NHL Standings

[Scott MS]

One thing I never liked about the NHL Standings is that they are based on points earned to date, not winning percentage. Right now, in the NHL, there are several teams that have played as many as 5 more games as another team (for instance Anaheim has played 29 games, Calgary has played 24 games).

I think a better way is to rank teams is via winning percentage, which is basically the number of points earned out of the total number of possible points (games played x 2).

Here's how the West standings look via the current points format (with pts shown):

WEST
1 ANAHEIM 46
2 SAN JOSE 40
3 NASHVILLE 37
4 DALLAS 36
5 DETROIT 32
6 EDMONTON 30
7 MINNESOTA 28
8 VANCOUVER 27
----------------
9 CALGARY 26
10 COLORADO 26
11 LOS ANGELES 24
12 CHICAGO 22
13 PHOENIX 20
14 ST LOUIS 17
15 COLUMBUS 16

Now, here's the format with winning percentage (pts shows and winning pct shown):

WEST
1 ANAHEIM 46 0.793
2 SAN JOSE 40 0.714
3 NASHVILLE 37 0.712
4 DALLAS 36 0.667
5 DETROIT 32 0.640
6 EDMONTON 30 0.577
7 CALGARY 26 0.542
8 MINNESOTA 28 0.538
--------------
9 COLORADO 26 0.500
10 VANCOUVER 27 0.482
11 CHICAGO 22 0.458
12 LOS ANGELES 24 0.414
13 PHOENIX 20 0.400
14 ST LOUIS 17 0.340
15 COLUMBUS 16 0.320

Although the current standing don't show it, Calgary is actually the #7 team and Vancouver is out of the top 8 at #10.

The Coyotes are also much closer to catching L.A. than Chicago. With a win against the Stars on Wednesday, they would pass L.A. in winning percentage, even though they would be 2 pts. behind in the standings (L.A. has played 4 more games than Phoenix).

 

[Scott MS]

I guess the bottom line is that the Coyotes would need to win the next 7 straight games to be tied with Minnesota and the #8 playoff spot.

Or, more likely, they would need about 88 points at the end of the season to make the playoffs, which translates into 68 points in the final 57 games. That would mean a record of 34-23 over the final 57 games (a winning percentage of 60%).

So, they need to win 6 out of 10 for the remainder of the season to have a shot at the playoffs. They have currently won 6 out of the last 10 games.


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[devilfan02]

Seems like their finally playing some good hockey. With all the new guys on the team along with injuries, it may have taken them some time to play as a team.

Quick question, I have yet to see a Yotes game at the new arena. Are tickets fairly cheap if you scalp before the game?

 

[Scott MS]

I don't know what the scalper price is these days. The Coyotes have all kinds of good deals right now. You can go on Bud Light Thursday and get some food, tickets, and shirt for like $25 each.