks to victory.

The second game of the week featured the top-ranked Winnipeg Blue Bombers visiting the BC Lions on Friday night.  Unsurprisingly, Winnipeg dominated, beating BC 30-9.  Winnipeg QB Zach Collaros completed 28 of 33 passes, throwing for 417 yards and two touchdowns.  Yes, 417 yards!!!  Kenny Lawler caught 12 of those passes for 205 yards.  The Winnipeg defense sacked Lions’ quarterback Michael Reilly five times.

Saturday saw two games being played.  In the upset of the week, Montreal edged Hamilton 23-20 in overtime.  Montreal overcame a 17-3 deficit in the 4th quarter, and scored on their final drive of regulation time, including converting two 3rd down situations, including a 3rd-and-20 on which they took the lead 20-17.  But, Hamilton kicker Taylor Bertolet put through a 55-yard field goal as time ran out to send the game to overtime.  In overtime, Hamilton fumbled the ball with Montreal recovering to end the first drive, and on the second, Montreal kicked a 36 yard field goal to take the victory.

In the final game of the week, Calgary held off Saskatchewan to win 23-17.  Trailing 23-14, the Riders kicked a field goal with 1:46 left to cut the lead to 6.  On the ensuing kickoff, Saskatchewan was able to recover the kick, but the play was called back because of an illegal interference call.  On the re-do, they recovered again!  Needing a touchdown, they marched down to the Calgary 41, but on a 3rd-and-10 pass, Calgary intercepted on their own 5 yard line and were able to run out the clock for the victory.

Week 9 Results

Edmonton 24  at Ottawa 34
Winnipeg 30  at British Columbia 9
Montreal 23  at Hamilton 20
Saskatchewan 17  at Calgary 23

McDonald CFL Power Ratings

There was no change in the top 3 teams this week, but Winnipeg expands their claim to best in the league, as they’ve now got a 55 point lead of McDonald CFL Power Rating points.  Calgary has moved up to 4th place, just one point below the magic 1500 good/bad point.  Despite their win this week, Ottawa remains the lowest team in our rankings.

Ranking Team Rating Record
1 Winnipeg 1597 (▲11) 7-1, 1st West
2 Saskatchewan 1542 (▼13) 5-3, 2nd West
3 Hamilton 1526 (▼17) 4-4, T-1st East
4 (▲2) Calgary 1499 (▲13) 3-5, 4th West
5 (▼1) Toronto 1493 4-3, T-1st East
6 (▲2) Montreal 1487 (▲17) 3-4, 3rd East
7 (▼3) British Columbia 1482 (▼11) 4-4, 3rd West
8 (▼1) Edmonton 1461 (▼12) 2-5, 5th West
9 Ottawa 1434 (▲13) 2-5, 4th East

Grey Cup Predictions

Winnipeg continues to be the team with the greatest chance of winning the Grey Cup, with a 36% chance.  Hamilton is the most-likely team in the East, with a 20% chance, although that’s down 6 percentage points from last week.  Beyond those two, there was lots of shuffling of teams, with Montreal (8% chance) and Calgary (4%) chance both up 3% from last week.  We’ve also calculated a 56% chance of a Western team winning the Cup.

Grey Cup Ranking Team Rating Win Grey Cup
1 Winnipeg 1597 36% (▲7)
2 Hamilton 1526 20% (▼6)
3 (▲1) Toronto 1493 13% (▲1)
4 (▼1) Saskatchewan 1542 12% (▼3)
5 (▲1) Montreal 1487 8% (▲3)
6 (▼1) British Columbia 1482 4% (▼2)
7 (▲1) Calgary 1499 4% (▲3)
8 (▲1) Ottawa 1434 2% (▲1)
9 (▼2) Edmonton 1461 1% (▼1)

Our Full Predictions

Team Rating Make Playoffs Host Playoff Game Win Division Make Division Final Make Grey Cup Win Grey Cup
Winnipeg
7-1,
1st in West		 1597 >99% 99% 95% 98% 62% 36%
Hamilton
4-4,
T-1st in East		 1526 93% 78% 44% 72% 40% 20%
Toronto
4-3,
T-1st in East		 1493 89% 69% 40% 64% 32% 13%
Saskatchewan
5-3,
2nd in West		 1542 93% 72% 4% 57% 22% 12%
Montreal
3-4,
3rd in East		 1487 74% 42% 13% 43% 19% 8%
British Columbia
4-4,
3rd in West		 1482 69% 12% 1% 27% 9% 4%
Calgary
3-5,
4th in West		 1499 40% 12% <1% 19% 7% 4%
Ottawa

2-5,
4th in East

 1434 25% 11% 3% 13% 5% 2%
Edmonton
2-5,
5th in West		 1461 17% 4% <1% 7% 3% 1%

Week 10 Game Predictions

Wednesday: Ottawa (35%) at Toronto (64%)
Friday: Edmonton (26%) at Winnipeg (73%)
Saturday: Calgary (37%) at Saskatchewan (62%)
Monday: Ottawa (36%) at Montreal (63%)
Monday: Toronto (38%) at Hamilton (61%)

McDonald CFL Power Ratings – Week 8

CFL logoIt was a quieter week in the CFL this week with only 3 games played.  Plus, the first game of the week was played on Wednesday, and two games were played on Friday.  No weekend games!  Very odd.  Plus, one game that looked close in the final score wasn’t, and another that didn’t look close was!

The Wednesday night game saw number 3-ranked Hamilton visit the lowest ranked team in the CFL, Ottawa.  Hamilton beat the RedBlacks easily, 24-7.  In a rainy night in Ottawa, the RedBlacks were only able to score one special teams touchdown, as DeVonte Dedmon returned a punt 63 yards for Ottawa’s only score.

In the first game of a Friday night doubleheader, Montreal visited Toronto.  Toronto led 21-10 at the half, and 30-20 with just over a minute left.  Montreal scored a touchdown to make the game closer, but weren’t able to come back, as Toronto defeated Montreal 30-27.  Vernon Adams passed for 382 yards for the Alouettes, and William Stanback rushed for another 133, but neither performance was enough to secure the victory.

And the most exciting game of the week, Saskatchewan squeaked by British Columbia 31-24.  BC led 24-18 with 20 seconds to go in the game, but the Riders were third and goal at the BC 1 yard line.  Cody Fajardo did the old quarterback sneak to tie up the game with 2 seconds left, and Brett Lauther converted to give the Riders a one point lead.  On the resulting kickoff, the Lions fumbled the ball, the Riders picked it up and rumbled into the endzone to put an exclamation mark on the victory!  Final score, Saskatchewan 31, BC 24.

Week 8 Results

Hamilton 24  at Ottawa 7
Montreal 27  at Toronto 30
Saskatchewan 31  at British Columbia 24

McDonald CFL Power Ratings

There wasn’t a lot of movement in the McDonald CFL Power Rankings this week.  Winnipeg, Saskatchewan, and Hamilton remain numbers 1, 2, and 3.  Toronto jumped from 6th into a tie for 4th with British Columbia, pushing Calgary down to 6th.  There’s only 23 rating points separating the 4th through 8th teams, so all those teams are pretty close.  Ottawa continues to hold the lowest ranking.  And once again, only the top 3 teams have ratings above the 1500 point average.

Ranking Team Rating Record
1 Winnipeg 1586 6-1, 1st West
2 Saskatchewan 1555 (▲13) 5-2, 2nd West
3 Hamilton 1543 (▲11) 4-3, T-1st East
T-4 (▲2) Toronto 1493 (▲11) 4-3, T-1st East
T-4 British Columbia 1493 (▼13) 4-3, 3rd West
6 (▼1) Calgary 1486 2-5, T-4th West
7 (▲1) Edmonton 1473 2-4, T-4th West
8 (▼1) Montreal 1470 (▼11) 2-4, 3rd East
9 Ottawa 1421 (▼11) 1-5, 4th East

Grey Cup Predictions

Winnipeg remains the favourite to win the Grey Cup, as they win it all in 29% of our simulations.  However, that is a drop of 1% from last week.  Hamilton is the second favourite at 26%.  Saskatchewan at 15% and Toronto at 12% are the only other teams with more than a 10% chance of winning.  And lowly Ottawa now has just a 1% chance of taking home the Cup.

Grey Cup Ranking Team Rating Win Grey Cup
1 Winnipeg 1586 29% (▼1)
2 Hamilton 1543 26% (▲3)
3 Saskatchewan 1555 15% (▲3)
4 Toronto 1493 12% (▲2)
5 British Columbia 1493 6% (▼3)
6 Montreal 1470 5% (▼3)
7 (▲1) Edmonton 1473 2% (▼1)
8 (▲1) Calgary 1486 2%
9 (▼2) Ottawa 1421 1% (▼2)

Our Full Predictions

Team Rating Make Playoffs Host Playoff Game Win Division Make Division Final Make Grey Cup Win Grey Cup
Winnipeg

6-1
1st in West

 1586 >99% 93% 78% 90% 54% 29%
Hamilton

4-3
T-1st in East

 1543 97% 90% 60% 82% 49% 26%
Saskatchewan

5-2
2nd in West

 1555 96% 77% 15% 63% 28% 15%
Toronto

4-3
T-1st in East

 1493 90% 74% 33% 63% 29% 12%
British Columbia

4-3
3rd in West

 1493 80% 19% 5% 34% 13% 6%
Montreal

2-4
3rd in East

 1470 58% 27% 6% 30% 12% 5%
Edmonton

2-4
T-4th in West

 1473 31% 6% 1% 14% 5% 2%
Calgary

2-5
T-4th in West

 1486 27% 6% <1% 12% 5% 2%
Ottawa

1-5
4th in East

 1421 21% 9% 1% 10% 4% 1%

Week 9 Game Predictions

Edmonton (50%) at Ottawa (50%)
Winnipeg (55%) at British Columbia (44%)
Montreal (33%) at Hamilton (66%)
Saskatchewan (52%) at Calgary (47%)

2021/22 NHL schedule and results in Excel .xlsx and csv formats

Hockey playerThe post you’re currently reading is about the 2021/22 NHL schedule.  If you’re looking for the 2023/24 NHL schedule, you can find it in this post. Or, if you’re looking for the 2022/23 NHL schedule, you can find it in this post.

Note: The regular season has concluded, so the spreadsheet now covers the entire regular season.  It will not be updated further.

Another note: I’ve added another spreadsheet that also contains the playoff schedule.  You can read about it, and download the spreadsheet, from this post.

Here’s a copy of the 2021/22 NHL schedule and the results of each of the games played so far in Excel .xlsx format, and here’s another copy in CSV format.  Of course, the season hasn’t started yet, so the results are empty right now, but I’ll try to update them each morning through the regular season.

The Excel file consists of 2 worksheets: one contains the original NHL schedule as described in this post; the other, named As-Played Schedule, contains the same contents, with the addition of the scores for each team and whether the game hasn’t been played yet, was won in regulation time, overtime, or in a shootout.  Here’s a quick summary of the columns:

  • Date: the date of the game
  • Start Time (Sask): the game’s start time in Saskatchewan (where I live!)
  • Start Time (ET): the game’s start time in Eastern time (which is the time the NHL website shows)
  • Visitor: the name of the visiting team
  • Score: the visiting team’s score if the game has been played, otherwise blank
  • Home: the name of the home team
  • Score: the home team’s score if the game has been played, otherwise blank
  • Status: one of the following:
    • Scheduled: if the game hasn’t been played yet
    • Postponed: if the game has been postponed, but not yet rescheduled
    • Regulation: if the game ended in regulation time
    • OT: if the game ended in overtime
    • SO: if the game ended in a shootout

For example, here’s the first couple lines of the worksheet from last year’s file:

In this example, the game was played on January 13, 2021 at 4:30 PM in Saskatchewan and 5:30 PM Eastern time, the home team Philadelphia beat the visiting team Pittsburgh 6-3 in regulation time

Just a brief explanation why I’ve got two time fields in here.  Saskatchewan doesn’t observe Daylight Savings time, so for part of the schedule, we have a one-hour time difference from Eastern time, and for the rest of the schedule, we have a two-hour time difference.  Of course, I’m more interested in the time in Saskatchewan, but to make it easier for other people to use, I’ve also included Eastern time.

The CSV file contains only the As-Played worksheet.  It has the same fields as described for the Excel file.  You can easily import this file into Excel or whatever spreadsheet of your choice!

McDonald CFL Power Ratings – Week 7

CFL logoAfter 7 weeks into the season, we’re finally confident that the uncertainty in our predictions due to the cancelled 2020 season has worked itself out, and we’ve got a good feeling about our ratings and predictions now.  This week’s games went pretty much as expected, and there wasn’t a lot of movement with our rankings or probabilities.

Once again, there were four games this week, but this time with two games on Friday and two on Saturday.  In Friday’s early game, Hamilton quarterback David Watford got the win in his first career start, with a 23-17 victory at home over Calgary.  The top scorer in the game, though, was Hamilton kicker Taylor Bertolet, who booted 5 field goals.

In the second game on Friday, Saskatchewan snapped their two game losing streak with a decisive 30-16 victory over the visiting Toronto Argonauts.  The Riders’ William Powell rushed for 122 yards, while quarterback Cody Fajardo passed for two touchdowns and ran in another for the victory.  Despite losing their previous two games, Saskatchewan is now 4-0 against teams that aren’t Winnipeg.

In the first game on Saturday, visiting British Columbia surprised Montreal 27-18.  Michael Reilly passed for 308 yards and two touchdowns for the Lions, while the BC defense set an all-time single-game record with 13 knockdowns.  I didn’t even know that was a statistic that was tracked.

And rounding out the week, top-ranked Winnipeg hammered the Elks in Edmonton 37-22.  Although they were down 16-15 in the third quarter, Winnipeg scored two defensive touchdowns, one on a pick-six on the Edmonton 20 yard line, and another on a fumble recovery on the Edmonton 3.  Winnipeg never looked back after that.

Week 7 Results

Calgary 17  at Hamilton 23
Toronto 16  at Saskatchewan 30
British Columbia 27  at Montreal 18
Winnipeg 37  at Edmonton 22

McDonald CFL Power Ratings

Winnipeg remains the top-ranked team in the McDonald CFL Power Ratings.  With their 6-1 record, they have increased their lead in the Power Ratings over second-ranked Saskatchewan.  Hamilton, in a tie for 1st in the East, is the top-ranked Eastern team.  With their road upset over Montreal, British Columbia’s rating has risen above the average 1500 rating, and moved them into 4th in the rankings.  Although Ottawa is the bottom ranked team, they closed the gap on teams 5 through 8 by not playing!  Sadly, that might be the best way for Ottawa to move up in the rankings.

Ranking Team Rating Record
1 Winnipeg 1586 (▲11) 6-1, 1st West
2 Saskatchewan 1542 (▲9) 4-2, T-2nd West
3 Hamilton 1532 (▲10) 3-3, T-1st East
4 (▲2) British Columbia 1506 (▲14) 4-2, T-2nd West
5 (▼1) Calgary 1486 (▼10) 2-5, T-4th West
6 (▲1) Toronto 1482 (▼9) 3-3, T-1st East
7 (▼2) Montreal 1481 (▼14) 2-3, 3rd East
8 Edmonton 1473 (▼11) 2-4, T-4th West
9 Ottawa 1432 1-4, 4th East

Grey Cup Predictions

Winnipeg remains the favourite to win the Grey Cup, and we’re giving them a season-high 30% chance of winning it all.  In fact, we’ve calculated that they have a greater than 99% chance of making the playoffs!  Hamilton remains the Eastern team with the best chance of winning, with a 23% chance.  Ottawa, Edmonton, and Calgary all have extremely thin chances of winning, as we’re giving them a 3%, 3%, and 2% chance of winning.

Our numbers show that there is a 56% chance of a Western team winning the Grey Cup, versus 44% for an Eastern team.

Grey Cup Ranking Team Rating Win Grey Cup
1 Winnipeg 1586 30% (▲2)
2 Hamilton 1532 23% (▲5)
3 (▲2) Saskatchewan 1542 12% (▲1)
4 (▼1) Toronto 1482 10% (▼2)
5 (▲1) British Columbia 1506 9% (▲1)
6 (▼2) Montreal 1481 8% (▼4)
7 (▲2) Ottawa 1432 3% (▲1)
8 (▼1) Edmonton 1473 3% (▼2)
9 (▼1) Calgary 1486 2% (▼2)

Our Full Predictions

Team Rating Make Playoffs Host Playoff Game Win Division Make Division Final Make Grey Cup Win Grey Cup
Winnipeg

6-1
1st in West

 1586 >99% 93% 75% 89% 54% 30%
Hamilton

3-3
T-1st in East

 1532 90% 79% 51% 73% 43% 23%
Saskatchewan

4-2
T-2nd in West

 1542 89% 52% 9% 52% 23% 12%
Toronto

3-3
T-1st in East

 1482 80% 60% 28% 54% 25% 10%
British Columbia

4-2
T-2nd in West

 1506 88% 43% 14% 46% 19% 9%
Montreal

2-3
3rd in East

 1481 67% 43% 15% 41% 19% 8%
Ottawa

1-4
4th in East

 1432 31% 18% 6% 18% 7% 3%
Edmonton

2-4
T-4th in West

 1473 30% 6% 1% 14% 5% 3%
Calgary

2-5
T-4th in West

 1486 26% 5% <1% 12% 5% 2%

Week 8 Game Predictions

Hamilton (56%) at Ottawa (43%)
Montreal (43%) at Toronto (56%)
Saskatchewan (48%) at British Columbia (51%)