from Dave Caldwell of The Guarian,

If the NHL adopted a simple won-loss system, as they do in Major League Baseball or the National Basketball Association, the exact same 16 teams would qualify for the Stanley Cup playoffs as under the current points system.

In other words, the so-called “loser point” is accomplishing nothing, other than making teams’ records look much better than they actually are. For instance, entering Thursday, the Rangers’ record would be 37-26, instead of 37-20-6. The Nashville Predators would squeak into the Western Conference playoffs with a 31-32 record, instead of a 31-21-11 record.

If the playoffs started today, the Predators would be the only team in the playoffs that has lost more games than it has won. The Houston Rockets, at 30-31, would be the only team in the NBA playoffs, which also include 16 teams, with a sub-.500 record....

Several studies have shown that a system that awards three points for a regulation victory, two points for an overtime or shootout victory, one point for an overtime or shootout loss and no points for a regulation loss would show virtually identical results as current system does.

You can sell a ticket to, say, a Philadelphia Flyers game easier if you point out the team’s record is 29-22-11, instead of the 29-33 record it really is. And maybe that is the whole, um, point of this. In the playoffs, teams play five a side before packed houses until one team wins – and that won’t change, either.

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