Numbers Game: The 3 Point Win

The NHL GMs are currently in Naples, Florida for the annual GM Meetings.  Besides playing a few rounds of golf, there are a number of issues being debated, including, fighting, headshots and moving to a 3-point point system.

The proposed 3 point system, which has talked about around the hockey world,  would see 3 points distibuted every game.  Instead of giving a team 2 points for a win, regardless of whethey they win in regulation or overtime, under the new system, teams that win the game in regulation will get 3 points.  If a game is tied after regulation, the points are split, with the winning team (either in overtime or shootout) receiving 2 points for the win and the losing team receiving 1 point.

The argument in favour of the change is that the standings based on the current point system create misleading impressions of a team’s performance.  As soon as a game goes into overtime, 3 points are given out, while only 2 points are awarded in games that end after regulation time. It is argued that awarding 3 points inflates teams’ records and obviously their conference rank.  A 3 point regulation win would reward teams that can win the game in regulation time and, arguably, create a more “accurate” picture in the standings.  But would it really?  

In today’s Numbers Game, I looked at whether the proposed 3 point win would actually change the standings. Sure enough, the change was very minimal, but in a league where a 1 point difference could determine whether a team is playoff bound or whether they have home-ice advantage, any change is significant.

Under the proposed change, the New York Rangers would find themselves outside the playoff picture dropping to 10th, while the Hurricanes would move up 2 spots into 7th. The Capitals would move ahead of the Devils to sit 2nd in the East and would be facing the Canes if the playoffs started today.  The Panthers would move up to 5th in the East and would play the Flyers in the first round instead of Brodeur and the Devils. If I am Jim Rutherford or Jacques Martin, the 3 point system would certainly be a change I would support!

In the Western Conference, there would be no change in ranks among the top 5 teams. However, the Wild would jump up to 8th, while the Predators would slide out of a playoff spot into 9th. The Oilers would move into 6th, switching spots with the Blue Jackets, and would face the Flames in the first round.

The 3 point system would clearly have a significant impact on the standings.  There are certianly some strong arguments in favour of switching to that system. The question is whether the GMs will actually support such a “drastic” change.  You never know, who would have thought they would add the shootout to the NHL game?

Eastern
Rank	Team	GP	W	Reg. Wins	OT Wins	SO Wins	L	OT	PTS	New Point System	New Conf. Rank	Rank Change
1	Boston	67	43	37	2	4	15	9	95	132	1	0
2	New Jersey	65	42	29	8	5	20	3	87	116	3	-1
3	Washington	67	40	32	5	3	21	6	86	118	2	1
4	Philadelphia	64	35	26	6	3	19	10	80	106	4	0
5	Montreal	66	35	26	2	7	24	7	77	103	5	-1
6	Florida	66	34	27	4	3	24	8	76	103	5	1
7	NY Rangers	66	34	22	3	9	24	8	76	98	10	-3
8	Pittsburgh	67	35	24	6	5	26	6	76	100	8	0
9	Carolina	67	35	27	5	3	27	5	75	102	7	2
10	Buffalo	66	33	25	1	7	26	7	73	98	9	1
11	Toronto	66	26	19	3	4	27	13	65	84	11	0
12	Ottawa	64	25	21	2	2	29	10	60	81	12	0
13	Atlanta	66	25	19	2	4	35	6	56	75	13	0
14	Tampa Bay	66	21	18	1	2	32	13	55	73	14	0
15	NY Islanders	66	22	17	2	3	37	7	51	68	15	0
WESTERN
Rank	Team	GP	W	Reg. Wins	OT Wins	SO Wins	L	OT	PTS	New Point System	New Conf. Rank	Rank Change
1	San Jose	64	42	36	3	3	12	10	94	130	1	0
2	Detroit	66	43	35	2	6	15	8	94	129	2	0
3	Calgary	66	39	34	3	2	21	6	84	118	3	0
4	Chicago	64	36	30	4	2	19	9	81	111	4	0
5	Vancouver	64	34	28	3	3	22	8	76	104	5	0
6	Columbus	66	33	25	4	4	27	6	72	97	7	-1
7	Edmonton	65	32	27	1	4	27	6	70	97	6	1
8	Nashville	66	33	24	5	4	29	4	70	94	9	-1
9	Dallas	66	31	23	3	5	27	8	70	93	11	-2
10	Minnesota	65	32	25	3	4	28	5	69	94	8	2
11	Anaheim	67	31	25	3	3	30	6	68	93	10	1
12	St. Louis	65	29	20	4	5	28	8	66	86	14	-2
13	Los Angeles	65	28	22	2	4	28	9	65	87	13	0
14	Phoenix	66	28	26	0	2	33	5	61	87	12	2
15	Colorado	66	29	19	2	8	36	1	59	78	15	0