NHL Scores, Standings and Simulators
Scores, division standings and the wild card race, plus a simulator for the rest of the regular season.
- ScheduleEvery game on the slate, with live scores and each team’s place in its division.
- SimulatorRun the rest of the 84-game season and settle the division places and the wild cards.
- BlogWild cards, tiebreakers and how the playoff bracket actually works — how the NHL turns two conferences into a Stanley Cup run.
NHL on Vertize Sports
Vertize Sports keeps its NHL coverage for 2026-27 in three places, all linked from this hub: the night-by-night schedule, a standings simulator that awards the overtime point, and a blog of data-driven hockey pieces. The schedule answers when and where; the simulator lets you test who gets in.
The 2026-27 season is the first with 84 games per team since 1993-94, a change in the new labor agreement that also cut the preseason to a maximum of four games per team. The 32 teams, split into two conferences and four divisions, play from September 29 to April 10, 2027, and 16 of them go on to the Stanley Cup playoffs.
How to use this section
- The Schedule card leads to all 1,344 games of 2026-27, laid out month by month with arenas and Eastern puck-drop times.
- Through the Simulator card you can score any game still to come and see where the overtime points leave each team.
- The NHL blog has data pieces on projected 2026-27 points and on what the loser point does to the table.
NHL FAQ
How does the Stanley Cup playoff format work?
Each conference sends eight teams, 16 in all. The top three in each division qualify automatically, and the next two teams in each conference, from either division, take the wild cards. Every round is best-of-seven, and the division winner with the conference's best record faces the lower-ranked wild card.
How does the NHL points system work?
A win is worth two points, whether it comes in regulation, overtime or a shootout, and an overtime or shootout loss is worth one. A regulation loss earns nothing. Regular-season overtime is five minutes of 3-on-3, and a shootout of three rounds, then sudden death, settles games still tied.
What is the NHL tiebreaker when teams are tied on points?
Points percentage comes first, which only matters when the tied teams have played different numbers of games. Next come regulation wins, then regulation plus overtime wins, total wins, points earned in games between the tied teams, goal differential and, last, goals scored.
Who are the defending Stanley Cup champions?
The Carolina Hurricanes. They beat the Vegas Golden Knights in six games in the 2026 Final for their second Stanley Cup, after 2006, and raise the banner on opening night, September 29, against the Florida Panthers.
From the blog
- Six Goals a Game Again: Every NHL Season Since 1917-18, CountedNHL games averaged 6.16 goals in 2025-26, a fifth straight season above six. Every season since 1917-18, from 10.06 to 2.92, counted from official NHL data.
- Down 3-1 in the NHL Playoffs: 32 Comebacks in 362 SeriesNHL teams have come back from 3-1 down in 32 of 362 best-of-seven series, 9 percent, and from 3-0 four times. Every comeback, the odds by score and Game 7s.
- The NHL Thanksgiving Rule, Counted: 221 of 288 Made the PlayoffsSince 2005-06, 221 of 288 NHL teams in a playoff spot on US Thanksgiving made the playoffs, 77 percent. How far back is too far, and the biggest comebacks.