We are speedily approaching the halfway point of the 2022-22 NHL season, and while you might think that is still a lot of time to make up ground in the Stanley Cup Playoff race, the reality is that it is non.

Making upward ground in the standings this late in the flavor is an extremely difficult chore, and fifty-fifty a five-or-six bespeak gap between you lot and a playoff spot might be request a lot to overcome.

So let'south have a quick expect at the current standings (before Saturday's games) and meet where things stand in the Eastern and Western Conference playoff races.

The Eastern Conference

It is kind of stunning how big of a gap at that place is right now between the teams currently in a playoff position in the Eastern Briefing and the teams outside of a playoff spot.

Entering play on Saturday the two Wild Card teams (Pittsburgh and Boston) were both on pace for more than 106 points this season based on their current points percentages. That is an exceptionally loftier floor for a playoff spot because in most years 95 or 96 points tends to be the cut off. Just right now every squad in a playoff position in the Eastern Conference has a points percentage of at least .647, while six of them are over .660.

If those viii teams manage to play but a little over .500 hockey over their remaining games they are going to easily reach 95 points on the season.

That is bad news for the viii teams on the outside of the playoff race because right at present merely one of them — Columbus — has a points per centum of .500 or improve for the season, and the Bluish Jackets are exactly at .500. Detroit and the New York Islanders are the but teams over .460 in the briefing.

Hither is a expect at the Eastern Conference standings, sorted by points per centum, and what each team needs to do to reach the 95-signal mark this flavor. And proceed in mind, the current playoff cut-off in the Eastern Conference is actually 10 points higher than that at the moment.

Given where all of those teams are right now, which ones below Boston do you run into playing at the required level and making upwards that much of a gap in the second half of the flavor?

Head-to-head matchups help, certain, just nobody is going to sweep every single caput-to-head matchup they take remaining with the teams they are chasing, while many of those teams are going to achieve a indicate in the coming weeks where they make the determination to start selling assets before the NHL trade deadline.

Yous tin can never say never because strange things practice happen in sports sometimes, just it would exist a pretty significant shock if the current Eastern Conference playoff teams change much — if at all — between now and the get-go of the postseason.

The Western Briefing notwithstanding looks to be a fiddling more than wide open.

The Western Conference

Based on current points percentage the Colorado Avalanche are starting to run away with the top spot, and there is a clear grouping of teams that look to exist sitting in a skillful position with Minnesota, St. Louis, Nashville, Vegas, and Calgary sitting in what would seem to be a proficient position.

After that, in that location is still some pretty potent contest for the remaining spots while the current playoff cut off is at 95 points.

A look at the table, again sorted by points per centum.

Arizona, Seattle, and Chicago are pretty much out of it, and for as stiff as Vancouver has played nether Bruce Boudreau fifty-fifty that is looking like a long shot.

Simply everybody else betwixt Calgary and San Jose? In that location are seven teams there withal fighting for what should be three playoff spots. That race at to the lowest degree looks like it has the potential to be interesting down the stretch.

The Ducks, afterwards a bully starting time, are starting to autumn back a piffling fleck over the past couple of weeks while the Kings, Jets, and Stars are starting to put things together. Who knows what to await from Edmonton the residue of the way, while San Jose has been a surprising playoff contender.

In the end, if yous are an Eastern Briefing team currently outside of the playoff picture your chances seem slim. If you are outside of the pinnacle-five in the Western Conference, set up yourself for quite a scramble in the second half.

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Adam Gretzis a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Driblet him a line atphtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.