What if we had an Olympic point system?

Here is the fourth look of the 2010/11 season at the standings if there was a different points system. The most popular solution is to dish out three points per game (and the one I’m in favor of the most) like they do in the Olympics. A regulation win would be worth three points apiece, whereas an overtime/shootout victory will get you just two. The loser in extra time would still get a single point.

The tiebreaker at the end of the year would be total wins, followed by regulation wins. I’m a big fan of this system (which was used at this year’s Olympics), and did some ‘research’ as to what the standings would look like if this was indeed how we handed out the points.

It would create more excitement for the final two minutes of regulation in a tied game. Also, this eliminates all of the extra point crap when a game goes to OT, plus rewards teams for getting the job done in 60 minutes.

Here’s what this year’s standings would look like through last night’s action…

Key: Pts… (Reg. W – OT/SO W – OTL)
EASTERN CONFERENCE
1. Philadelphia Flyers, 101… (30-3-5)
2. Boston Bruins, 89… (26-2-7)
3. Tampa Bay Lightning, 88… (21-10-5)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins, 92… (26-5-4)
5. Washington Capitals, 84… (21-6-9)
6. New York Rangers, 83… (22-7-3)
7. Montreal Canadiens, 81… (22-5-5)
8. Carolina Hurricanes, 75… (19-6-6)
9. Atlanta Thrashers, 72… (15-9-9)
10. Buffalo Sabres, 65… (14-9-5)
11. Florida Panthers, 65… (16-6-5)
12. Ottawa Senators, 59… (17-0-8)
13. Toronto Maple Leafs, 58… (15-4-5)
14. New Jersey Devils, 47… (12-4-3)
15. New York Islanders, 46… (9-6-7)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Vancouver Canucks, 98… (27-4-9)
2. Dallas Stars, 87… (22-8-5)
3. Detroit Red Wings, 87… (21-9-6)
4. Phoenix Coyotes, 82… (23-2-9)
5. Anaheim Ducks, 81… (21-7-4)
6. Nashville Predators, 81… (21-6-6)
7. Chicago Blackhawks, 77… (21-5-4)
8. Los Angeles Kings, 76… (21-6-1)
9. Minnesota Wild, 76… (21-4-5)
10. San Jose Sharks, 76… (20-5-6)
11. Colorado Avalanche, 73… (17-8-6)
12. Calgary Flames, 70… (16-8-6)
13. St. Louis Blues, 68… (17-5-7)
14. Columbus Blue Jackets, 66… (15-8-5)
15. Edmonton Oilers, 50… (12-3-8)

In case you missed it in November, here are the end-of-year results for every season since the lockout.