Get Rid Of The Point System In Hockey Already!

My father told me the other day how the Chicago Blackhawks at a record of 6-0-2 were an undefeated team.    I corrected him stating that the Blackhawks had 2 losses but both were in overtime and thus the reason for the third column.    I'm sure he wasn't the only one who was fooled by that.

Before the advent of shootouts, hockey games used to end in ties if neither team scored a goal in overtime.    The point system was used to give a team an attaboy for not losing the game.    The system was as follows:  2 points for a win, 1 point for a tie, 0 points for a loss.     Recently, the shootout was installed to ensure there would be a winner.    Ok, sounds simple enough.   One team wins, the other loses and no more need for a point system since ties were eliminated, right? 

Sadly wrong.    The NHL won't let go of the point system and have figured out a ridiculous way to keep it going.   How?   Well, if a team loses in overtime, that team is awarded one point.   That's right folks.   You are rewarded for losing the game, hence the reason for the Wins, Losses, and Overtime Losses columns in the hockey standings.    Currently, the Flyers have a 6-7-1, or as I see it, 6-8 record.   I fail to see why a team should receive any special recognition for losing a game in overtime or a shootout vs. losing a game in regulation time.    A loss is a loss.  

In baseball, teams losing a game in extra innings aren't awarded 1/2 of a win.   You could say the same for basketball.   A football regular-season game can end in a tie, but it goes down as a tie.   Nothing else.    In the standings, the records read wins and losses and any team not in first place is listed in the Games Behind column.    Why can't hockey adopt that?    It's a possibility, albeit a very, very remote one, that a team could lose all 82 of its games in overtime, have 82 points, and be a contender for a playoff berth.    How bizarre would that be?  

Hockey is unique in many ways without the dopey point system.   It's a sport in which players are allowed to openly fight in front of the referee.   I covered that in an earlier post, but still it's a strange phenomenon.    A spectator gets to see a boxing match every now and then if he goes to the right games.