Now that we're past the trade deadline (and I've purchased NHL Center Ice), we've hit that time of year where playoff positioning is shaking out and teams are desperate for every point they can possibly get. So far in March, that has led to a significant increase in overtime games, and thus 3 point games. For those not familiar with the points system in hockey, teams get 2 points for a regulation win or an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, and 0 points for a regulation loss. Therefore, one can argue that teams should push for overtime in order to hedge their bets and get at least 1 point, especially in a tight playoff race.
Here are the monthly stats for overtime games in the NHL so far:
Oct - 33 overtime games out of 156, or 21% of games
Nov - 41 out of 201, 20%
Dec - 54 out of 208, 26%
Jan - 44 out of 185, 24%
Feb - 43 out of 191, 23%
Mar (so far) - 25 out of 66, 38%
Though there have only been 66 games in March so far, it appears we will surpass the amount of overtime games from October by the end of this week. This leads to quite a few extra points for losing and has caused some mind-boggling playoff races, namely in the West.
Here are the standings as of 3/10. I've added overtime records and also shootout wins since the new tiebreaker is who has more non-shootout wins.
Eastern Conference | Record | Points | OT Record | SO Wins |
1. Philadelphia | 41-19-6 | 88 | 4-6 | 2 |
2. Washington | 38-20-10 | 86 | 9-10 | 3 |
3. Boston | 38-20-8 | 84 | 2-8 | 1 |
4. Pittsburgh | 39-21-8 | 86 | 10-8 | 5 |
5. Tampa Bay | 38-21-8 | 84 | 14-8 | 6 |
6. Montreal | 37-23-7 | 81 | 6-7 | 2 |
7. NY Rangers | 35-30-4 | 74 | 10-4 | 7 |
8. Carolina | 31-26-10 | 72 | 9-9 | 4 |
9. Buffalo | 32-26-8 | 72 | 12-8 | 5 |
10. Toronto | 29-28-10 | 68 | 6-10 | 4 |
11. Atlanta | 28-28-11 | 67 | 12-11 | 3 |
12. New Jersey | 30-32-4 | 64 | 8-4 | 3 |
13. Florida | 27-31-9 | 63 | 9-9 | 4 |
14. NY Islanders | 26-32-10 | 62 | 10-10 | 3 |
15. Ottawa | 23-34-9 | 55 | 1-9 | 1 |
Western Conference | Record | Points | OT Record | SO Wins |
1. Vancouver | 43-16-9 | 95 | 6-9 | 3 |
2. Detroit | 39-20-8 | 86 | 11-8 | 4 |
3. San Jose | 39-22-6 | 84 | 10-6 | 5 |
4. Chicago | 37-24-7 | 81 | 7-7 | 5 |
5. Calgary | 36-24-9 | 81 | 10-9 | 8 |
6. Dallas | 36-23-8 | 80 | 10-8 | 5 |
7. Los Angeles | 37-25-5 | 79 | 8-5 | 7 |
8. Phoenix | 34-23-11 | 79 | 6-11 | 4 |
9. Minnesota | 35-25-5 | 77 | 7-7 | 2 |
10. Anaheim | 36-26-5 | 77 | 10-5 | 4 |
11. Nashville | 33-24-10 | 76 | 6-10 | 6 |
12. Columbus | 31-26-9 | 71 | 8-9 | 4 |
13. St. Louis | 30-28-4 | 69 | 7-9 | 4 |
14. Colorado | 26-32-8 | 60 | 8-8 | 3 |
15. Edmonton | 23-37-8 | 54 | 4-8 | 2 |
Just take a look at some of the OT numbers there. Atlanta has played in 23 overtime games this season out of their 67 (34%). Tampa Bay has played in 22. The lowest number of overtime games belongs to Ottawa with 10 out of 66 (15%).
Now let’s take a look at some of the win and loss totals in overtime. Tampa Bay and Atlanta show up again, getting 14 and 12 wins respectively in overtime. For Tampa Bay, that’s 14 out of 38 wins in extra time, or 37%. Meanwhile, the leaders in overtime losses are Atlanta and Phoenix, both with 11.
So based on the NHL’s system, Tampa Bay has gotten 22 points just for being tied after 60 minutes, and has received an additional 14 points for winning in overtime. So a total of 36 of Tampa Bay’s 84 points (43%) have been earned via overtime.
Compare Tampa Bay to a team like Philadelphia. The Flyers have been involved in 10 overtime games, and have gone 4-6 in such games. Therefore, Philadelphia has received 10 points just for going to overtime, and an additional 4 points for wins in overtime. Philly has earned only 14 out of their 88 points (16%) beyond regulation time.
Now if you look at the standings, Tampa Bay is only 4 points behind Philly. Why should Tampa Bay, who routinely requires extra time to earn their points, be anywhere near Philly in the standings when the Flyers get their work done in regulation most of the time. The flaw in the system is that the failure to win in regulation can act as a reward for many teams, but there is no adequate reward for teams that actually do win in regulation.
My suggested solution would be to implement a new points system, where winning in regulation would earn 2 points, winning in overtime would earn 1 point, and losing in overtime or regulation would earn 0 points. This system would reward teams for winning in 60 minutes, reward teams at a discounted rate for needing more than 60 minutes to win, and stop rewarding teams for losing.
**It should be noted that a similar system that is mentioned often is one where teams would receive 3 points for a regulation win, 2 points for an overtime win, 1 point for an overtime loss, and 0 points for a regulation loss. The reason I don’t buy into this system is that the losing team is still rewarded in overtime. Isn’t winning the whole point of the game? (And having fun, yeah yeah…)
Here are the standings as they would be under my suggested point system. The record is listed as (Wins-Losses-OT Wins).
Eastern Conference | Record | Points |
1. Philadelphia | 36-25-5 | 77 |
2. Boston | 36-28-2 | 74 |
3. Washington | 29-30-10 | 68 |
4. Pittsburgh | 29-29-10 | 68 |
5. Montreal | 31-30-6 | 68 |
6. Tampa Bay | 24-29-14 | 62 |
7. NY Rangers | 25-34-10 | 60 |
8. Carolina | 22-36-9 | 53 |
9. Buffalo | 20-34-12 | 52 |
10. Toronto | 23-38-6 | 52 |
11. New Jersey | 22-36-8 | 52 |
12. Florida | 18-40-9 | 45 |
13. Ottawa | 22-43-1 | 45 |
14. Atlanta | 16-39-12 | 44 |
15. NY Islanders | 16-42-10 | 42 |
Western Conference | Record | Points |
1. Vancouver | 37-25-6 | 80 |
2. San Jose | 29-28-10 | 68 |
3. Chicago | 30-31-7 | 67 |
4. Detroit | 28-28-11 | 67 |
5. Los Angeles | 29-30-8 | 66 |
6. Dallas | 26-31-10 | 64 |
7. Minnesota | 28-32-7 | 63 |
8. Phoenix | 28-34-6 | 62 |
9. Anaheim | 26-31-10 | 62 |
10. Calgary | 26-33-10 | 62 |
11. Nashville | 27-34-6 | 60 |
12. Columbus | 23-35-8 | 52 |
13. St. Louis | 23-37-7 | 51 |
14. Colorado | 18-40-8 | 44 |
15. Edmonton | 19-45-4 | 42 |
Now, the records look a little odd in the conversion, because of the large amount of overtime games in this season. Theoretically, they would even out more once the system is implemented because no team would want to go to overtime.
Another interesting thing to note about the records is that there are only 5 teams in the NHL right now that have more regulation wins than they have total losses (overtime and regulation). Those 5 are Philadelphia, Boston, Montreal, Vancouver, and San Jose. Two more have an equal amount, Pittsburgh and Detroit.
Under this system, the playoff races would still be tight and exciting. Additionally, teams would have no encouragement to go to overtime, making for some great 3rd periods of hockey. Finally, teams would be properly rewarded for winning in regulation time and would not be rewarded for losing a game. So the question is…how do I get this into an NHL meeting?
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