The Loser Point: What Would The Standings Look Like Without It?

This string of three point games is killing every team stuck in the potential fun and excitement of the Western Conference playoff race; The Avs included. Here is a look at the current Western Conference standings in comparison to what they would look like if teams didn’t get a point for losing. The head honchos at NBC Sports, and the guys who pick teams for the Winter Classic may want to close their browsers now, as there are no mentions of anything Eastern Conference. Hockey Blasphemy anyone?
(By the way, we are aware of the awkward alignment on different browers, we'll see what we can do about fixing it)

Current Western Conference Standings                  Standings Without the Loser Point

Team                                     PTS                                          Team                                PTS

1. St. Louis Blues                     103                                          1.  St. Louis Blues               94

2. Vancouver Canucks             98                                            2. Vancouver Canucks        90

3. Dallas Stars                          87                                           3. Dallas Stars                     82

4. Nashville Predators              96                                            4. Detroit Red Wings           90

5. Detroit Red Wings                95                                           5. Nashville Predators          88

6. Chicago Blackhawks            92                                            6. Chicago Blackhawks       84

7. Phoenix Coyotes                  87                                            7. Colorado Avalanche     80

8. LA Kings                             86                                            8. San Jose Sharks            76

9. San Jose Sharks                   86                                            9. LA Kings                      74

10. Colorado Avalanche        86                                            10. Phoenix Coyotes        74

11. Calgary Flames                  83                                            11. Calgary Flames           68

12. Anaheim Ducks                  75                                           12. Anaheim Ducks              64

13. Minnesota Wild                  72                                           13. Minnesota Wild              61

14. Edmonton Oilers                 71                                          14. Edmonton Oilers             62

15. Columbus Blue Jackets       55                                          15. Columbus Blue Jackets    48

As you can see, seeds 1-4 and 11-15 do not change with the removal of the loser point. The situations change however. The Red Wings are only 2 points back of the Blues for the Central Division lead, and the Dallas Stars have an 6 point advantage over the San Jose Sharks and an 8 point lead on Phoenix Coyotes in the Pacific Division without the loser point. In today's NHL, Dallas and Phoenix are tied with 87 points. The only thing keeping the Coyotes out of the lead is the fact that Dallas has played 1 fewer game. San Jose is also close to the division lead now, trailing by only one point. 

There is also a minor difference in the 4^th and 5^th seeds. The Predators currently have a 1 point lead on the Detroit Red Wings, but in the second column, without the loser point, Detroit still leads by 2 points. Extra breathing room for the Red Wings would be huge. Home ice advantage in the Joe Louis Arena is a great advantage.

The real difference occurs with seeds 6-10. LA and Phoenix currently occupy the 7^th and 8^th seeds in the West, with Colorado and San Jose looking in from the outside. The roles are completely reversed in the revised standings. Colorado and San Jose sit in 7^th and 8^th respectively, and the Coyotes and Sharks find themselves out of the playoffs, with a larger point margin.

The biggest change, and we’re not just saying that because this is an Avs blog, comes at the hands of the Avalanche. The Avalanche are currently in 10^th spot in the Western Conference, with their schedule fighting against them. They are only 1 point out of the playoffs, but they have the least remaining games. In the second column, the Avs are in a more comfortable 7^th place, and have a 6 point lead on 9^th place Los Angeles. They have a 4 point lead on San Jose in 8^th, and are only 4 points back of the Phoenix Coyotes for 6^th spot in the conference. The difference is huge in the eyes of the Avalanche. It will be fun to see how the standings play out at the end of the year, as it always is, and it will be fun to see how much the loser point can influence who makes or misses the playoffs. Wouldn’t it be something if a team won the Stanley Cup after making the playoffs because of accumulated loser points?