5: 1970 Oakland Seals
The 1969-70 Oakland Seals were in their third (and final technically before changing to the California Golden Seals) year of existence. The NHL had expanded from six to 12 teams in 1967 and to keep things fair for the new teams, they created their own division so they played each other more.
By 1969-70, that meant a team like the Seals would play the Original Six teams six times each while they played the other five teams in their division eight times each. The top four teams in each division would qualify for the playoffs.
The Seals would finish the season with a record of 22-40-14 for a total of 58 points in 76 games. They scored 169 goals while allowing 243 for a goal differential of -74. They had a winning record against just two teams, with a 3-2-3 record against the Pittsburgh Penguins and a 5-1-2 record against the Minnesota North Stars.
It’s pretty safe to say the Montreal Canadiens, who had 92 points that season but missed the playoffs because they were fifth in the Original Six division, were a better team. But thanks to the rule that four teams made the playoffs from each division, the Seals, who won just over a quarter of their games were in the postseason. They’d be swept in four straight.
4: 1986 Winnipeg Jets
The 1980s were known for their high scoring and even some of the teams lowest in the standings could put the puck in the net. The 1986 Jets were led by Dale Hawerchuk who scored 105 points, but it wasn’t enough to win many games.
The Jets would finish with 59 points in the standings, due to their 26-47-7 record. They had 295 goals but allowed 372, meaning they were outscored by 77 goals in their 80 game season. This was at the time in the NHL when there were 21 teams and 16 of them qualified for the postseason.
It didn’t help the young Jets roster that they played both the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers eight times, and went 3-12-1 in those games. However, they only had a record better than .500 against three teams in the league and were much worse than a couple of Eastern Conference teams that missed the playoffs.
The Buffalo Sabres had 80 points and the Penguins had 76, but both missed while the Jets with 59, got in and were quickly swept by the powerhouse Calgary Flames.
3: 1978 Colorado Rockies
In the late 1970’s, the NHL had a bit of an odd playoff format. It’s something that hasn’t been used since 1980 and won’t be again until – well, this year’s global pandemic. There were 12 teams that made the playoffs from 1975 to 1979. Four would get a bye to the quarterfinals, while eight teams would play a best-of-3 qualification round.
There were 18 teams in the league at the time, so two-thirds or 67% of them made the playoffs. The 19-40-21 Colorado Rockies were one of those teams in 1978. The Rockies had a pair of 30 goal scorers in Wilf Paiment and Paul Gardner, but were outscored 305-257 on the season for a goal differential of -48.
Their 19 wins ranked 16th in the league, but they were the 12th team to grab a playoff spot. Again, the Pens were screwed over as they had 68 points in the standings, but were in the other conference so they missed out, while the Rockies got in with their 59 points in 80 games played.
The Rockies faced the Bobby Clarke, Bernie Parent and Bill Barber led Philadelphia Flyers in the qualification round and lost in two straight.