FanPost

The Old School Standings

Another big win today! We just keep on rolling!!!!

But it was another one of those dreaded three point games. I personally hate the three point games. I think it hurts the league. It seems unfair to have some games have 3 points and some games have 2 points.

Before they started going to the bonus point system 10 years ago or so, I HATED ties and used to argue anyone who paid for a ticket should get their money back if the game ended in a tie. But now I have learned the error of my ways. The three point games smack of illegitimacy in my opinion. But they are here to stay so I guess I should just get over it!!

Just for kicks I put together the standings how they would have looked back in the 80's and 90's when all games were two points and if you lost in OT then it was just a loss.

I have put the standings up for all games through today, 4/20 in the Eastern Conference. All games a team has won in regulation and OT go as wins and 2 points. All games that a team loses in regulation and OT count as losses and the team gets 0 points. Just the way it used to be in "the good old days". And any game that went to a shootout, regardless of who won, goes in as a tie and the team gets 1 point. Check out the standings below:

Team GP Win Loss Tie Pts
1. Pit 44 31 10 3 65
2. Tor 45 25 15 5 55
3. Mon 45 24 16 5 53
4. Bos 43 22 15 6 50
5. Win 45 21 19 5 47
6. Was 45 22 20 3 47
7. Ott 44 19 17 8 46
8. NYR 44 19 17 8 46
9. NYI 45 20 20 5 45
10. Phi 45 19 23 3 41
11. NJ 44 15 20 9 39
12. Buf 45 13 22 10 36
13. TB 44 16 24 4 36
14. Car 44 17 26 1 35
15. Fla 44 10 30 4 24

So looking at this the Islanders would actually have been hurt by the old system. They are in 6th today with the current way of doing things but would be in 9th with one more game played than the Rangers who are in 8th. So thank god for the new system!

The Leafs are actually the team most hurt by this new system. They would be 2nd in the conference with their regulation win tonight over the Sens but are 5th in the new system and no real chance to move up any higher before the season ends, losing them home ice in the first and second rounds.

Not that this means much, but was just something interesting that I was curious in looking into and thought I would share with all of you.

On a personal note, I would like to say how much the past few weeks has meant to me as an Isles fan. After the loss to Ottawa a few weeks ago when they blew the late 3rd period lead for what seemed like the hundredth straight game, I was pretty much at my tipping point. I actually did not watch the next couple of games. Which may not seem like too much, but I don't think I've missed an Islanders game in the past 5 years, no matter where they were in the standings. I was ranting about how they needed to fire Capuano and how I would not watch another game until they fired him.

But after they won the next couple of games i could not stay away any longer. I guess when you truly love your sports team you have no choice but to come back. I am 31 years old, so 1993 was the only success I ever really saw with this franchise. But I have stuck with them through everything. The past few weeks have truly been amazing. I have never felt this much joy in watching my favorite team. Out of all my other teams in all other sports, the Isles are far and away my favorite.

When I moved out to Western NY for college in 2000, my father told me to get out while I was still young and become a Sabres fan. But I couldn't. When I moved to Charlotte, NC two years ago he told me I was still young enough to get away and to start rooting for the Hurricanes. But I still couldn't do it. The Islanders are a part of who I am, and they always will be. No other team could ever bring me the joy that the Isles can. They have not even clinched a spot in the playoffs yet and this is already been one of the greatest sports months of my life.

So thank you John Tavares and Josh Bailey and Evgeni Nabakov and the rest of the team for the past three weeks. And let's keep this going all the way into the playoffs! Go Islanders!

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