Off Wing Opinion: The Extra Standings Point: A Win-Lose Proposition?

Off Wing Opinion: The Extra Standings Point: A Win-Lose Proposition?:


What we have here is a case where late in the third period, teams now have an incentive to eschew attacking hockey in order to guarantee each team a standings point. With the “co-opetition” segment of the evening out of the way, then teams can get to business fighting over that extra standings point — one that is now always awarded thanks to the introduction of the shootout before the 2005-06 NHL season.

To rectify the situation, Guelph’s Prof. Alfons Weersink proposes adding a wrinkle from international Soccer: Instead of the current system, why not award three points for a win, and only one point for a tie?

On the face of things, that sounds like a reasonable solution, and one that I would favor.

Me, too. And so would anyone who intuitive understood that when some games are worth two points and some games are worth three points, that this was going to bias decision-making in how a game was coached and played.

Frankly, I”m not sure I care HOW they decide to divvy up the points based on any specific criteria. I think what matters is that each game counts for a certain number of points.

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  • http://fredsmythe.com Chris Lemon

    This is cake-easy, and I’ve been saying it for years, but to adapt it to the current we-can’t-handle-ties format: three points for a win, 2 points for an OT/shootout win, 1 point for an OT/shootout loss, and zippo for a regulation loss. Gives a team incentive to try to win at every point in the game, and mitigates the importance of the shootout. As it should be.