The Real NHL Standings?

ESPN.com addresses a pertinent question in its December 2 NHL Power Rankings: Why use an imperfect and often misleading method of calculating the NHL standings?

An ESPN.com reader asks: "How come no newspaper or web site I know of lists standings by percentage of possible points earned? You don't have to be a math weenie to get the idea."

In other words, why not rank NHL teams by determining how many points a team has earned out of the total points available so far this season? The current formula of simply adding up total points fails to account for the league's unbalanced schedule.

In today's standings, for example, Atlanta holds a slim one-point lead over Tampa Bay in the Southeast Division. But the Thrashers have played 27 games, the Lightning only 22. That's the equivalent of nearly a two-week head start for Allanta!

If the Lightning and Thrashers continue to earn points at their current rates, Tampa will be well ahead when the final tally is made in April.

You could argue that, given their current slump, any projections based on Tampa Bay's quick start are highly suspect. The Thrashers, on the other hand, have their points in the bank. So such season projections are not perfect.

But the statistic could be listed as a winning percentage, which would be easily understandable and useful in sorting out who sits where on any given day of the season.

If you're interested in checking out the "projected" standings, which account for disparities in the number of games played by each team, check out Zorak's site.

A big assist to Tom Benjamin at Canucks Corner NHL Weblog for this posting.