As exciting as it is to look up and see the New York Islanders at the top of the table in the Patrick er, Atlantic Division... well, it's only six games. There's also that ridiculous blessed pity point to consider, where two OT losses magically add up to a regular season win. (And they said that alchemy wasn't real. Bettman, you magnificent beast!)
We can't do anything about small sample sizes except to wait for them to become a full-grown season. But the Mystery Point? Heh, that I can handle. Below the jump, I give you an updated look at the league, based on what the standings would be in those happy times before the OTL and shootout plagued the land.
| East | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | SOW | OTL | TPL | actW | actL | actT | actPt | 3-1-0 | PTS% | ||
| Atlantic Division | ||||||||||||||||
| New York Islanders | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 0.667 | ||
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0.571 | ||
| Philadelphia Flyers | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.500 | ||
| New York Rangers | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.375 | ||
| New Jersey Devils | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.250 | ||
| Northeast Division | ||||||||||||||||
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0.900 | ||
| Montreal Canadiens | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0.700 | ||
| Boston Bruins | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.667 | ||
| Buffalo Sabres | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.250 | ||
| Ottawa Senators | 6 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.250 | ||
| Southeast Division | ||||||||||||||||
| Washington Capitals | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0.800 | ||
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0.800 | ||
| Atlanta Thrashers | 5 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0.600 | ||
| Florida Panthers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.500 | ||
| Carolina Hurricanes | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.500 | ||
| West | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | SOW | OTL | TPL | actW | actL | actT | actPt | 3-1-0 | PTS% | ||
| Central Division | ||||||||||||||||
| Chicago Blackhawks | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 12 | 0.643 | ||
| Nashville Predators | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 9 | 0.875 | ||
| Detroit Red Wings | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 0.700 | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0.600 | ||
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.500 | ||
| Northwest Division | ||||||||||||||||
| Colorado Avalanche | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 0.667 | ||
| Vancouver Canucks | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0.500 | ||
| Calgary Flames | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.500 | ||
| Edmonton Oilers | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 0.500 | ||
| Minnesota Wild | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0.375 | ||
| Pacific Division | ||||||||||||||||
| Dallas Stars | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0.800 | ||
| Los Angeles Kings | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0.750 | ||
| Anaheim Ducks | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 0.417 | ||
| San Jose Sharks | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.500 | ||
| Phoenix Coyotes | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 0.375 | ||
| 10/19/2010 | 146 | 73 | 54 | 19 | 165 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 67 | 67 | 12 | 146 | 213 | 0.565 |
A brief explanation - obviously the leftmost group are the current standings. The middle group has every team's shootout wins and overtime losses, added together to show how many Mystery Points are bloating their season total. The third group is the "corrected" or Real Standings - shootout wins moved to the ties column, and OT losses moved to the loss column, where they belong.
(You can ignore the green column if you like - it just shows what the standings would look like if wins were three points, ties worth one, and losses worth zero. The idea there is that a 1-1-0 record is a point better than a 0-0-2 record, so it removes the incentive to dull down the end of tie games, and encourages playing all-out through the final whistle.)
This isn't a perfect solution by any means. For one thing, as Behind the Net has discovered, the Mystery Point influences team's behavior by rewarding them for hanging on to a shootout (or at least getting to overtime). The result is that there are more of those. If we really were in a 2-1-0 or 3-1-0 system the numbers would change a lot because the teams would play the final minutes of tie games much differently. I still think it's an interesting way to look at the developing season, to get a more accurate picture of what the bottom line might look at in the end.
Aside - I'm working on the table formatting; hopefully it won't look so bloated and ungainly next time.
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