There's the obvious flaw in the NHL system of having two point and three point games. Many people around the web are advocating for a three point system - here's an article from December that recalculated the NHL standings if games were scored 3 pts for regulation win, 2 pts for OT or SO win, and 1pt for OT/SO loss.
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-alternative-standings-2013-14-regulation-wins-counted-214041821--nhl.html
I think there's obvious logic to rewarding wins in regulation over OT/SO wins. I also think that since the NHL is concerned about the number of shootouts then why not change the point systems so that OT wins are worth more than SO wins? My proposal is:
Reg win: 5pts
OT win: 4pts
SO win: 3pts
SO loss: 2 pts
OT loss: 1 pt
Imagine the fun that could be had with former players turned analysts trying to explain playoff outcomes going into the last night of the season under this scenario? More seriously, I realize the complexity of having all these potential outcomes may be too much for the casual fan, but it would make this time of year be pretty cool as some teams pulled the goalie at the in the last minute of OT to get 4 points instead of 3. I wonder if that would ever happen or would the risk of 2 guaranteed points in a SO loss keep any coach from making that decision.
For discussion's sake, here are the standing for today - prior to the Flyers beating the Penguins. Note the NHL rank is on total points; the 3 pt and 5 pt ranks are points per game. The real losers moving away from the NHL's scheme are those teams that have been very good (lucky?) in OT - like the Leafs.
Thoughts?
[tablegrid= NHL standings as of 3/16/2014 ] GP Reg wins OT wins S.O. wins S.O. loss OT Loss NHL rank 5 pt rank 3 pt rank St. Louis 67 35 3 8 3 4 1 3 1 Anaheim 68 38 5 2 6 1 2 1 3 Boston 67 39 4 2 3 2 3 2 1 San Jose 68 30 4 10 5 2 3 6 5 Pittsburgh 66 36 3 5 2 2 5 4 4 Colorado 67 32 8 3 3 2 6 5 6 Chicago 67 33 0 5 8 6 7 7 6 Los Angeles 68 28 4 6 4 2 8 8 8 Minnesota 67 26 2 7 7 3 9 10 9 Toronto 68 23 4 9 4 4 9 16 16 Tampa Bay 67 25 5 6 5 2 11 11 13 Montreal 68 25 6 5 3 4 11 14 15 Columbus 67 29 1 5 2 4 13 13 12 NY Rangers 68 31 1 4 2 2 13 12 11 Philadelphia 66 29 2 3 5 2 15 9 10 Dallas 66 27 2 3 5 6 15 15 14 Phoenix 68 24 3 5 5 6 15 17 17 Detroit 66 22 3 5 8 5 18 18 18 Washington 68 19 4 8 7 3 19 23 23 New Jersey 68 21 8 0 8 5 20 19 22 Vancouver 69 20 6 4 7 3 21 24 25 Ottawa 66 22 3 3 6 7 22 21 19 Winnipeg 68 20 4 6 6 3 22 25 24 Nashville 68 25 3 1 7 3 24 20 20 Carolina 67 24 4 1 3 6 25 22 21 Calgary 68 15 7 5 3 4 26 26 27 NY Islanders 69 16 4 6 4 5 26 27 28 Florida 67 18 0 7 5 2 28 28 26 Edmonton 68 16 4 3 3 6 29 29 29 Buffalo 67 10 3 6 4 4 30 30 30 [/tablegrid]
http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nhl-puck-daddy/nhl-alternative-standings-2013-14-regulation-wins-counted-214041821--nhl.html
I think there's obvious logic to rewarding wins in regulation over OT/SO wins. I also think that since the NHL is concerned about the number of shootouts then why not change the point systems so that OT wins are worth more than SO wins? My proposal is:
Reg win: 5pts
OT win: 4pts
SO win: 3pts
SO loss: 2 pts
OT loss: 1 pt
Imagine the fun that could be had with former players turned analysts trying to explain playoff outcomes going into the last night of the season under this scenario? More seriously, I realize the complexity of having all these potential outcomes may be too much for the casual fan, but it would make this time of year be pretty cool as some teams pulled the goalie at the in the last minute of OT to get 4 points instead of 3. I wonder if that would ever happen or would the risk of 2 guaranteed points in a SO loss keep any coach from making that decision.
For discussion's sake, here are the standing for today - prior to the Flyers beating the Penguins. Note the NHL rank is on total points; the 3 pt and 5 pt ranks are points per game. The real losers moving away from the NHL's scheme are those teams that have been very good (lucky?) in OT - like the Leafs.
Thoughts?
[tablegrid= NHL standings as of 3/16/2014 ]