Time for a Change? Examining the NHL’s Point System.

There’s always talk among hockey fans about what can be done to change the game. Some ideas are radical, some actually happen, and others just fade away.

Some people feel that there should be no points awarded for losing a game, whether it be in regulation, overtime, or a shootout. As it stands right now, if the game ends after 60 minutes and is tied, both teams get a point regardless of the outcome. So what would happen if the NHL changed to a different point system? Let’s take a look.

The Three Point System

This is the system that the IIHF implements.

For all games in the Preliminary Round, Qualification Round and Relegation Round points shall be awarded as follows:

• 3 points for the winning team at the conclusion of regulation time
• 1 point for both teams at the conclusion of regulation time if the game is tied
• An additional point earned for the team winning the game in a 5-minute overtime period, or the Game Winning Shots Procedure if the teams are still tied following conclusion of the overtime period
• 0 points for the team losing the game in regulation time

It’s a pretty simple concept that puts more weight on wins in regulation, and less weight on wins in the extra frame or shootout. What would the NHL’s playoff picture look like if this were the case?

Atlantic
	Team	ROW	ROL	OT/SO W	OT/SO L	Pts.
1	Tampa Bay	30	16	4	5	103
2	Montreal	26	15	8	3	97
3	Detroit	25	12	6	9	96
Metropolitan
	Team	ROW	ROL	OT/SO W	OT/SO L	Pts.
1	Pittsburgh	23	15	7	8	91
2	NY Islanders	22	18	12	1	91
3	NY Rangers	24	16	6	5	89
	Eastern Wildcard
	Team	ROW	ROL	OT/SO W	OT/SO L	Pts.
1	Washington	23	16	5	10	89
2	Boston	20	18	8	7	83
Central
	Team	ROW	ROL	OT/SO W	OT/SO L	Pts.
1	Nashville	25	12	10	6	101
2	St. Louis	24	15	10	4	96
3	Chicago	24	18	9	2	92
Pacific
	Team	ROW	ROL	OT/SO W	OT/SO L	Pts.
1	Anaheim	22	13	12	7	97
2	San Jose	24	19	4	7	87
3	Vancouver	23	19	6	3	84
Western Wild Card
	Team	ROW	ROL	OT/SO W	OT/SO L	Pts.
1	Winnipeg	20	18	7	10	84
2	Calgary	19	21	10	3	80

If you take a look at the current NHL standings, you can see that even if the NHL used this point system, it still really doesn’t change

anything that drastically. The only real change comes with the Penguins grabbing first in the Metro, and the Rangers getting the third spot in the Metro. Everything else is the same.

Changing to a three point system would not really make a huge difference. Teams would still get points for losing games. It also devalues overtime wins. It’d be nice for the team who won in overtime to get three points, rather than two.

This system wouldn’t really change much if the NHL took it under their wing, so don’t expect to see in anytime soon.

You Get Nothing.

Aside from the three point system, there is a lot of people who would like to see a traditional win-loss system. Two points for a win, no points for a loss, regardless of what period it came in.

So what would that look like?

Atlantic
	Team	W	L	Pts.
1	Tampa Bay	34	21	68
2	Montreal	34	18	68
3	Detroit	31	21	62
Metropolitan
	Team	W	L	Pts.
1	NY Islanders	34	19	68
2	Pittsburgh	30	23	60
3	NY Rangers	30	21	60
	Eastern Wildcard
	Team	W	L	Pts.
1	Washington	28	26	56
2	Boston	28	25	56
Central
	Team	W	L	Pts.
1	Nashville	35	18	70
2	St. Louis	34	19	68
3	Chicago	33	20	66
Pacific
	Team	W	L	Pts.
1	Anaheim	34	20	68
2	San Jose	28	26	56
3	Vancouver	29	22	58
Western Wild Card
	Team	W	L	Pts.
1	Calgary	29	24	58
2	Winnipeg	27	28	54

This one makes the changes a little bit more evident.

The Islanders really benefit from this system. Since they only have lost once in overtime all season, they create an eight point gap from the second place Penguins. The Rangers also boost themselves up a bit and distance themselves a little bit more from Washington.

Out West, things are a little bit different. Rather than distancing teams from each other, it brought them closer. The Central division is

separated by just four points.

Calgary also gets what they deserve and leapfrogs Winnipeg. This shows why this system would be a good fit.

Right now, Calgary is 29-21-3. Winnipeg is 27-18-10. Winnipeg is also three points ahead of Calgary for the first wildcard spot. Calgary has two more wins than Winnipeg, and four less losses. There shouldn’t be a reward for losing a game in extra time. A loss should be a loss. Calgary is the better team, that should be reflected in the standings.

The NHL just recently changed the divisions around, so the likelihood that they would change their point system is slim to none. However. this gives a good idea of what you could expect to see if Gary Bettman decided to just go to a win-loss system. It would be nice to see the teams that win the most games be the highest in the standings. But as long as overtime losses exist, that won’t always be the case.