As discussed previously by Jonny4Gets, here's a look at how the Eastern Conference Standings would have looked this morning using a 3 point per game system.

Regulation Wins earn 3 points
Overtime/SO Wins earn 2 points
Overtime/SO Losses earn 1 point
Regulation Losses earn 0 points

Team	GP	PCT	PTS	W	OW	OL	L
PHI	27	.630	51	14	3	3	7
FLA	28	.607	51	15	1	4	8
BOS	27	.605	49	14	3	1	9
PIT	29	.552	48	12	4	4	9
NYR	25	.627	47	13	2	4	6
TOR	28	.524	44	11	4	3	10
BUF	27	.506	41	11	3	2	11
OTT	29	.460	40	10	3	4	12
WPG	27	.481	39	11	1	4	11
WSH	27	.457	37	8	6	1	12
MTL	29	.425	37	8	3	7	11
NJD	27	.432	35	6	8	1	12
NYI	26	.423	33	9	0	6	11
TBL	28	.393	33	7	5	2	14
CAR	30	.344	31	9	0	4	17

The current top 8 would not change, but the race for 8th changes quite a bit.

Washington and New Jersey have identical 14-12-1 records in the current system, but because 8 of New Jersey's 14 wins have come after regulation, in the 3 point system, they end up 2 points behind Washington, but they both end up behind Winnipeg, which jumps from 12th to 9th because all but one of their 12 wins have come in regulation.

Likewise, the Islanders benefit from winning their games in regulation and jump past Tampa (with the tiebreaker), even though Tampa has 3 more wins than them in the current system.

Looking Back at Last Season

Washington finished atop the East at 48-23-11 107
In the new system, Philadelphia (47-23-12 106 to 41-6-12-23 147) jumps to 1st, while Boston (46-25-11 103 to 43-3-11-25 146) jumps from 3rd to 2nd. Washington (34-14-11-23) falls to 3rd due to the amount of wins they earned in OT/SO.

The rest of the top 8
Pittsburgh 34-15-8-25 140 - was 4th in the welfare system
Tampa Bay 32-14-11-25 135 - 5th
Montreal 36-8-8-30 132 - 6th
NY Rangers 32-12-5-33 - 8th on welfare
Buffalo 28-15-10-29 - 7th on welfare

In the hunt, Carolina finishes 9th again (29-11-11-31 120)
The rest stays fairly consistent with last year, though the Isles drop to 15th from 14th with 19-11-13-39 92.

The same 8 teams make the playoffs in the west, with some seeding changes. NSH to 4th, PHX to 5th, LAK up to 6th, ANA down to 7th and CHI in 8th.

The whole "It makes the standings confusing" argument is now moot, thanks to the Bettmans-that-be adding the (SO) column for the current tiebreak of discounting shootout wins.

In a vacuum, it would seem the safer play would be to get to OT to get 1 point instead of 0, with the chance for a 2nd point. However, doing that could cost you a point in the standings against a rival who managed the regulation win. This should drive teams to make the riskier play for the 3 points, which means better finishes in close games as teams actually try to win rather than play for OT.