How the NHL standings would have looked if teams earned 3 points for a win

Between the World Junior Hockey Championships, the Olympic Games and the upcoming World Championships, there has been a lot of international hockey played this year.

One of the more intriguing elements of international hockey is the point system, where teams are awarded three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win, one point for an overtime or shootout loss, and no points for a regulation loss.

The system has an impact in these short tournaments. In the Olympics, Canada’s overtime victory against Finland in the final round-robin game of the tournament cost them the number-one overall seed and an easier road to the Gold Medal game. It didn't matter in the end, as Canada won the gold anyways, but it did set up a nerve-racking match-up with the United States in the semi-final.

With the number of games that have gone to overtime or a shootout this season, a case could be made for the NHL switching to the 3-2-1-0 point system to help make the games more exciting. Instead of just playing for overtime, maybe a team takes a gamble in the dying minutes and tries to earn that extra point.

So how would a 3-2-1-0 point system have affected this season’s NHL standings and the NHL playoff picture? 

There were still some minor differences for seeding, but in the end, the 16 teams who had qualified for this season’s playoffs under the current format also qualified for the playoffs before the final weekend of the season in the 3-2-1-0 point format.

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Division

Wild Card

Central Division

Pacific Division

Wild Card

One of the two playoff seeding differences was between the St. Louis Blues and the Colorado Avalanche. Under the 3-2-1-0 point format, St. Louis would have earned the No. 1 seed in the Central Division by just one point, largely due to their 40-38 edge in regulation wins.

The other seeding difference involved the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning in the Atlantic Division, who ended up tied at 133 points in the 3-2-1-0 point format. If the first tiebreaker was regulation wins, Montreal would have earned home ice advantage in the first round, as they won 33 games in regulation this season to Tampa Bay’s 32. 

There were also a few differences in seeding with non-playoff teams as well, but the more drastic differences occurred in the Eastern Conference. The Ottawa Senators finished as the No. 9 seed in the Eastern Conference under the 3-2-1-0 point format after they won 27 games in regulation this season. On the opposite end of the standings, the Toronto Maple Leafs finished as the No. 13 seed in the Eastern Conference. Their point total in the current format was boosted by a league-high 14 wins in overtime or a shootout this season. Several playoff teams, including the Tampa Bay Lightning, Colorado Avalanche and San Jose Sharks, also had 14 overtime or shootout wins this season, but the Maple Leafs missed the playoffs this season due to their 36 losses in regulation, including 13 in their final 16 games.

In the Western Conference, the Nashville Predators would have finished as the No. 9 seed, ahead of the Phoenix Coyotes, after Nashville won 33 of their 38 games in regulation.

Full Standings

Central Division

Pacific Division

Atlantic Division

Metropolitan Divison