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If We're Fixing All the Things Wrong With the NHL...

10/23/2012 at 9:41am EDT

If the CBA is a working attempt to fix all the current problems in the NHL, can we also mention the Magic Point that appears in overtime games and is invisible in games that are decided in regulation? That is one of the most nonsensical rules ever devised.

The fix is quite simple (for those who payed attention in junior-high math): One game, one point. Period.

If Team A wins a regular-season hockey game in regulation, they are awarded one point. If the two teams are tied after regulation, the eventual winning team (via overtime play or the shootout) will be awarded 0.75 points, and Team B that lost in overtime will receive 0.25 points, still equaling the single point awarded for a single game. There's no reason for an extra point to *poof* into existence just because two teams cannot win in regulation. The winning team should not get the full value of the win because they could not triumph in 60 minutes, and the eventual losing team should get a twenty-five percent piece of the single-point pie for not losing in regulation. (Plus, the scaling is better: three overtime losses have equal weight to one overtime win and four OT losses equal a regulation win, rather than the current two OT losses equaling the points of a single regulation win.)

This way, we might see teams actually play late into the third period as if they wanted to win the game, and not just skate around like they're auditioning for Battle of the Blades. All due respect.

I think this would put a little more game in the product, and take out gaming the rules for the magic point.

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