NHL 2026 — NHL Survivor Pools

NHL Survivor Pools

Weekly NHL survivor runs on the same rule as its MLB and NBA counterparts — pick a team, survive the week at or above .500 — but hockey's scoring makes it the most volatile of the three. One-goal games are the norm rather than the exception, and a heavy favorite dropping two of three in a week is an entirely ordinary outcome rather than an upset worth remarking on.

NHL pools support multiple lives, multiple entries per person, missed-pick insurance and flexible lock times. The long regular season gives a decent field room to run.

How to set up a NHL Survivor pool

1. Set lives generouslyHockey is the most volatile of the weekly survivor sports. One life produces a very short pool; two or three keeps a real field alive deep into the season.
2. Choose entries per personMultiple entries work well here, because the week-to-week variance rewards spreading picks across several entries.
3. Enable missed-pick insuranceAssigns the most popular or a random eligible team when someone misses the deadline, so a missed week is not automatically fatal.
4. Set the lock time, then invite your groupWeekly records and eliminations are computed automatically from live results.

Create your NHL Survivor pool — free to set up. Payment is due only after your game has kicked off and you are certain ALA's software can provide you with everything you need.

Frequently asked questions

How does weekly NHL survivor work?

You pick one NHL team per weekly period. If that team finishes the week at or above .500 across their scheduled games you advance; if they finish under .500 you lose a life. The last entry standing wins.

Why is NHL survivor harder than NFL survivor?

Hockey has far less separation between good and bad teams on any given night. One-goal games are routine, goaltending swings results unpredictably, and a strong favorite dropping two of three in a week is completely normal. There is rarely an equivalent of a 14-point NFL favorite.

How many games are in an NHL weekly period?

Usually three or four, though it varies. A three-game week requires a 2-1 to survive, which is a meaningfully harder ask than a two-game week needing a split.

What happens if a team goes exactly .500 for the week?

An even record is a pass — only a losing record for the period costs a life. Because NHL weeks are frequently three games, an even split is often not available, which is part of why the format is harder here than in sports with more two-game weeks.

How many lives should an NHL pool have?

It will likely make for a more enjoyable pool if entries are affored more than one life, and revivals are supported. Given how volatile weekly hockey results are, a single-life NHL pool tends to eliminate most of the field within the first few weeks.

New to survivor? Read survivor pool rules, explained, or how to run a survivor pool if you're the commissioner. Compare every format in survivor vs pick'em vs confidence, or look up a term in the sports pool glossary.