The Penguins are currently not in a playoff spot.
They are engulfed in this giant blob known as the Metropolitan Division: Three points out of second, and three points out of last. The Penguins have 53 points, right in the middle of this huge, greasy wad of mediocrity.
Upon glancing at the standings, moving up the ladder seems like it should be no problem for a team as talented as the Penguins.
But the Penguins haven’t displayed their talent more than sporadically.
The Penguins also have an enemy called THE LOSER POINT.
Carolina, New Jersey and Philadelphia each have eight losses that they got a point for. That’s the equivalent of four extra wins each.
If a game is tied with 10 minutes left, teams too often just play ping-pong to try to ensure getting a loser point. Tight games become tedious.
The loser point spoils games and skews the standings. Making up ground is difficult. There are too many three-point games.
The Penguins have the third-most wins in the Metro Division. But they trail three teams that have fewer victories.
The loser points SUCKS.
The NHL should give three points for a regulation win, two points for an overtime/shootout win, and one point for an overtime/shootout loss. That would balance the standings more accurately and make the end of tied regulation games much more exciting.
But that makes too much sense.