How Do Points Work In NHL?

How do points work in the NHL? The NHL awards two points for a team winning in regulation time, and one point for a team that loses in overtime or a shootout.

Introduction

In the National Hockey League (NHL), standings points are used to determine playoff qualification and seeding. The Stanley Cup, the NHL’s championship trophy, is awarded to the team that finishes with the most points in the regular season.

There are two types of standings points:
-“regulation and overtime wins” (abbreviated as “ROW”), and
-total points.

A team receives two points for a regulation or overtime win, and one point for a shootout loss.

The NHL uses a modified version of the standings points system used in other professional sports leagues in North America. In most other leagues, teams receive two points for a win and none for a loss (overtime losses are worth one point). The NHL added a third category, worth one point, to recognize teams that lose in overtime or a shootout.

How Many Points Does a Team Get?

In the National Hockey League, teams are given two points for a win, one point for a overtime or shootout loss, and zero points for a regulation loss. There are other factors that can contribute to a team’s point total, but those are the basics. So, how many points does a team need to make the playoffs?

Win in Regulation Time

In the NHL, a team gets two points for a win in regulation time, which is when the game ends in 60 minutes. If the game is tied after 60 minutes, it goes to overtime, and the first team to score in overtime gets an extra point. The losing team in overtime or a shootout gets one point.

Win in Overtime or Shootout

In the NHL, a game can end in overtime or a shootout if the score is tied after regulation. In overtime, each team gets one point if the game is tied at the end of regulation time. If a team scores in overtime, that team gets two points and the other team gets zero points. If a game is tied at the end of overtime, it goes to a shootout. In a shootout, each team gets one point if the game is tied at the end of overtime. If a team scores in a shootout, that team gets two points and the other team gets zero points.

Loss in Overtime or Shootout

If the game is still tied after the five minute overtime period, the game will go to a shootout. In a shootout, each team gets three shots. The team that scores the most goals in those three shots wins the game. If the score is still tied after the three shots, it then becomes a sudden death shootout where each team gets one more shot. The first team to score in sudden death wins the game. In the regular season, if a game is still tied after a shootout, each team gets one point.

What Happens When Two Teams Are Tied?

In the NHL, when two teams are tied at the end of regulation time, they go into a five minute overtime period. If the score is still tied at the end of overtime, then the game goes to a shootout. In a shootout, each team gets three shots. If the score is still tied after the shootout, then the game ends in a tie.

Standings Points

In the National Hockey League (NHL), standings points are used to determine playoff seeding. The team with the most standings points in each division is awarded the division title. In the event that two or more teams are tied in points, the following tiebreakers are used, in order:

1. The greater number of games won, excluding games won in overtime or by shootout.
2. The greater number of points earned in games between the tied clubs. If two clubs are tied, and have not played an equal number of home games against each other, points earned in the first game played in the city that had the extra game shall not be included. If more than two clubs are tied, the higher percentage of available points earned in games among those clubs, and not including any “odd” games, shall be used to determine the standing.
3. The greater differential between goals for and against for the entire regular season.

Tiebreakers

There are a couple different scenarios that can occur when two teams are tied in the standings. If two teams are tied in points, the first tiebreaker is goal differential. Goal differential is calculated by taking the difference between the number of goals scored and the number of goals allowed. So if team A has scored 10 goals and allowed 5, their goal differential would be +5. If team B has scored 9 goals and allowed 6, their goal differential would be +3. In this case, team A would win the tiebreaker and would be ranked higher in the standings.

If two teams are still tied after goal differential, the next tiebreaker is head-to-head record. This is only used if the two teams have played each other an equal number of times during the season. If they have not played each other an equal number of times, then head-to-head record does not come into play and we move on to the next tiebreaker.

If two teams are still tied after goal differential and head-to-head record, the next tiebreaker is most wins. This is simply whoever has more wins during the season.

If two teams are still tied after all of these tiebreakers, then they will be considered co-champions and will beranked equally in the standings.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the NHL standings are very important when it comes to the playoffs. The higher you are in the standings, the better your chances are of making the playoffs. The NHL standings can be a bit confusing, but once you understand how they work, they are pretty simple.