Going into every game, the goal is to win. If you lose, you have failed to reach your goal. The team that meets their goal the most should be considered the better team. This is true in every sport except for NHL hockey.
If the Rangers (2 games remaining post tonight) and the Carolina Hurricanes (3 games remaining) win out in regulation, they will both finish with 93 points. The Rangers will finish with 44 wins, compared to Carolina's 41, but they will miss the playoffs. The Hurricanes will finish with a .500 winning percentage compared to NY's .536, but somehow, the Rags will play golf earlier. Why? Because, after points, the first tiebreaker is regulation wins. Because on 11 occasions the Hurricanes received a point for a loss compared to 5 for the NYR. How does a system that rewards losers exist?
Shootout games are supposed to disappear in that first tiebreaker, but that doesn't mean those points for losses weren't critical. Consider a system where teams receive 2 points for a win, 1 point for a shootout win, and 0 for a loss. For this system to work, one must accept the fact that playing longer doesn't necessarily mean you earn a point. If this system were in place, the Rangers finish 35-37-9 and the Hurricanes 36-41-5. That's 79 points for NY to 77 points for Carolina. That's a playoff birth in NY. In the current system, a shootout win is punished more severely than a loss. Even a system where total losses is the first tiebreaker makes more sense. Teams shouldn't be rewarded just for losing later.
At least last year, the Rangers missed the playoffs because they lost a game. This year, if they miss because of a technicality, it will be worse. Change the system.
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