by Brett Jamieson

Created on: February 09, 2009

The NHL has long had the mandate of trying to make the game more accessible to fans: simpler to understand, and more exciting for those who are mildly interested in following the league. One of the areas where they have these goals working against each other is in the point system. It makes the game more exciting, especially near the end of the year, but it also makes it more difficult to understand.

Previously, before the turn of the century, it was simple. Two points for a win, one for a tie, and zero for a loss. Now you have to deal with overtime loss points, shoot-outs, and the end of the possibility of tying a game. If you get turned around in trying to figure it out, you are not alone. But getting a grasp on it is easier than you think. Here is a breakdown.

Firstly, if you win, you get two points. This is the same as before. Ideas have been thrown around to increase this to three points, but, because the NHL has other pressing issues at the moment, it is not on the list of priorities right now. As well, it actually creates much more parity in the league anyways in this format, so many are against it. A win, garnering you two points in the standings can come from winning the game in regulation time (after three periods), at some point during the five-minute sudden-death overtime period, or during the shootout. The only requirement is that you win, not when it happens.

Now since tying is not possible, your only other possibility is to lose. But that may leave you thinking, "When you lose a game, how can you possibly get any points?" It is a good question. It may not make sense to many, but in the NHL, they reward you for getting to overtime. If your team reaches overtime, but loses either in the overtime period, or in the shootout, they get one point in the standings. The third outcome of any game can be that your team gets no points. This only occurs when you lose in regulation time (after three periods).

So when you are looking at the standings, they look something like this:

Team W L OT PT

Steelers 14 8 3 31 14X2=28 in wins, plus 3 in OT losses, 31 points altogether

Drillers 12 12 1 25 12X2=24 in wins, plus 1 in OT losses, 25 points altogether

Falcons 7 10 8 22 7X2=14 in wins, plus 8 in OT losses, 22 points altogether

As you can see here, depending on how many times you can get to overtime (even if you lose), you can stay in the race with minimal amounts of actual wins. The Falcons, in this case, have five wins less than the Drillers, but are only three points away. It has created a lot more excitement in the game, and ensured that more teams are involved for a much longer period of time during the season. In that aspect, it has done its job. Hopefully, it has also done its job in attracting more and more fans, possibly like you, to watch on a more regular basis.

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