by Zach Bigalke

Created on: April 27, 2008

When the NHL emerged from its year-long lockout and began the 2006 season, the box scores in the sports section of the newspaper were greeted with a new system by which to calculate NHL standings. No longer was the league using its archaic and cumbersome four-column formula whereby a team received two points for a victory, one point for a tie, one point for a loss in overtime, and zero points for a loss. One of the biggest rules changes to come out of the lockout was that the NHL implemented the shootout to decide games tied after the five-minute overtime period...

The current system has been streamlined down to three simple columns: wins, losses and overtime losses. Two points are still awarded for a victory; none are awarded for a loss. But now, instead of having ties, the NHL has decided that each team earns an automatic point for sending the game to overtime. The final point for victory, if it is not determined in the five-minute overtime window, now goes to the winner of the shootout - in which three skaters from each side have a penalty shot against the opposing goaltender. In the end, the system only changed so that there would always be someone emerging from a contest with a two-point boost in the standings.

Each team has eighty-two games to amass as many points as possible within this structure. As the season goes on, the standings reflect division leaders by their point totals. But there are still other questions to address...

WHAT HAPPENS WHEN TWO OR MORE TEAMS ARE TIED IN POINTS?

There are several tiebreakers which are used to help break ties amongst teams with equal numbers of points. The first is the simplest: it is calculated on number of games played. Why? Because, quite simply, the vagaries of scheduling do not allow for every team to play on the same days. For example, if two teams are tied with 64 points in February, yet Team A has played 60 games and Team B only 58, then Team B would be ranked ahead in the standings.

If two teams have played the same number of games - for instance, when the regular season is over and playoff spots are being determined - the standing of these teams is decided based on number of victories. As an example, look at these two teams:

TEAM A: 41 wins, 28 losses, 13 overtime losses = 95 points
TEAM B: 38 wins, 25 losses, 19 overtime losses = 95 points

The teams look evenly matched. But Team A would be ranked ahead of Team B in the standings due to having won three more games.

If the two teams are still tied after this second

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