George Ruggiero- Change The Standings
A much needed change for the NHL is one of the scoring system. Currently, a win, at any point, is worth two points; a loss in overtime still gains a point; and a regulation loss gets nothing. I propose the NHL change the system to one in which a regulation win is worth three points, an overtime win is worth two points, a shootout win is worth only one point, and a loss from any point is worth nothing.
With the system in place, teams have no real fear of going into an overtime situation until late in the season, when every point starts to count a little bit more. Take the Rangers’ Saturday matinee against the Red Wings for example.
With all of two and a half minutes remaining, plenty of time to score, the teams seemed to slow down their approaches and hold out for overtime. This caused that snoozefest to get even more boring.
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Had the scoring system be different, the teams would always have more to play for, because dropping up to two points even with a win could be devastating, whereas only dropping a point is less detrimental.