Posted: Sunday, August 22, 2010, 1:40 PM | 55 comments |
 

NHL to confirm rule change
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On Sept. 14, the NHL’s Board of Governors is expected to approve a rule change to supposedly minimize the shootout’s impact on standings, according to ESPN.com’s EJ Hradek.

Just like the rule change that was approved in June regarding shots to the head, this proposed change is more talk and less actual change.

Columbus GM Scott Howson proposed this change last March, which would change the first tiebreaker from total wins to just regulation and overtime wins - with the exclusion of shootout wins.

However, as long as shootouts factor in the computation of points, excluding them from the tiebreaker will have little impact on the overall standings.

The NHL is still the only professional sports league that rewards teams with points in the standings for losing a game - whether it’s in overtime or in the shootout.

There was only one tie in points in the standings last season that had an impact on playoff seeding, when the Flyers tied Montreal with 88 points. The Flyers won the tiebreaker with two more wins than the Canadiens.

In Hradek’s report, Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland was quoted as saying that this rule would put more of an emphasis on the “60 [or 65] minutes” of the team game, which includes overtime.

That's not true. The points system still rewards teams that excel in the shootout.

Even if this first tiebreaker was enacted last season, the standings in the Eastern Conference would not have changed at all - and would not have impacted either of the two ties in the standings.

Actual 2009-10 standings:                      Standings w/ new rule:

1. Washington 54-15-13 (121 points)       1. Washington 54-15-13 (121 points)
2. New Jersey 48-27-7 (103 points)          2. New Jersey 48-27-7 (103 points)
3. Buffalo 45-27-10 (100 points)              3. Buffalo 45-27-10 (100 points)
4. Pittsburgh 47-28-7 (101 points)            4. Pittsburgh 47-28-7 (101 points)
5. Ottawa 44-32-6 (94 points)                   5. Ottawa 44-32-6 (94 points)
6. Boston 39-30-13 (91 points)                 6. Boston 39-30-13 (91 points)
7. Philadelphia 41-35-6 (88 points)        *7. Philadelphia 37-32-3 (w/ no SO)
8. Montreal 39-33-10 (88 points)            *8. Montreal 32-28-5 (w/ no SO)
---                                                              ----
9. NY Rangers 38-33-11 (87 points)         9. NY Rangers 38-33-11 (87 points
10. Atlanta 35-34-13 (83 points)              10. Atlanta 35-34-13 (83 points)
11. Carolina 35-37-10 (80 points)           *11. Carolina 31-32-5 (w/ no SO)
12. Tampa Bay 34-36-12 (80 points)      *12. Tampa Bay 30-29-5 (w/ no SO)
13. NY Islanders 34-37-11 (79 points)     13. NY Islanders 34-37-11 (79 points
14. Florida 32-37-13 (77 points)              14. Florida 32-37-13 (77 points)
15. Toronto 30-38-14 (74 points)             15. Toronto 30-38-14 (74 points)
                                                                *-indicates tie in points

This confirmation comes on the heels of the NHL’s first Research and Development camp last week, which was headed by former star Brendan Shanahan who works with the league as VP of Hockey and Business Development.

One of the rules proposed and researched at the event - which this writer is in favor of - includes lengthening overtime to drop from 4-on-4 after three minutes to 3-on-3 and eventually 2-on-2 if no winner is determined to try and limit shootout savvy teams from stalling in OT to jump to the shootout.

The only way to limit the shootout’s impact is to not have it in the game at all.

Check out last year’s standings without the shootout involved. The top teams are still the top teams. The points aren't a full representation because teams that went to more shootouts had those games (and opportunity for more points) totally removed from the standings. For example, 19 of Boston's games went to a shootout.

Last year, a record 184 games went to the shootout, as the Columbus Dispatch reported. That's 15-percent of all games!

It would be interesting to see how some of these teams finished over a full 82 games.

Last year's standings without shootouts, with team’s actual final standing in parenthesis:
1. Washington 49-9-7 - 105 points (-16 points)
2. New Jersey 42-22-2 - 86 points (-17 points)
3. Buffalo 41-21-4 - 86 points (-14 points)
4. Pittsburgh 39-26-5 - 83 points (-18 points)
5. Ottawa 39-27-1 - 79 points) (-15 points)
6. Philadelphia (7th) 37-32-3 - 77 points (-11 points)
7. NY Rangers (9th) 35-29-7 - 77 points (-10 points)
8. Atlanta 31-28-7 (10th) - 69 points (-14 points)
---
9. Montreal (8th) 32-28-5 - 67 points (-21 points)
10. Carolina (11th) 31-32-5 - 67 points (-13 points)
11. Tampa Bay (12th) 30-29-5 - 65 points (-15 points)
12. Boston (6th) 29-21-4 - 62 points (-29 points)
13. Toronto (15th) 26-34-10 - 62 points (-12 points)
14. NY Islanders (13th) 26-31-5 - 57 points (-22 points)
15. Florida (14th) 26-27-3 - 55 points (-22 points)

How would you handle the shootout? I'm interested in your take. Would you re-institute ties?

The Flyers open training camp on Sept. 17 and the regular season on Oct. 7 when they open Pittsburgh’s new Consol Energy Center. They will raise their 2009-10 Eastern Conference champions banner at their home opener on Oct. 11.

For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter (http://twitter.com/DNFlyers).
Posted by Frank Seravalli @ 1:40 PM  Permalink | 55 comments
55
Comments   
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:30 PM, 08/22/2010
    I think every game should be worth 3 points, 3 for a regulation winner, 2 for an overtime or shootout winner (1 point for the loser) AND enact this tiebreaker rule. Failing that, I'd prefer the pre-lockout 4 on 4 overtime system leading to either a win (2 points), loss (0) or tie (1).
    — buddyspitz
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:39 PM, 08/22/2010
    2on2 is just as much a gimmick as the shootout. Tell me how a game decided by a 2on2 goal is any more legit than a shootout.
    — bberg11
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 2:54 PM, 08/22/2010
    Just make the OT period longer at 4 on 4 so it is harder for teams to stall through it to get to the shootout. 10 minutes oughta do it. Maybe try 5 min of 3 on 3 after that, but 2 on 2 is just silly.
    — rstone
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:00 PM, 08/22/2010
    Tamper Tamper Tamper. The only good rule they've changed in the last 10 years was the rule forcing a team who iced the puck, to keep their line on the ice. Stop playing with all the damn rules and put the game back to the way it was in the early 90's when it was closing in on the NBA in popularity. Now days NASCAR, MMA, and Golf are bigger ratings earners then Bettman's version of the NHL.
    — punkrockdiva81
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:01 PM, 08/22/2010
    I would eliminate the shootout and institute the tie. I would play a 5 on 5 overtime for 5 minutes. I do not like settling any event with a process that deviates from the normal way of playing the game.
    — pointgiven28
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:10 PM, 08/22/2010
    Would you decide a baseball game with a homerun derby, or a basketball game by a free throw contest? The shoot-out only works in soccer, where they could play another hour and not see a shot on goal. Frank, I don't understand your last list. Shouldn't you have just counted every shootout as a tie to show what the standings would have looked like, instead of using an unequal number of games? See nhlshootouts.com/WhatIf.htm
    — Pelti
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:20 PM, 08/22/2010
    I wholeheartedly agree with pointgiven. It's idiotic that you completely change the rules when you get through regulation. Go back to the 5-on-5 OT and if it ends in a tie, it ends in a tie. The shootout takes a team and turns it into a skills competition. Heck, even reducing the number of players in OT changes the game. Look at the BS from the Gold Medal game in the Olympics. And stop with rewarding teams for losing too.
    — jlcharles
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 3:45 PM, 08/22/2010
    End in tie if tied after 5 minuted of 4-on-4 overtime. We generally suck at shootouts.
    — mildthing
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 4:55 PM, 08/22/2010
    The NHL just wants to make a cosmetic change to make it look like they did something constructive during the offseason.
    — wylies99
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:17 PM, 08/22/2010
    No end of regulation points for a tie, if its tied at the end of the shootout pick another player from each team until there's a winner. Win get points lose or tie nothing, then you'll see them playing for a win.
    — gibby58
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:25 PM, 08/22/2010
    NO TIES!!!! If the shoot out is so bad then teams should try harder to win in regulation or OT.
    — mrflopes
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:34 PM, 08/22/2010
    It's absurd that a team that loses gets a point.
    — phillyinsd
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 5:35 PM, 08/22/2010
    rstone is correct -- eliminate the shootout. Just expand overtime to 10 minutes, 4-on-4. If no team can score during that amount of time, the game ends in a tie. An elongated overtime would also provide opportunities for referees to call additional penalties, which would, in turn, lead to more game-ending goals. The amount of games ending in ties under this format would be minimal, so they could be tolerated. If NFL games can end in ties, so can NHL games.
    — UncleEddie
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 6:49 PM, 08/22/2010
    Agree with Buddy. Can't have some games worth 3 points and others only 2.
    — P Even
  • 0 like this / 0 don't   •   Posted 7:37 PM, 08/22/2010
    Games should have 10 minutes of overtime, 5-on-5. That's it. Winners get two points, losers none, in both regulation and overtime. Overtimes that end in a tie yield ZERO points for either team. THAT will get people going late in the game and in overtime.
    — JoeHoya


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About Frank Seravalli
Frank Seravalli is in his fourth year with the Daily News and third season covering the Flyers. He started at the Daily News as an intern writing about the boozing legends of the Lincoln Financial Field lots and hasn't left. Since joining the Flyers beat, he has covered everything from the Winter Classic to the Stanley Cup Final and everything in between. Prior to joining the Daily News, the Bucks County native did a large amount of freelance work for local media outlets, covering high schools, colleges and all four of Philly's major sports teams. He resides in Center City. E-mail Frank at seravaf@phillynews.com and follow him on Twitter @DNFlyers.

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