Our Man In Blue mentioned in the comments earlier today that it’s an uphill climb to the playoffs. How uphill?
Very nonscientifically: very.
Since 2001-02, 10 teams have been out of playoff position at this time* and gone on to make the playoffs. Of those 10 teams, the biggest deficit overcome was seven points (Hamilton, 2004-05, on Edmonton).
| Team | Year | Deficit |
| Hamilton | 2004-05 | 7 |
| Rochester-b | 2001-02 | 5 |
| Toronto-a | 2003-04 | 5 |
| Springfield-b | 2002-03 | 3 |
| Iowa | 2006-07 | 3 |
| Houston | 2004-05 | 1 |
| Cincinnati-a | 2003-04 | 1 |
| Worcester | 2006-07 | tie |
| Providence | 2004-05 | tie |
| Norfolk-a | 2003-04 | tie |
a-finished in fifth place, qualifying round; b-9th or 10th, qualifying round
So, yeah, Ump’s right on: They’ve got their work cut out for them.
*-Arbitratily using the standings of Jan. 15 (or 16, if 15 wasn’t available) rather than going nuts to find some closer games-played approximation.