NHL Standings ordered by wins instead of points

NHL Standings are determined by points each team has earned. The current method for determining points is a 2-1-0 system.

Teams are awarded two points for a win, whether it’s in regulation or overtime, one point for an overtime loss, and no points for a regulation loss. But what if we were transported back before the turn of the century? Before 2000, the NHL awarded zero points for an overtime loss. An overtime loss was just a loss.

What would the standings look like by wins and losses if overtime losses didn’t matter? Here’s what each conference’s standings would look like under a pre-2000 system.

What do the NHL Standings look like when ordered by wins and not points?

Eastern Conference - Metropolitan Division

While the standings remain pretty similar, there’s notable movement in how much space is between some teams when compared to the actual standings. The New Jersey Devils are one win back from the Philadelphia Flyers. In the actual standings, the Flyers are five points ahead of the Devils. The New York Rangers are the top team in the division by points and by wins.

The placement that stands out the most is the New York Islanders in seventh. In the actual standings, they have 58 points and the Devils have 60. Therefore, they’re only two points behind the Devils in the division race, yet they have seven fewer wins. No one has benefited more from the overtime loss point than the Islanders. They sit four points out of a Wild Card spot with 14 overtime losses.

Eastern Conference - Atlantic Division

Basing the Atlantic Division's standings on wins doesn't change the order very much. The difference between this list and the actual standings is that the Toronto Maple Leafs and Tampa Bay Lightning are flipped. Notably, the Lightning have three games in hand on the Maple Leafs. The Ottawa Senators and Montreal Canadiens are tied on this list of wins. The Senators are the team that’s actually in last place in the Atlantic Division. This is because the Canadiens have eight overtime losses.

The Boston Bruins have the most overtime losses in the division, with 11 OTLs. However, even without the cushion of the OTL point, the Bruins are still a top-tier team, and their placement in the division standings doesn’t change since they have the least regulation losses in the entire league. The Florida Panthers are the top team in the division by this standard and in the actual standings.

Western Conference - Pacific Division

The Vancouver Canucks still lead the division even when the standings are ordered by wins. They have the most points (80) in the entire league and 37 wins. No matter how you slice it, the Canucks are the best team in the NHL. There’s a lot to look at in the rest of these standings compared to the actual standings. With 64 points, the Los Angeles Kings lead the Western Conference Wild Card race. The Kings have 27 wins, yet the Nashville Predators have 28 wins and are not in a Wild Card spot. This is the result of the Kings having 10 overtime losses.

The Vegas Golden Knights are currently second in the division and third by points percentage due to the Oilers having three games in hand on them. On this list, they’re fourth, and the Oilers are second. The Oilers have only lost one game in overtime, the least OTLs in the league, meaning they’re being hurt the most by other teams' OTL points. The Golden Knights have six overtime losses, which boosts them above the Oilers in the standings despite the Oilers having more wins. The Seattle Kraken are benefitting from the OTL point, with 10 overtime losses. They’re currently four points back in the Western Conference Wild Card race. They have two less wins than the Calgary Flames who are a point behind them.

Western Conference - Central Division

Currently, ordering the standing by wins instead of points has almost no effect on the order of the Central Division teams. The key difference is with the Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. In the actual standings, the Stars are three points ahead of the Avalanche. In terms of wins, though, the two teams are tied with 34. 

The Stars have 75 points, the Avalanche have 72, and the Winnipeg Jets have 71. Although they’re four points behind the Stars, the Jets only have one less win. However, it’s important to note that the Jets have three games in hand on the Stars and four games in hand on the Avalanche. Noticeably, Central Division teams don’t have as many overtime losses as the other divisions. This is why their standings are not affected much when ordered by wins.

While the overtime loss point doesn’t have too much of an effect on top tier teams’ and bottom tier teams’ placement in the standings, middle-of-the-pack teams with a lot of overtime losses gain the most from the OTL point. Here are the teams with the most overtime losses:

• New York Islanders - 14
• Boston Bruins - 11
• Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken, and Columbus Blue Jackets - 10
• Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and Washington Capitals - 8

This season, the NHL team that can thank the “loser point” for their shot at the Wild Card race is the Islanders.