NHL Loser Points Don’t Matter

Posted by Mother Pucker on April 8th, 2009

As of this second, the NHL loser points (losing in OT or a shootout) don’t have any bearing on which teams are going to make the playoffs.

I ran through all the teams and only gave them two points for their wins, and found that the top 8 remained the same in each conference, with only a few teams in the top 8 swapping spots due to minor point differences. The Canes and Flyers would switch spots, but still play each other in the first round. Out west the Ducks and Jackets would swap causing them to play different first round opponents, but regardless, if you make the playoffs you should just be proud to be there.

As for the teams on the bubble, the loser points didn’t make a difference as they all pretty muched stayed in the same spot. The surprising one though, and for a completely non playoff team, is the Tampa Bay Lightning with league worst 48 points. That’s 4 points fewer than the Islanders!