Happy New Year's Random Rants and Ruminations

Some random thoughts as we enter 2017.

• In calendar year 2016, the Rangers were 51-26-5-1.  Not an awful year to look back on, regardless of the early playoff ouster.
• Biggest surprise of the new season?  It has to be Nick Holden.  In 39 games he has seven goals and 13 assists for 20 points while averaging over 20 minutes of ice time per game.  Holden is sitting in 19th place among all defensemen in scoring. How does he compare to the players in the biggest trade of the off-season?  He has one fewer point than Shea Weber and three more points than P.K. Subban.  He also has more five more goals and two more points than Keith Yandle.  It's worth noting that 11 of Yandle's 18 points are on the powerplay vs. only five of Holden's.  Holden is making $1.65 million per year....Yandle is earning $6.3 million.  Jeff Gorton got him for a 2017 4th round pick.  Can anyone spell steal?
• The Rangers, with 53 points, are in third place in the hyper-competitive Metropolitan Division.  Where would they be in the Atlantic, Central or Pacific Divisions?  First place.
• Second biggest surprise of the season is Michael Grabner.  Although he scored 34 goals one season (2010-11), the 14 goals he has scored this season are the most since 2013 when he scored 16.   Although he has slowed down a bit, look for the scoring to pick up when the team gets healthy...don't forget that he scored the bulk of his goals when he was on the fourth line. When Mika and Buchnevich come back...watch out!
• After watching Derek Stepan ream out his teammates after falling behind Ottawa 2-0 in the first three minutes and pushing them to a comeback win one has to wonder if it is that kind of leadership the team needs as opposed to the Ryan McDonagh style?  This is not a knock on McDonagh, but it's obvious that the role has weighed on him.  When he succeeded Ryan Callahan as captain in 2014, he was only 25 and the fourth youngest captain in the team's history.  This was coming off a season where he had an offensive line of 14-29-43. Since that season he has never exceeded ten goals or 25 assists (he has 22 assists already this year).  McDonagh leads by example.  Stepan showed he can give the team a kick in the ass.  Maybe co-captaincy is the answer?
• Goals disallowed by offside calls make sense, but not when the goal is scored over a minute later.   Allowing that kind of call completely negates any work done to keep the puck in the offensive zone and allows defensive ineptitude to be rewarded.  There should be a time limit on those calls.  If a defensive team cannot get the puck out of their zone in a minute and then they get scored on, they deserve to pay the price.  Picture this.  Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Game tied.  A team enters the offensive zone with one forward a quarter inch offside (and not detected).  They keep the puck in the offensive zone with a furious cycle for two full minutes as the goalie makes two brilliant saves.  His defense continues to whiff on clearing attempts or are stopped by amazing keep-in's by the point players.   Finally, after over two minutes of cycling, furious forechecking and amazing plays the goal is scored.  All agree it was the best two minutes of hockey played the entire series.  And it all gets called back on that offside call. Now THAT would be ridiculous.  
• Speaking of offsides....I've alway wondered why teams persist in vacating the zone when they are offside and the defensive team has possession.  No matter what, the team skedaddles out of the zone, allowing the defensive team to set up an orderly, organized rush.  Hell, why not just keep pursuit, take the offside and subsequent faceoff?  It would allow for a line change and give you an even shot at winning the faceoff and gaining possession.   Even if it was ruled an intentional offside and the faceoff is moved to your zone, you still have a 50-50 shot at winning the faceoff AND you get to make the line change. It never happens and it leads to goals. I don't get it. 
•  The Tampa Bay Lightning are in danger of missing the playoffs, yet hockey mavens all worship at the altar of Steve Yzerman, their GM.  He is constantly mentioned as the best in the business, mainly because he built a good team after years of missing the playoffs (and benefitted from five top ten draft picks in five years).   After being picked by many as the favorite to win the Cup, the team is a couple points out of a playoff spot and everyone is blaming injuries to Stamkos and other key personnel (this doesn't happen to other teams????).   He has put the team in an untenable cap situation.  Next season they are looking at $59 million in committed salary with nine forwards, four defensemen and one goalie under contract.  That leaves them an estimated $14 million in cap space and they will need to sign RFA's Jonathan Drouin, Ondrej Palat,  Tyler Johnson, Andrej Sustr and Nikita Nesterov along with a new back-up goalie and some depth.    This year, Yzerman signed 27 year old Alex Killorn to a seven year contract worth $4.6 million per.  Yikes. Killorn is a solid, intelligent left wing who has never scored more than 17 goals and 41 points in a season.  This year, he has 11 goals and 7 assists.  Double yikes.  Shades of 31 year old Ryan Callahan who is under contract until 2020 at $5.8 million per year and is perpetually on the injured list.  This after doling out $8 million per to Hedman and Stamkos for the next six years.  In 2019-20 the Bolts will have $32 million tied up in five players, all around thirty or older.  Yup, Yzerman is a genius. 
• Can we stop with the Dan Girardi bashing?  I agree that he was the recipient of a bloated contract that the Rangers regret.  I am also aware that his game is not best suited to the "new NHL" style that stresses speed and puck movement.  I also agree that he could be better used as a second or third pair defenseman instead of playing top minutes teamed with Ryan McDonagh. But is he really that bad?   Since 2010-11 he has been on the wrong side of plus/minus only once. He has missed only 15 games in that same span.  This season he is tied for second place in the entire league in blocked shots (96).  There are 62 defenseman in the NHL with more giveaways than Girardi (24).  He is 39th in the league among defensemen with 62 hits.  Everyone seems fixated on his Corsi rating that puts him third from last among the 163 defenseman who have played in at least 20 games.  This has to be affected by his high percentage of defensive zone starts (he is 22nd in the league) on a team that is losing more faceoffs than they are winning.  If the Rangers released him tomorrow, there are a number of teams that would be happy to give him a regular gig.  Finally, enough about the contract.  Everyone forgets that when he signed the deal he was two years away from making the All Star team.   That spring, there were two impending free agents, Girardi and Ryan Callahan.  Girardi signed while Callahan was dealt to Tampa along with two first round picks (!)  for Martin St. Louis and a second round pick. Sather's option for Girardi was to (1) risk losing him as an UFA after the season, (2)   trade him for future assets (3) trade him for another high priced veteran defenseman, probably a rental (4) sign him.   So, knowing that he was going to shoot the moon and go for the Cup, he signed Girardi and solidified what was thought of at the time as the best defense in the NHL.    Yes, Girardi committed an egregious giveaway in overtime of the first game of the Finals, but until last season, the Ranger defense was solid gold.  It's clear that Girardi isn't going anywhere...and he is still better than a lot of defensemen in the NHL, so enough already.   And if you still think Dylan McIlrath was a better option, he cannot crack the lineup of the Florida Panthers, a team that has won 16 out of 38 games this season. 
• Is it coincidence that former Rangers seem to be able to score against the Blueshirts and no one else?  Viktor Stalberg has scored seven goals in 35 games for Carolina.  In three games against New York he has three goals. Anthony Duclair has three goals in 35 games....against the Rangers?  One goal in two games.  P.A. Parenteau leads the Devils with 10 goals in 25 games. He has one goal in two games against the Rangers. Eric Staal is having an excellent season and notched two assists in his only game against New York.  At least they've kept Lee Stempniak off the scoreboard in the three games they faced him this year.  Last year he tormented the Rangers with four goals and one assist in four game. 
• Curious about that Adam Larsson-Taylor Hall deal that everyone said was a steal by the Devils and a horrible transaction by the Oilers.  The last I looked, the Devils were in last place in the Metropolitan Divsion with only seven regulation wins.  That's one position WORSE than last season.   The Oilers are in second place in the Pacific Division, three points out of first.  They were last in the Divison last year.  So, who made which team better????
• Yup, the Blue Jackets won again, convincingly stopping the Wild winning streak at 12 games. Columbus has now won 15 in a row. The 1992-93 Penguins hold the record for the longest winning streak at 17 games. If Columbus can beat Edmonton on Tuesday, they can tie the record with a win against Washington on Thursday.  And if they beat the Capitals they can set a new record at home on Saturday against which team?  Our own beloved New York Rangers.  A bit of trivia.  In 1993, the Penguins won their 17th game in a row to set the standard against which team?  The New York Rangers. 

A solid win tonight in Colorado (though the Rangers let the Avalanche take the lead and it was tied midway through the second period). Hat tricks in two straight games (Puempel & Kreider) and again, the Stepan-Kreider-Zuccarello line was lights out.  J.T. Miller scored twice and Henrik was solid in net.  The third straight game against weak teams comes Tuesday vs. Buffalo at MSG.   That will mark the end of the fourth ten game sequence.  I'll have a recap shortly after that game.    

Here's to a great 2017...the perfect year for the Rangers to hoist the Cup again.  

Revisiting the 3 Point Win

QUICK RECAP

A big win in Arizona and two straight games that the Rangers were fortunate to win.   After falling behind 2-0 in just over three minutes against Ottawa, they rallied for the victory, helped by at least two posts. Last night, though Duclair's tying goal was a lucky deflection on a marginal penalty call, it still meant that the Rangers were tied with only four and a half minutes left in a game against arguably the worst team in the league.   On a positive note, the power play has come alive and played a big role in the two wins. After not scoring a PP goal in six games (0 for 12), they have gone 5 for 11 in two games.  Actually, they are really 7 for 10 since one PP in Phoenix lasted only ten seconds and against Ottawa they scored goals two and four seconds after Senator penalties had expired. That's a pretty good streak. Matt Puempel is also showing a nose for the net and both Kevin Hayes and J.T. Miller have revived their games.  All of this without Rick Nash.

They are keeping pace with Pittsburgh and Columbus while Philadelphia and Washington are falling off.  With a road game in Denver on New Year's Eve, they have a chance to sweep the road trip and end the year on a high note.  They need the points with big games coming up against the Flyers, Blue Jackets and Canadiens, all on the road in the next two weeks.

The Rangers-Avalanche game is on Saturday, but I would not blame anyone for instead watching the Blue Jackets vs. the Wild in Minneapolis.   The Columbus 14 game winning streak and the Minnesota 12 game winning streak  will collide headlong in that contest, the first time two teams with double digit winning streaks will play each other in NHL history.   One of the streaks will end...which one?

What follows is another rant about the current state of the NHL.   Happy New Year!

THE THREE POINTER

I recently wrote about the concept of three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime or shootout win and one point for a shootout or overtime loss.  The argument is that by adding a point for a regulation win it would make the third period more competitive with teams no longer playing for the "loser point."  I thought it would be helpful to look at the number of overtime games that have been played this season and to compare that data to past seasons.

First, some history.  In the early days of the NHL there was an overtime period with no point awarded to the losing team. That was eliminated in 1942 due to WWII train scheduling issues.  The overtime period was not reinstated until the 1983-84 season when the five minute OT was added.  The losing team still did not get a point, with two points earned by the winner.

If any proof was needed to make the point that the third period is increasingly becoming a "play it safe " period when teams are tied, here it is.  Let's look at how many games this season would have ended as ties in the pre-1983 format.

	GAMES	TIES	FULL SEASON			GAMES	TIES	FULL SEASON
Florida	37	16	35		Vancouver	37	10	22
New Jersey	36	14	32		Islanders	35	9	21
Detroit	36	12	27		Pittsburgh	37	9	20
Buffalo	35	11	26		Dallas	37	9	20
Philadelphia	37	12	26		Minnesota	35	8	19
Carolina	34	11	26		Montreal	36	8	18
Chicago	38	12	26		Anaheim	37	8	18
Los Angeles	36	11	25		Boston	38	8	17
Columbus	34	10	24		Winnipeg	38	8	17
Washington	34	10	24		Tampa	37	7	16
Ottawa	36	10	23		Nashville	35	7	16
Toronto	35	10	23		Calgary	37	7	16
St. Louis	36	10	23		San Jose	35	6	14
Arizona	36	10	23		Colorado	34	5	12
Edmonton	37	10	22		Rangers	38	4	9

Yup, you are reading this chart correctly.  The Florida Panthers would be on target for 35 ties in an 82 game season, followed closely by the Devils with 32 ties.  In fact, 19 of the 30 teams in the league would be headed for seasons where one fourth of the games would have ended in ties.  

I took a look at the original six teams and their overtime records between 1967 when the league expanded to 12 teams from six and 1983 when overtime was reinstated.  In those sixteen years the most ties in a season by any team was 23 by the Black Hawks in 1973-74.  That was the only time in 16 years that a team exceeded 20 ties in a season (96 total seasons).   19 ties were recorded by a team four times in those 16 years.  In fact, teams recorded ten or less ties in a season 27 times.  

Here are the average number of ties per season for each of those six teams over the 16 seasons:

Boston Bruins            12

Detroit Red Wings     12

New York Rangers     12

Toronto Maple Leafs  13

Chicago Blackhawks  14

Montreal Canadiens    14

When the league added the five minute overtime in 1983 there was no "loser point." The winning team got two points and the losing team got nothing.  It wasn't until 1999 when the league when to a 4x4 overtime format that the "loser point" was added.    That resulted in an increased number of  ties so the league went to the Shootout in 2005 and the 3x3 overtime last season. 

The numbers this season are crazy and obviously if the rules were changed and if there was in incentive to win in regulation there would be fewer ties with  the teams playing harder in the third period.  But it clearly shows that with this format, teams are reluctant to potentially lose that extra point by playing a more offensive (and risky) game in the third period.  

What it HAS resulted in is a league where a team like the Florida Panthers can sit four points out of a playoff spot in a season where they have actually won seven out of 37 games.  Philadelphia is in the last wild card slot in the East and they've won all of 12 games in regulation out of 37 games. Similarly, the Detroit Red Wings are six points out of a playoff spot having won eight out of 36 games.   In the West, Dallas is in a wildcard playoff spot having won 14 out of 37 games in regulation. 

As a matter of fact,  out of the 16 teams in the playoffs if they started today, only FIVE have won more games than they have lost or tied with three of those teams in the Metropolitan Division. The only team in the West above the hypothetical .500 mark are the Minnesota Wild. 

I get it, this is parity. 11 out of 16 teams in the East are in playoff contention (within six points of a playoff berth) and 12 out of the 14 teams in the West are in a similar position.  NHL fans are paying a lot of money to see mediocre teams "fight" for a tie since it doesn't hurt their chances to sneak into the playoffs.  

Here are the standings if the three point system was adopted:

Atlantic Division	Games Played	Record	Points	Current Points
Montreal	36	19-3-9-5	68	49
Ottawa	36	14-6-12-4	58	44
Boston	38	15-4-15-4	57	42
Tampa	37	15-3-15-4	55	40
Toronto	35	12-4-13-6	50	39
Florida	37	7-8-13-8	45	38
Detroit	36	8-8-16-4	44	36
Buffalo	35	10-3-14-8	44	34
Metro Division	Games Played	Record	Points	Current Points
Rangers	38	22-3-12-1	73	51
Pittsburgh	37	20-4-8-5	73	53
Columbus	34	19-6-5-4	73	54
Washington	34	15-5-9-5	60	45
Philadelphia	37	12-8-13-4	56	44
Carolina	34	11-4-12-7	48	37
Islanders	35	11-3-15-6	45	34
New Jersey	36	7-6715-7	42	35
Central Division	Games Played	Record	Points	Current Points
Minnesota	35	19-4-8-4	69	50
Chicago	38	16-7-10-5	67	51
St. Louis	36	14-5-12-5	57	43
Dallas	37	14-2-14-7	53	39
Nashville	35	14-1-14-6	50	36
Winnipeg	38	12-5-18-3	49	37
Colorado	34	8-4-21-1	33	25
Pacific Division	Games Played	Record	Points	Current Points
San Jose	35	16-6-12-1	61	45
Anaheim	37	17-1-12-7	60	43
Edmonton	37	15-4-12-6	59	44
Calgary	37	14-5-17-2	54	40
Los Angeles	36	10-7-15-4	49	38
Vancouver	37	8-7-19-3	41	33
Arizona	36	6-5-20-5	33	27

The top three teams in each division are in bold and the wild cards teams are in italics.  The final column shows the points each team has in the current format. 

So, what does this do for the NHL's beloved parity (mediocrity)?  Instead of 11 teams in playoff contention, the number drops to ten.   In the West, 11 teams are still fighting for the post-season instead of 12.  There's hardly any change in the overall standings. The good teams are still good and the bad teams are still bad, but the games will be better. 

The intent of the NHL is to be entertaining, but it shouldn't be at the expense of quality hockey.  Take a look at the NHL Network and find a game that is tied with less than ten minutes left in third period. You'll see nothing but a succession of dump-in's with one forward in deep...everyone else hangs by the blue line.  The OT-prone teams have made this prevent-offense an art form.  On the hand, find a game where a team is down one goal in the third period.  One team may be just trying to hang on for the win but the other team will be throwing everything that they can in order to score.  What is more entertaining?   The three point solution preserves some of the parity the NHL has achieved and it will make the games more fun to watch.  What's wrong with that?

Scheduling Nightmare

After the Rangers were thoroughly whipped by the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, several of the players and the coach put some of the blame on the schedule.  Due to the World Cup of Hockey and the mandated mid-winter break, the schedule this season is more compact than ever (it seems even more than Olympic years). The Rangers have played the most games (35) so far, one of four teams in the NHL (Calgary, Chicago, Philadelphia are the others) who have played that many.   That's five more than Columbus, the team that has had the lightest schedule.

While you can blame fatigue for the woeful display on Tuesday night, you can also say that the Rangers are sitting at the top of the standings because they have played more games (same argument could be made for the Blackhawks).    Here are the Metropolitan Division standings as of this morning:

Metropolitan Division	GP	Record	Points
Rangers	35	23-11-1	47
Pittsburgh	33	21-7-5	47
Columbus	30	21-5-4	46
Philadelphia	35	20-11-4	44
Washington	31	19-8-4	42
Carolina	31	13-11-7	33
New Jersey	32	12-13-7	31
Islanders	32	12-14-6	30

If all of the contenders with games in hand won all of their games, the Rangers would be sitting in the first wild card position, nine points behind first place Columbus and three points ahead of fifth place Philadelphia.  We know that winning all games in hand is not realistic (though you never know with the Blue Jackets) so the Rangers are actually in a pretty good position and when it all evens out third place in the Division could be where they end up.

To further boost the argument that the Rangers are headed for a top three position (or better) it's worth looking at the impact that the heavy schedule will have on the teams that have NOT played as many games, Columbus and Washington, beginning in January. 

Columbus faces a pretty tough schedule the rest of the way.  First, they have been feasting on the weaker Western Conference so far this season.  The rest of the way, they play the East 40 times and only have seven games against the West. though five of the seven will be at home.  The rest of the season, they only have one week where they play only two games.  They have eight weeks with three games and five weeks with four games.  That include 11 sets of back to back games.  March in particular will be a backbreaker for the Blue Jackets with 16 games in 30 days.  Much has been made of Tortorella's practice of not scheduling game day skates...with this schedule they won't be getting much practice at all. 

Washington has played one more game than Columbus, but have a more balanced schedule. They play a lot of games versus the West (18 out of 38) so look for them to take advantage of that. Half of those West games will be on the road.   The Capitals have seven weeks with three games and six weeks with four games.  They have eight sets of back to back games.  They also have one week where they only play two games.  March will be tough for the Caps as well with 15 games in 30 days. 

How does it look for the Blueshirts?  Starting in January, they have four weeks with only two games, six weeks with three games and four weeks with four games.  They have 11 sets of back to back games, but they are 5-0 this season in the second games of back to backs.   They play only ten more games against Western Conference teams and 34 against Eastern Conference teams.  That is unfortunate as they have been dominant vs. the West with and 11-4 record, taking 22 out of a possible 30 points.  Against the East, the Rangers are just above .500.  March will be tough for the team as well, with 15 games in 30 nights.  

Injuries will most certainly play a part in how these teams end up.  As of December 17th, the Rangers had lost 74 man-games to injury. That's a little worse than Columbus who has lost 63 man-games.  However, almost half of those games are due to David Clarkson being on injured reserve and he isn't a crucial player for Columbus.   Washington has been the healthiest team in the league, losing only 10 man-games.  The majority of the Ranger's man-games lost are due to the injuries to Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich, two incredibly important pieces of the team's offense.  If the odds even up, both Columbus and Washington are due to get hit, just when Mika and Pavel get healthy. Both of them are due back in mid to late January.   Speaking of Mika, he is back on the ice (sort of). See link below:

Mika!:Click Here!

The only other team that bears watching is Tampa, sitting seven points out of the wild card picture. Having played 33 games, their schedule is comparable to the Rangers except that they get to play the Western Conference in 19 out of 44 games in the New Year.   They have their own problems (Stamkos out long term the biggest one) and that seven points may be insurmountable. 

So, unless they go into a tailspin, it is very likely that the Rangers will finish in one of the top three slots in the Metropolitan Divison.  Even if they go south, they should qualify as one of the wild card teams as it looks like both wild cards will come from the Met Division.  

Again we are faced with an odd playoff scenario. If both wild cards come from the Met, then one will become an Atlantic Division team for the first three rounds of the playoffs (like the Islanders last season).  Ironically, the team that could suffer most is Montreal who would have to play a Met Division team in the first round, a team that is much better than the other Atlantic Division teams. In other words, it would benefit Montreal to finish second in the Division and play a weaker opponent in Round One.  Today, the five top teams in the Metropolitan Division have better records than all teams in the Atlantic, except the Canadiens.  Stay tuned.

Late night addendum: 

So, the Blue Jackets absolutely crushed the Penguins tonight in Columbus, scoring seven straight goals to win 7-1.  They are a juggernaut. The Rangers still have to play them four times this season. The idea of John Tortorella and Brandon Dubinsky hoisting a Stanley Cup is truly depressing....it's a long season.

Offensive Defense

The Rangers had a challenging road trip and made a late night arrival after a tough game in Nashville. They were playing the Devils, losers of five straight.  All Ranger fans know what that usually means, a letdown and a disappointing loss. Instead, they withstood a devastating go-ahead goal by the Devils and they tied the score with their goalie pulled and 1:13 left in the game.  They then lived through a thrilling overtime and won in the shootout.  It certainly shows that this team has heart and can play defense. Tonight's game means only six goals allowed in the last seven games.  Good timing as this has coincided with a decided drop in the Rangers' shooting percentage. On deck Tuesday night is a rematch in Pittsburgh as the team hopes to avenge that spanking they took from the Pens at MSG.  The Blueshirts sit two points ahead of Pittsburgh in the standings, though the Pens have two games in hand.  But on to the discussion of the day...

We are living in the age of the new NHL.  In this new and improved version speed is of the essence, complimented by a mobile defense, willing to join the offense and able to move the puck quickly up ice.  It is logical to assume that the teams with the best offensive defensive corps will be on the top of the standings.  We took a look at the offensive stats for every team to see if that is true.

We found no surprises.   Out of the eight teams with the most points by defensemen in the Western Conference, seven are currently in playoff position. The Oilers are second to last in the West and are the aberration.

In the East, sort of the same story.  The top four teams with defensive pointgetters are all in the playoffs.  The other four teams in the playoffs range from ninth in defenseman points to dead last (Boston).

Where do the Rangers stand in these rankings?  With 12 goals and 61 assists by defensemen, they are tied for second most in the league with 73 points.  The Flyers lead the NHL with 86 points by defensemen.  They are loaded on the backline with Mark Streit, Shane Gostisbehere, Ivan Provorov and Andrew McDonald all in double figures.   In second place are the Rangers, St. Louis and Montreal.

The teams with the most goals by defensemen are led by Philadelphia with 21, San Jose and Los Angeles with 20 and Montreal with 19.  It's worth noting that Brent Burns has 13 goals for the Sharks, almost 70% of the goals scored by their defense.  The top Ranger goal scorer is Nick Holden with four, tied for 26th place overall.  Westchester native Kevin Shattenkirk of the Blues has seven goals and 15 assists, numbers that would look pretty good on Broadway. He's a UFA after this season and has long been rumored to be destined to play at MSG.

Some numbers did stand out.  The Buffalo Sabres have scored three goals by defensemen this season. Three.  Brent Burns has four times the goals scored by the entire corps of defensemen in Buffalo. However, if you think that the D has to score, stop right there.  The vaunted Washington Capitals have had only six goals scored by their D this season.  Last year when they won the Presidents Cup the defense had 31 goals so they are having an off year.

Brent Burns is having an unworldly season.  His thirteen goals are more goals than the defense has scored for 14 teams in the NHL.   His 30 points would represent half of the total  defense points on 19 teams in the league.

An interesting fact is that scoring by defenseman is not related to power play efficiency. Philadelphia is the only team riding their D to a top PP (third in the league).  The top 5 PP's in the league are owned by (in order) Columbus, Anaheim, Philadelphia, Buffalo and Tampa.   The Blue Jackets, Ducks and Lightning are all in the middle of the pack when it comes to D scoring.  The Sabres are second to last in the league in points and last in goals.

I'm not sure that there is any grand conclusion to all of this except to say that the Rangers defensemen are holding their own when it comes to offense.  Goals and assists are probably not the best way to define success when it comes to joining the play, but for Ranger fans it's another piece of what has been a very interesting puzzle in this unexpected season.

The Departed

Two more road wins as the Rangers continue to keep pace with the rest of the Metropolitan Divsion. While winning five of six, the Rangers defense has been absolutely lockdown, allowing only four goals in the last six games while the team has scored eleven.  Hank's little vacation appears to have been the motivation he needed as he was absolutely spectacular in the last two road wins.  They now head to the Garden for a game with the reeling Devils.

Well, it's over a third  of the way through the season and it's time to look at the former Rangers in the league and how they are doing.  Also, enough games have been played to pass judgment on some of the recent transactions.  We will start with the most recent departures.

Josh Jooris has been with  Arizona for only two games.  Afters scoring one goal and two points in twelve games for New York he is on track for similar results with the Coyotes with no points and -1.   He is averaging 13 minutes per game for Arizona (eight minutes for NY) and  his faceoff percentage has been a horrible 40% (he was over 50% for the Rangers).  Too early to judge, but no great loss.

Dylan McIlrath's departure was the subject of much gnashing of teeth on the Ranger fan websites. Comments ranged from "it was a giveaway" to "now he will be able to live up to his potential."   Well, on a team that has won all of seven games out of 32 in regulation he has played in only four of seventeen games, registering one goal.  Maybe the Coach and General Manager actually knew something when they traded McIlrath for Steve Kampfer and a conditional 7th round pick (which the team gets if he plays in 30 games...which doesn't look likely).  Okay, time for all of us to admit that the best thing about McIlrath was his nickname, "The Undertaker."

Derick Brassard's departure by trade for Mika Zibanejad didn't make a lot of Ranger fans happy, but Mika has been a revelation (and the Blueshirts got a second round pick to boot!).   Brassard has suffered under Guy Boucher's defense-first system with only five goals and eight assists in 30 games. He is still one of Ottawa's top forwards.

Looking at free agents who left the team we begin with Keith Yandle. The recipient of a six year $44 million contract has been a bust for Florida and a big reason that coach Gerard Gallant was let go.  Yandle consistently was a 40-50 point producer for Arizona and New York.  In Florida, it looks like he will barely get into the 30's.  He only has one goal and 13 assists.  Expected to quarterback the powerplay for the Panthers, he has only five PP assists.  Ironically, his only goal of the season was a power play goal against who else, the Rangers.   To put his season into perspective, Nick Holden has four goals to Yandle's one and 14 points to Yandle's 14.   Yandle is playing over two minutes more a game than Holden.  Right now, the Yandle contract looks like an albatross.

The Rangers made no effort to re-sign Eric Staal and he signed a 3-year deal with Minnesota for $3.5 million per year. What has he done so far?  He leads the Wild in scoring with 10 goals and 24 points and he is their top center.  At +13 he is a leader on the best defensive team in the league (1.93 GAA). He is about six months too late in revitalizing his career.  Oh well.

Viktor Stalberg spent one season in New York as a fourth liner and signed with Carolina to play the same kind of role.  Stalberg is having a good season, helped by the three goals he has scored against the Rangers in three games.  Stalberg has seven goals and nine points in 29 games so he will have similar results to his lone season on Broadway.  I suppose you could say the Rangers signed Michael Grabner for $1.65 million instead of sticking with Stalberg who got $1.5 million from Carolina.  In that case, Jeff Gorton is a genius.

Dominic Moore is still agitating, this year for the Bruins.  With seven goals already this season, he looks to exceed the scoring totals of his three years in New York, but would anyone swap him even up for Oscar Lindberg?  I think not.  Still, Moore was an important and clutch player for the Rangers and he should saluted for his heart and his effort.

Now, let's look at the rest of the league, by team in each Division:

METROPOLITAN DIVISION

Carolina Hurricane:
The Hurricanes boast two former Rangers in Viktor Stalberg and Lee Stempniak.  Stempniak is a couple years away from his cup of coffee with New York after which he was traded to the Jets.  Since then he has played for Winnipeg, the Devils,  Bruins and now the Hurricanes.  He continues to be a productive player with six goals and 15 points in 30 games, but he never was a Vigneault kind of player so he was doomed to failure.  Carl Klingberg, the player the Rangers acquired for him from Winnipeg, is now a regular for Zug in Switzerland and looks to never make it in the NHL.

Columbus Blue Jackets:
Brandon Dubinsky is the only former Ranger left with Columbus after the Gaborik and Nash trades made the teams look like clones of each other.  He is 30 years old now and never reached the offensive totals that he had in NY (24 goals and 54 points).  He is now  much more of a defensive forward with only nine points in 26 games, but as an elder statesman on the team, he is an important piece of a very competitive Blue Jackets team.

New Jersey Devils:
The  Devils have two former Rangers in P.A. Parenteau and John Moore. While important players on that team, neither would be regulars on the current Ranger squad.  Parenteau played all of 22 games for the Rangers and since then has played for the Islanders, Colorado, Montreal, Toronto and now, New Jersey.  He's a journeyman with a scoring touch. Moore is best remembered for his suspension in the Montreal playoff series a few years back. He has settled in as a solid second pair defenseman for a pretty mediocre team.

Philadelphia Flyers:
The Flyers (whose ten game winning streak was halted by Dallas today) have Michael Del Zotto and Dale Weise representing former Blueshirts.  Del Zotto has become an important piece of the Flyers backline though is injury prone. Weise was signed by Philly to be a fourth line forward and he is precisely that.  The Del Zotto deal for Kevin Klein will go down as one of the best by Glen Sather.   Weise was lost on waivers after only ten games in New York and has played 347 games in six seasons.   Weise is best remembered by Ranger fans for his check that broke Derek Stepan's jaw in the same playoff series against Montreal.

Pittsburgh Penguins:
This one hurts.   Matt Cullen and Carl Hagelin skate for the defending champions.  The 40 year old Cullen got another chance when he was re-signed as fourth line center for the Pens.  Most Ranger fans don't remember the one season (2006-07) that Cullen had in NY as a free agent signee. He scored 16 goals and was traded back to Carolina for players and draft choices, none of whom amounted to anything.  We can all bemoan the loss of Hagelin who was an important piece of the championship team. At least the Rangers are seeing some benefit from his departure as Niklas Jensen has become a part of the Rangers future (he was acquired for Emerson Etem).  Hagelin still cannot score, but his speed brings a new dimension to any team he plays for (except Anaheim)...but the arrival of Michael Grabner has lessened the pain.

New York Islanders & Washington Capitals:
No former Rangers on those teams.

ATLANTIC DIVISION

Buffalo Sabres:
Justin Falk is a back up defenseman for the Sabres.  He played 21 games for the Rangers in 2013-14. No, he is not the Justin Faulk of Carolina who is one of the top offensive d-men in the league. And yes, this Falk did play for the Rangers.

Florida Panthers:
Besides the aforementioned Keith Yandle and Dylan McIlrath, the Panthers have one of the better Rangers of the last decade, the timeless Jaromir Jagr.  Sad to say, but Jags is showing is age with only six goals so far this season.  The 44-year old may be pacing himself, considering how painful it was to watch him in the series against the Islanders last year when he just ran out of gas. Unfortunately, pacing for the post season may be a waste as the Panthers are currently out of the playoff picture and their management is in chaos.   I've mentioned this before, but Jonathan Marchessault has been an offensive force for Florida and was an invitee to the Rangers rookie camp and had a contract with the team's AHL farm club.  Sizewise he is a smurf and the team kept Zuccarello instead.

Montreal Canadiens:
Former first round draft pick Al Montoya is the back up goalie for the Habs,  He never played for the Rangers and was traded away (basically for nothing). After an outstanding season for the Panthers last year they let him walk as a free agent to sign with Montreal where he is the "Goalie who loses when Carey Price doesn't play."  It's probably a sign of the disorganization of the Panthers management that they let a Cuban hockey player leave the state of Florida and the City of Miami. The 2004 6th overall pick Montoya became expendable when it became apparent that the 205th pick in the 2005 draft had better potential.  That pick was Henrik Lundqvist.

Ottawa Senators:
Besides Derick Brassard, there is a former Ranger draft choice on the Senators who played a role in the making of the current New York team.  Tom Pyatt was drafted in the 4th round of the 2005 entry draft.  He never played for the team (his brother Tyler did in 2012), but he along with Scott Gomez and Michael Busto were dealt to Montreal for Chris Higgins, Pavel Valentenko and Ryan McDonagh in what has to go down as one of the best trades in New York Ranger history.

Tampa Bay Lightning:
The Lightning used to be the NY Rangers South, but now, only three former Blueshirts are on the team that everyone picked to win the Cup this year.  Ryan Callahan, Anton Stralman and Brian Boyle are all regulars for Tampa.  The 31-year old Callahan has three years after this one on a contract that pays him $5.8 million annually. That's almost $6 million a year for a player who plays in about half of the games due to injury and this season has two goals and two assists.  What Glen Sather did not want to happen in New York is now happening in Tampa where an aging, physical forward is breaking down.  The 30-year old Anton Stralman has two years after this one on a $4.5 million contract. He is still a possession monster and is worth the money.  This is the last contract season for Brian Boyle in Tampa.  After leaving the Rangers for $2 million (the team would have matched that) because he didn't want to play on the fourth line, he has spent three years centering the fourth line.  Oh well.  Tampa is in serious danger of missing the playoffs this year so Ranger fans will not have to moan about losing Stralman come April.

Toronto Maple Leafs:
The Rangers are represented by the immortal Matt Hunwick, who was a #7 defenseman in New York, but in Toronto is a favorite of Mike Babcock and when not injured is playing top tandem minutes.

Detroit Red Wings:
No former Rangers.

CENTRAL DIVISION

Chicago Blackhawks:
Two former Rangers are playing an important role in Chicago.  Artem Anisimov is centering for Panarin and Kane and is one of the top scorers in the league averaging almost a point a game. Brandon Saad is playing well for Columbus so the trade to Chicago doesn't look so one sided.  Also on the Hawks an ancient Michael Roszival.  The 38 year old was one of the Czech-mates in the glory days of Jagr in New York.  He is brittle, playing only 11 games this season. If anyone forgot, here is a link to a clip when he broke his leg in the playoffs (complete with PG-13 viewer commentary).  It's pretty gross.

Link:  Rozsival Breaks Leg

Colorado Avalanche:There are two former Rangers in Denverwith  Fedor Tyutin is playing big minutes on defense and John Mitchell serving as a utility forward.   Both had brief careers in New York,

Dallas Stars:
Lauri Korpikoski has surfaced as a Dallas Star. He is a former first round draft pick (19th overall in 2004) who was traded to Arizona for the future Hall of Famer Enver Lisin.  As befits a first round pick, he has been a regular ever since making it to the NHL in 2008 and scored 19 goals in his best season.

The Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues and the Winnipeg Jets have no former Rangers.

PACIFIC DIVISION

Arizona Coyotes:
Ah, the Coyotes.  New home of Josh Jooris.  And the home of the lamented Anthony Duclair, the second coming of Teamu Selanne. The scorer who was going to lead the New York Rangers to the promised land.  After a good rookie season last year (20-24-44), the numbers this year are pretty bad. 27 games.  One goal. Four assists. No goals and three assists in seventeen straight games and counting.    He's been a healthy scratch and his name has been mentioned as trade bait.  It makes rolling the dice for Keith Yandle much more palatable.   He is young and can still make some hay in the NHL, but now we are getting a hint as to why the Rangers traded Duclair and refused to include Buchnevich in that deal.

Calgary Flames:
After bouncing around the league, Chad Johnson has found a home in Alberta and has become a goalie to reckon with. He has a record of 13-6 with a GAA of 2.22 and a save percentage of .924. After playing six games over two seasons with New York, he played in Arizona, Boston, Long Island, Buffalo and finally Calgary.

Edmonton Oilers:
Cam Talbot and Benoit Pouliot are the two former Blueshirts playing in Edmonton.  Talbot is the number one goalie on a team that plays poor defense ( he has a 2.57 GAA), but one that is contending for the top slot in their division.  Pouliot has two more years after this one on his $4 million annual contract.  His goal production is slipping (only five this season) and the Oilers may regret that long term deal in the long run.

Los Angeles Kings:
Marian Gaborik is still suiting up for the Kings who are having a less than stellar season (only nine regulation wins).   Gaborik has been hurt by injuries...missing 103 out of 276 games over the last three and a half seasons.  He still buried the Rangers in the Finals in 2014...something Ranger fans will never get over.

San Jose Sharks: 
Tough guy Micheal Haley is a depth forward for the Sharks.  He played nine games for the Rangers in 2013.

Vancouver Canucks:
There are two former Rangers in Vancouver.  Derek Dorsett has been a regular ever since leaving the Rangers (traded for a draft pick in the summer of 2014 for cap space).  He still likes to mix it up and leads the Canucks in penalty minutes with 33 (Kreider leads the Rangers with 17).   Also on the team is Jayson Megna who had one great game as a Ranger last season (a goal and assist in his first game with the team).   He has three goals in 15 games for the Canucks who signed him when the Rangers didn't offer him a contract.

The Anaheim Ducks don't have any former Rangers.

So....here is Former Ranger team.

1st Line:  Eric Staal-Jaromir Jagr-Ryan Callahan
2nd Line;  Artem Anisimov-Marian Gaborik-Carl Hagelin
3rd Line: Derick Brassard-Lee Stempniak-Anthony Duclair or P.A. Parenteau
4th Line:  Brandon Dubinsky-Viktor Stalberg-Lauri Korpikoski

1st  D: Keith Yandle-Anton Stralman
2nd D: Michael Del Zotto-John Moore
3rd D: Matt Hunwick-Michal Roszival

1st Goalie:  Cam Talbot
2nd Goalie:  Chad Johnson

I take the current Rangers in a heartbeat.

The Third Ten Games

The Rangers concluded their third ten game sequence with a thorough 5-0 beatdown of the New Jersey Devils at MSG, the 11th time the team has hit the five goal mark.  It was a tight contest until the second period when the Rangers blew it open.  They were two for six on the power play and the killed all five penalties including an outstanding stretch when they allowed only three shots in six minutes of penalty time in the second period while scoring a shorthanded goal.  Brady Skjei scored his first NHL goal with three seconds left in the second period off an Oscar Lindberg faceoff win. Lindberg's game is improving (remember that he is recovering from hip surgery) so he could be seeing more ice time.  Hey, he won 11 out of 18 faceoffs. Chris Kreider is heating up.  After notching only one goal in sixteen games, he has now scored four goals in his last five. Annti Raanta recorded his second straight shutout.  He was also the beneficiary of a second straight disallowed goal.   I don't think the league keeps track, but the fact that disallowed goals preserved two straight shutouts has to be a record. The Devils goal that was disallowed was prompted by a call from Toronto where they observed that the goal could have been kicked in.  The last Ranger goalie to post back to back shutouts was Mike Dunham in 2003.

 They finished the ten games with a 6-4 record for 12 out of a possible 20 points. Yours truly predicted 14 points with an outside shot at 16.  Not to make an excuse, but the Blueshirts had just beaten Pittsburgh on the road to conclude their second ten game stretch and the outlook was rosy.

What came next was a bit of a downturn with the team unable to win two games in a row, but also able to never lose two games in a row.   They lost at home to the Penguins, stole a win in Philadelphia, were pathetic against Ottawa at home,  won a squeaker against Carolina at MSG then blew a lead in Buffalo. After a home win against Carolina and a bad loss in Brooklyn, they were headed for a sub-.500 record as they hit the road for two tough games in Winnipeg and Chicago. Well, we all know what has happened...three straight wins, all with Antti Raanta in goal. So the sequence ends with positive vibes and optimism and an incredibly tight playoff race in the Metropolitan Division.

So, where do the Rangers stand?  They are tied with Montreal for most points (41) though the Habs have two games in hand.  They lead the league in ROW with 20.They lead the league with 20 wins. Most impressive, they lead the league with 19 regulation wins, two more than second place Montreal and five more than third place Pittsburgh.  They still lead the league with 105 goals, four more than the Flyers. They are averaging 3.50 goals per game.  Second best Pittsburgh averages 3.39. Their +35 differential is four more than Columbus.

On defense, they are tied for the sixth best GAA per game at 2.30 They have allowed the 7th fewest goals against in the NHL with all the teams ahead of them playing fewer games. The Rangers defense is trending in a positive direction.  In the last nine games their GAA is 1.89 and they have only allowed one goal in the last three games.

They have the fourth best home record and the best road record in the NHL.   Their power play is fifth best in the NHL and their penalty kill ranks fourth.  Let's give props to Jeff Gorton for solving one of the biggest problems the team had last year. Remember, their penalty kill was 26th in the league, just awful.  They have also scored four shorthanded goals already this season compared to the two they had all of last season.

Although their all-world offense has come back to earth, they are the only team in the league with four players with ten goals (Hayes, Grabner, Nash and Vesey).  They have four players with over 20 points (six other teams have the same).  An indication of their balanced scoring is the fact that they are only team with ten players with over 15 points.  Next highest are Montreal and St. Louis with eight.

The Rangers still have five players in the top twelve in plus/minus with Michael Grabner leading the league at +19.

The rookies keep rolling along for New York.  Jimmy Vesey is third in goals scored behind Auston Matthews and Patrik Laine. Vesey is fourth in total points and Brady Skjei is ninth.  Skjei is tied for the league lead in assists among rookies and he is second best in points among rookie defensemen.

The recent run of outstanding defense has come with Raanta in goal, but also with Marek Hrivik, Niklas Jensen and Oscar Lindberg playing together as the 4th line.  Don't overlook the fact that they have been able to win with call-ups from Hartford.  Without Zibanejad, Buchnevich and Nash, the team has been forced to alter its game plan and play more conservatively.  This all bodes well for the future when those important pieces are back in the lineup.

There are still a lot of question marks about this team (especially in goal), but I think we've learned that this is a Ranger team that has heart and skill and they are deep.

They play the next ten games in 22 days, split 5-5 home and away.  All of the games are in December except the tenth match against Buffalo at MSG on January 3.  They only have one set of games on consecutive nights (though they are 5-0  n the second night of back to backs).  Only four games are against teams currently making the post-season though three more are with teams battling for a playoff spot.  Six of the first seven games are tough (Chicago, Dallas, Nashville, Pittsburgh, Minnesota and Ottawa) with only a home game against the Devils that can be seen as a break.  They conclude the ten games with three "softies" against Arizona, Colorado and Buffalo. Let's predict 14 points out of 20 with a very distinct shot at 16.

Some News

Nothing earth shattering, but some notes (updated with Jooris waiver claim).

Goaltending News

 It appears that Antti Raanta will be in goal for the third straight game tonight at MSG against the Devils. The coach is obviously riding the hot hand while waiting before he gives Henrik Lundqvist a chance to work out his issues. If Raanta plays well tonight, considering his fabulous outing on Friday night it would be likely that he would get a fourth straight start on Tuesday in a rematch against the Blackhawks.   Is a goal controversy brewing in New York?  Could be, all depending on how Lundqvist takes the benching.

Jooris Waived (and claimed by Arizona)

The Rangers placed Josh Jooris on waivers and he was claimed by Arizona.  He only played in a handful of games and was passed over in favor of Marek Hrivik, Nicklas Jensen and Oscar Lindberg most recently.  Jooris had one goal and one assist in 12 games this season.  While defensely responsible, Jooris didn't fit the mold of the speedy fourth liner that Vigneault is looking for with the new Ranger offense.


Playoff Picture

The Metropolitan Division is really shaping up to be a dogfight.  Here are the standings this morning:

                                         GP       W-L-OTL       PTS

Rangers	29	19-9-1	39
Pittsburgh	28	18-7-3	39
Philadelphia	30	17-10-3	39
Columbus	26	17-5-4	38
Washington	26	16-7-3	35

The Division features two of the hottest teams in hockey.  The Flyers won their 8th in a row last night against Dallas (last loss was to the Rangers).  Columbus has won six games in a row and thrashed the Islanders last night.   The Blue Jackets and Capitals have three games in hand on the Rangers so the Blueshirts could find themselves in 5th place if they aren't careful.   The good news is at this point, Tampa is playing so badly, both wild card teams could come from the Metropolitan Division meaning all five of these teams will make the post-season.   The only team in the Atlantic Division with more points than these five squads is Montreal.   It just shows how important it was to win those two games in Winnipeg and Chicago (gutsy wins).  

It's a busy week for the Rangers with five games in eight days. 

Ortmeyer

Does anyone remember Jed Ortmeyer?   He had a brief career with the Rangers in the early 2000's. He just wrote an article for "The Players Tribune" about his issue with blood clots.  You should bookmark the website...there is a hockey section.  Interesting read....here is the link:

CLICK HERE

Parity or Mediocrity?

Okay, the Rangers are definitely in a bad place, heading into  two tough road games in Winnipeg and Chicago without four of their top 12 forwards.   The latest on Rick Nash is he will be out about a week.  Pavel Buchnevich is still undergoing therapy to help his back problem.  Jimmy Vesey was held out of practice and may not see action against the Jets.  Mika Zibanejad is still out for a few more weeks and Matt Puempel has a concussion and is out indefinitely.  With Nicklas Jensen and Marek Hrivik in the lineup, it doesn't bode well for the boys in blue.  We shall see.

The topic for today is today's NHL.  Believe it or not, there are only four teams out of thirty under .500.  Incredibly, there are NO teams in the Eastern Conference under .500.  Gary Bettman's dream of parity has finally come true.  On any given day, any  team can beat another in this NHL.  While there is something resembling parity in performance, it is the current method of awarding points that has created this situation.  The "loser point" awarded for getting to overtime or a shootout is rewarding teams for mediocre play.

In both conferences, there are four teams within five points of the last wild card position.  That means that twelve teams are in the playoffs and twelve teams are fighting for the wild card.  So, 24 out of the thirty teams have a legitimate shot at the postseason almost one third of the way into the season.  Here are the standings. Playoff teams arein bold and wild card teams are in italics:

Atlantic Division Points Metropolitan Division Points Montreal 37 Pittsburgh 35 Ottawa 34 Rangers 35 Boston 32 Columbus 34 Tampa 30 Washington 33 Detroit 29 Philadelphia 33 Florida 28 New Jersey 30 Buffalo 26 Carolina 26 Toronto 25 Islanders 25

Central Division	Points		Pacific Division	Points
Chicago	37		Edmonton	32
St. Louis	34		San Jose	31
Minnesota	30		Anaheim	31
Winnipeg	29		Calgary	30
Nashville	28		Los Angeles	28
Dallas	26		Vancouver	24
Colorado	19		Arizona	20

It is easy to see how the "loser point" has been to the benefit of some teams.  The Florida Panthers are four points out of  a playoff spot in the Atlantic Division (not wild card) and they have won the grand total of FIVE games in regulation out of the 27 that they have played.  They have taken 11 games to overtime or shootout.  Incredibly, the Panthers sit only seven points behind the Rangers who have won 17 games in regulation. It's unbelievable.  The Flyers are in a similar position. They have won nine out of their 28 games in regulation, yet are in a wild card slot and are only TWO points behind New York and Pittsburgh.

In the Western Conference, the oddity is that Chicago is in first place and the class of the conference. However, they have played 28 games this season and won only TEN in regulation.  Meanwhile, Nashville has won 12 out of 25 games in regulation and they are right now outside of the playoff picture.

To compare, I took a look at two other methods of awarding points.  Let's call the first method the "Old NHL" method.   We used the old format that awarded two points for a win and one point for a regulation tie.  No overtime or shootouts in the Old NHL.   Here's the standings under that format:

Atlantic Division Points Metropolitan Division Points Montreal 35 Rangers 35 Ottawa 29 Pittsburgh 32 Boston 29 Columbus 30 Tampa 28 Washington 29 Buffalo 24 Philadelphia 27 Toronto 24 New Jersey 24 Detroit 23 Carolina 24 Florida 21 Islanders 22

Central Division	Points		Pacific Division	Points
Chicago	30		Edmonton	30
St. Louis	30		Anaheim	30
Minnesota	28		San Jose	29
Nashville	28		Calgary	26
Winnipeg	27		Los Angeles	22
Dallas	25		Vancouver	17
Colorado	16		Arizona	16

As you can see, the prime beneficiary of this method in the East is Tampa as they leapfrog over Philadelphia into the last wildcard spot. In the West, it is Nashville that benefits. There are actually more teams  (6) in the East within five points of the wild card.  In the West, that drops to two. The team that has the largest dropoff is Florida.   In the old NHL the Panthers would rightfully be in last place and the Flyers would not be in a wild card position.

The second option was proposed to the Board of Governors about ten years ago (and it was rejected out of hand).  It awards three points to the team that wins in regulation and two points to the team that wins in overtime or a shootout.  If a team loses in overtime or in a shootout, they still get the one point.   Here's what the standings would look like:

Atlantic Division	Points		Metropolitan Division	Points
Montreal	52		Rangers	52
Ottawa	45		Pittsburgh	49
Boston	44		Columbus	45
Tampa	42		Washington	44
Detroit	36		Philadelphia	42
Buffalo	34		New Jersey	40
Toronto	34		Carolina	34
Florida	33		Islanders	32

Central Division	Points		Pacific Division	Points
Chicago	47		San Jose	44
St. Louis	45		Edmonton	44
Minnesota	41		Anaheim	43
Nashville	40		Calgary	40
Winnipeg	38		Los Angeles	35
Dallas	35		Vancouver	28
Colorado	25		Arizona	24

In this scenario, there are only two teams in the East and three teams in the West within five points of  a wild card slot.   This method rewards teams that win in regulation by giving those teams a bigger cushion.  The Rangers, Montreal and Chicago would be sitting in a more comfortable position looking to the post season. Of course, if there was a three point reward for a regulation win, there would inevitably be fewer overtime games. 

The best argument for the three point method is that it will make the third period of a tie game much more competitive.  Currently, there is no incentive for a team to take a risk in the third period with the score tied.  Why risk the guaranteed loser point by trying to win in regulation?  Whereas in the NHL today there are only four teams UNDER .500, conversely there are only four teams in the NHL who have won half of the games that they have played in sixty minutes.  They are the Rangers (17-26) , Montreal (15-26), Pittsburgh (13-26) and San Jose (13-26).  

Twenty-six  of the thirty NHL teams going into action tonight lose more games than they win in regulation.  Sorry, that is not parity, that  is mediocrity.  The three point proposal will not alter the standings greatly, but will reward teams that play better.  It's an idea whose time has come.