It's not news to anyone who follows hockey that the NHL standings are dumb. When you make a part of your living writing hockey blogs online, you tend to talk to a disproportionately large number of hockey fans, and I can tell you that there is only one single topic in which they are unanimous:
The NHL standings are stupid.
It's never been properly explained how it is sensible for some games to be worth two points while others are worth three. That said, we are all cynical enough to know that the reason it is like that is to artificially keep teams alive in the standings even when they have almost no chance of making it.
They have been decimated by injuries to the point where all you can do is laugh. Their starting goalie and #2 defenseman are out for the year. Their prized free agent signing is out indefinitely with an eye injury. Their top prospect only just started playing this year about a week ago. Their #2 centre hasn't played a game yet. Their best young defenseman was out until Christmas. Their prized off season acquisition has been injured twice. And that isn't even all the injuries, but you get the point.
Besides the injuries, the Coyotes have also been shut-out five times and have scored one or less goals in more than a third of their games.
And yet they are just five points out of a playoff spot.
Which seems awesome. You hear that, and you're like "wow imagine what they'd do if they were healthy. There's still over half the season to go they might make it."
And they might.
Nothing is impossible.
However, the stupidity of the standings is driven home when you realize that while the Coyotes are just five points out of a playoff spot, they are just four points out of 31st overall.
That is last place, kids.
Yes, the Coyotes are five points out of a playoff spot, but if they had those points, instead of 26th place, they'd be in 17th place and only five points out of 10th overall.
If that doesn't illustrate how dumb the three point games make the standings, I don't know what will.
The Coyotes are five point out of a playoff spot, but consider all the teams they have to catch constantly play each other in games that are going to overtime as often as not, so they might as well be 15 points out.
Again, Optimist: five points out.
Pessimist: Three points from last overall.
Here is an example of how crazy things are:
The Coyotes, just five easy to get points out of a playoff spot, play the Kings tonight.
The Wild play the Hawks.
The Blues play the Sabres, and the Devils play the Bruins.
If the Blues, Blackhawks, Devils and Kings all win in regulation tonight, tomorrow's NHL standings will show the Coyotes tied for 29th and one point out of last place.
So, I want to believe, but the NHL standings are just the Cigarette Smoking Man doing everything in his power to trick me into it.
And my Scully is out for the season.