Statistical Analysis of the Best and Worst Playoff Teams Since 1990

The Reason that I chose 1990 as a starting point is because it is a fair way to look across the standings over the past two decades. I have chosen three categories that are a fair assessment of long term playoff success. 1) Playoff Round Wins Since 1990. 2) Years Making the PLayoffs Since 1990. 3) Years Making it past the first round of the playoffs since 1990.


Amount of Playoff Round Wins (Since 1990)

detroit red wings 30
Pittsburgh Penguins 24
NJ Devils 20
Colorado Avalanche 19
dallas stars 17
boston Bruins 15
chicago blackhawks 14
Philadelphia Flyers 13
montreal Canadiens 13
edmonton oilers 13
vancouver canucks 13
NY Rangers 12
Buffalo Sabres 12
toronto maples leafs 10
Washington Capitals 9
Carolina Hurricanes 9
st louis blues 9
LA kings 6
calgary flames 3
New York Islanders 2

Years Making the Playoffs (Since 1990)


detroit red wings 20
NJ Devils 19
Pittsburgh Penguins 16
boston Bruins 16
st louis blues 16
Washington Capitals 15
montreal Canadiens 15
dallas stars 15
Buffalo Sabres 14
Colorado Avalanche 14
vancouver canucks 14
Philadelphia Flyers 13
NY Rangers 12
chicago blackhawks 12
LA kings 11
toronto maples leafs 11
calgary flames 11
edmonton oilers 10
Hartford Whalers 8
New York Islanders 7

Years Making it past the First Round of the Playoffs (Since 1990)


detroit red wings 14
Pittsburgh Penguins 11
Washington Capitals 9
montreal Canadiens 9
Colorado Avalanche 9
vancouver canucks 9
NY Rangers 8
NJ Devils 8
boston Bruins 8
st louis blues 8
dallas stars 8
Philadelphia Flyers 7
Buffalo Sabres 7
toronto maples leafs 7
edmonton oilers 6
chicago blackhawks 6
LA kings 4
Carolina Hurricanes 3
New York Islanders 1
calgary flames 1

So What do these statistics mean? Well how many teams are consistently in the top 5 or the bottom 5?

Detroit and Pittsburgh both fall into the top 5 in all categories. This makes them playoff dynasties.

Calgary and New York Islanders both fall into the bottom 5 in all three categories. This makes them SO Nasty!