Infographic: The numbers needed to reach the Stanley Cup Final

Source: bwin

With teams reaching the Stanley Cup over the last decade averaging a 60% winning record in the regular season, it is easy to see why some are already being written off this time around. The area where most teams fall down is simply not scoring enough goals. The Colorado Avalanche averaged 51 shot attempts per hour at five-on-five last season, and while this is above the average required to reach the finals, their conversion rate was simply not good enough. The likes of Pittsburgh, San Jose, Tampa Bay and St. Louis all have far superior goal scoring records, just part of the reason for their success of late.

Defensive frailty is also one of the major reasons as to why teams fail to make the latter stages of the playoffs, with teams hoping to make Ottawa 2017 needing to concede an average of just 2.41 or less in the Western Conference, compared to 2.59 in the East. Teams such as the Columbus Blue Jackets, Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils, will need to significantly improve their defence in order to have any hope of reaching the playoffs, let alone the Stanley Cup final.

The most successful teams in NHL history have been able to find their best form both at home and on the road, with the Penguins holding a 22-15-4 record away from the PPG Paints Arena last season, demonstrating their dominance in the Metropolitan Division. As well as this, despite the Penguins going over the average number of defeats in the playoffs in order to make the finals, their attacking displays were enough to overcome defensive difficulties.