03.13.08 5:00 AM CDT
• Sports
• Playboy Staff
Dave Golokhov, host of Hardcore Sports Radio (Sirius 186), is asking, what the puck?The BCS may be the most enigmatic, money-grubbing power rating systems in sports but at the very least it now has some company. To non-NHL fans, let me introduce you to the three-point system.
Winning an NHL game (regulation, overtime or shootout) nets you two points in the standings while losing in regulation gets you zilch. But if a game is tied after regulation, both teams are awarded one point. In other words, if you lose in overtime or in a shootout, you still gain one point. How ridiculous is that?
Could you imagine two major league baseball teams moving up in the standings because a game has simply reached extra innings? Or in basketball, two NBA teams that sweat it out for 48 regulation minutes receive half a win just because they didn't lose in regulation? Originally, this system was introduced to avert ties and conservative play in overtime, but now it is worse since teams now use the guarded approach late in the third period to secure at least one point. Here's the worst part: just like the BCS, this system is going nowhere. With the additional point in the mix, parity is at an all-time high in the NHL. Teams like the Vancouver Canucks or the Calgary Flames, that have 10 overtime losses each, wouldn't really be in the mix for a playoff spot had their overtime losses counted as real losses. A team that's 42-25-5 should really be 42-30 with 84 points. And a team that's 35-24-10 should really be 35-24 with 70 points. But when you factor points for OT losses, the difference is 89 to 80, making the league-wide standings a tight-knit group of parity.
Complain all you want. Maybe you feel the three-point system is outdated, or maybe you think it is anti-sport, but the bottom line is that the NHL loves its belle curve since it keeps most of its franchises in the playoff hunt. And if it makes the league money, it is here to stay.
RSS 2.0
Comments on this entry:
You can lose all 82 games in overtime and still have an outside shot to make the playoffs