What if we had an Olympic point system?

Here is the sixth 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, 131… (38-5-7)
2. Washington Capitals, 123… (31-10-10)
3. Boston Bruins, 123… (36-3-9)
4. Pittsburgh Penguins, 121… (31-10-8)
5. Montreal Canadiens, 115… (32-6-7)
6. Tampa Bay Lightning, 112… (25-14-9)
7. New York Rangers, 104… (26-11-4)
8. Carolina Hurricanes, 98… (24-8-10)
9. Buffalo Sabres, 97… (21-13-8)
10. Toronto Maple Leafs, 97… (25-6-10)
11. New Jersey Devils, 93… (23-10-4)
12. Atlanta Thrashers, 86… (16-13-12)
13. Florida Panthers, 83… (18-10-9)
14. Ottawa Senators, 83… (24-1-9)
15. New York Islanders, 82… (17-10-11)

WESTERN CONFERENCE
1. Vancouver Canucks, 143… (40-7-9)
2. Detroit Red Wings, 122… (30-12-8)
3. San Jose Sharks, 118… (30-10-8)
4. Los Angeles Kings, 117… (32-8-5)
5. Phoenix Coyotes, 116… (31-6-11)
6. Chicago Blackhawks, 115… (31-7-8)
7. Anaheim Ducks, 109… (28-10-5)
8. Dallas Stars, 109… (27-10-8)
9. Nashville Predators, 109… (29-6-10)
10. Calgary Flames, 107… (26-10-9)
11. Minnesota Wild, 105… (28-7-7)
12. Columbus Blue Jackets, 98… (24-8-10)
13. St. Louis Blues, 95… (24-7-9)
14. Colorado Avalanche, 78… (18-8-8)
15. Edmonton Oilers, 74… (19-4-9)

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