If the oddsmakers in Las Vegas are any indicator, there are going to be three distinct classes of teams in the NHL this season, and only six teams are being given no shot of making the playoffs.
Below is a look at the over/under point totals for every team in the NHL this season, according to Bovada. In general, all 31 teams can be clumped into one of three groups.
There are six teams with over/under point totals of at least 100 points. These teams would appear to be locks to make the playoffs. At the other end, there are six teams with point totals under 80 and would appear to have little or not shot of making the playoffs.
And then there is the final group, which is the 19 teams with over/under point totals between 85 and 99.5. These are the teams that will likely be batting for the other ten playoff spots with the ten teams in the 95-99.5 range being given the edge for now.