TECH NEWS

Determining playoff clinching scenarios in the NHL using constraint programming | Amazon Web Services

As the National Hockey League (NHL) regular season enters its final stretch each spring, one question dominates the minds of hockey fans: has my team clinched the playoffs? The answer is often surprisingly hard to discern. With 32 teams, complex tie-breaking rules, and hundreds of remaining games, determining whether a team is mathematically guaranteed a playoff spot is a serious combinatorial challenge.

In this post, we describe how the AWS Generative AI Innovation Center created an automated system that determines NHL playoff clinching scenarios. Our approach uses constraint programming (CP) and custom tree search to produce these scenarios, and we validated the results against those officially published by the NHL. For more details, see our scientific paper.

Background: what it means to clinch the playoffs

A team has clinched the playoffs(or simply “clinched”) if it is guaranteed to make the playoffs regardless of the outcomes of any remaining...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to amazon.com. To see the full text click HERE

https://www.cnet.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/sugar-season-2-colin-farrell-sasha-calle.jpg

This Stylish Noir Mystery on Apple TV Is an Overlooked Sci-Fi Gem

In this day and age, it can be a tough sell to convince someone to watch a slow-burning detective series on a streaming service when there are so many fast-paced programs vying for their attention. I get it. But sometimes a show comes along that breaks free from the preconceived

https://www.cnet.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/lenovo-ideapad-slim-3i.png

Work, Study and Play Better With the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i, Now $500 Off at Best Buy

Save $500: Best Buy just knocked $500 off the 15.3-inch Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i in Cosmic Blue (with 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD), dropping its price from $1,300 to $800. And while that’s an amazing deal on its own, the retailer is throwing in a few

https://cdn1.expresscomputer.in/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/07224534/EC_Madhu_Rajputra_Peravalli_Troogue_750.jpg

Human intelligence data could become the next critical input for AI

By Madhu Rajputra Peravalli, CEO, Troogue AI has learned from more human-created content than any system in history. Every book it could access. Every line of code. Every image, video, forum post, documentation page and conversation pattern. It still does not know how you think. That’s the gap nobody’

https://www.zdnet.com/a/img/resize/d585152ad20266caffdee5c03f9c12dd50e282e1/2026/07/21/1e54f83a-0fc4-4513-b669-97010dc7981d/dsc00152.jpg?auto=webp&fit=crop&height=675&width=1200

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 review: Health data overload, but built for the future

Galaxy Watch 94 / 5Very good pros and cons * Longer-lasting battery and upgraded processor. * It's a functional, general-purpose smartwatch with intelligent touches. * It's great for exercise and training, with accurate heart rate metrics in my testing. * It takes a long time to charge. * The accompanying band is

Background: what it means to clinch the playoffs

Read more

This Stylish Noir Mystery on Apple TV Is an Overlooked Sci-Fi Gem

Work, Study and Play Better With the Lenovo IdeaPad Slim 3i, Now $500 Off at Best Buy

Human intelligence data could become the next critical input for AI

Samsung Galaxy Watch 9 review: Health data overload, but built for the future