What the standings might have been

(Note: This post was written prior to the completion of the Saturday afternoon games. The standings reflect this, so it's not totally accurate based on when you read it. Still, you get the idea.)

I really, really, really can't stand the NHL's "lucky loser" point. If you win, you win. If you lose, you lose. You shouldn't reward any team for losing. You want to keep shootouts so that there are no ties? Fine. I have no problem with that. If you do that, however, I'd recommend this system (mentioned on my blog before):

2 points for a regulation win
2 points for an overtime win
1 point for a shootout win
0 points for any type of loss

The idea is to play with urgency throughout regulation and overtime with the shootout being the last resort. If you don't want teams to play for the shootout -- that is, to avoid teams that are good at shootouts playing in a defensive shell for the third and OT -- then you simply devalue it. If a team really needs points to climb up in the standings, then they should have to push the pace in regulation, then overtime. There's no reason why they should be rewarded for going to a shootout.

With that in mind, let's look at the NHL standings as of 6 PM PST in Mike Chen's standings system.

The real-world Eastern standings:

Rank	Team	Points (L = OT/SO loss, W = SO win)
1	x-Buffalo	107 7L 10W
2	x-New Jersey	100 8L 9W
3	* Atlanta	93 11L 6W
4	x-Ottawa	100 8L 2W
5	x-Pittsburgh	100 10L 10W
6	Tampa Bay	88 4L 10W
7	NY Rangers	87 9L 9W
8	Montreal	86 6L 6W
9	Toronto	85 11L 4W
10	NY Islanders	84 12L 6W
11	Carolina	84 8L 0W
12	Florida	82 14L 2W

Adjusted to my standings system:

Rank	Team	Points (L = OT/SO loss, W = SO win)
1	*Buffalo	90 7L 10W
2	*Ottawa	90 8L 2W
3	*Carolina	76 8L 0W
4	New Jersey	83 8L 9W
5	Pittsburgh	80 10L 10W
6	Atlanta	76 11L 6W
7	Montreal	74 6L 6W
8	Tampa Bay	74 4L 10W
9	Toronto	70 11L 4W
10	NY Rangers	69 9L 9W
11	Florida	66 14L 2W
12	NY Islanders	66 12L 6W

What's different here? Well, the Hurricanes, who have no shootout wins, vault into third place by not having any point penalties with shootout wins. The Penguins (20 points) and the Devils (17 points) are still pretty much neck and neck for the Atlantic Division lead; however, the Sens and Sabres become the elite of the East. As for those scrapping for eighth place, it's not nearly the logjam that you currently see, as the Lightning have a small, but semi-comfortable lead over the rest of the pack. The Rangers, who lose 18 points, fall quite a bit from a comfortable spot to just out of playoff reach.

Let's look at the Western standings.

In the real world:

Rank	Team	Points (L = OT/SO loss, W = SO win)
1	*Detroit	106 12L 2W
2	*Anaheim	104 12L 4W
3	*Vancouver	101 7L 5W
4	Nashville	105 7L 6W
5	Dallas	100 6L 8W
6	San Jose	100 4L 1W
7	Minnesota	98 8L 10W
8	Calgary	94 10L 3W
9	Colorado	89 7L 5W

With my standings system:

Rank	Team	Points (L = OT/SO loss, W = SO win)
1	*San Jose	95 4L 1W
2	*Detroit	92 12L 2W
3	*Vancouver	89 7L 5W
4	Nashville	92 7L 6W
5	Anaheim	88 12L 4W
6	Dallas	86 6L 8W
7	Calgary	81 10L 3W
8	Minnesota	80 8L 10W
9	Colorado	77 7L 5W

Now, things have really changed. The Sharks, who've hardly gone to overtime this year, let alone any shootouts, rocket to the top of the entire league. Detroit and Nashville remain neck and neck, but Vancouver's hold on the Northwest Division grows bigger. Anaheim and Dallas don't seem quite as impressive, and Colorado's caught up a little bit in the standings.

So, what can we learn with all this? If you're looking at the team that most decisively puts away their team in regulation or overtime, that would be the San Jose Sharks (good for my Sharks season tickets in section 205!). Come playoff time, when there's no loser point and no shootouts, this might give a better indicator as to who is the most armed and ready to tackle the post-season.

Lesson Two: Look at how many points teams get FOR LOSING and for winning a skills competition. Going to a system like this simply stops rewarding this level of mediocrity and puts the focus squarely on what matters -- winning a team game.