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Avalanche Standings Update

Overtime points and shootouts have skewed how we compare current teams to those in the past. Where do the '13-14 Avs really stack up in the franchise record book, and what would the NHL standings look like this year under the old system?

By Andi D.
Doug Pensinger

Alright, it's time to set the record straight.  This year's Avs are good.  But after seeing tweets like this for a while:

my fan OCD kicks in.  Yes, the Avs may be the fastest to 43 wins in franchise history, but the vast majority of those years relied on a different scoring system.  The extra overtime point (aka "Bettman" or "loser" point) has skewed the standings, as has awarding a W for a shootout victory.

So, if we reverted back to the old scoring format - a W in regulation/OT is worth 2 points, a L in regulation/OT is worth 0, and any shootout would count as a 1 point tie for both teams - where would the Avs stack up in the franchise rank, and what would the NHL standings look like today?

Part 1: Quebec/Colorado Franchise History

Let's start by looking at where teams were at the 66 game mark.  Something to keep in mind is that the '94-95 and '12-13 seasons were both 48 game due to lockouts (Thanks, Gary).  Game 66 in an 82 game season is the 80% mark, so I took the record at game 39 in those seasons and transposed it to a 66 game pace.

Usually, that wouldn't matter at all, but the '94-95 team were gangbusters when it came to winning games.  If you include them in the metrics, the '13-14 Avs are the 4th fastest team to 40 wins in franchise history.  Without them, we're the 3rd.

Also, by the end of the year, we're on pace to pass the '96-97 crew for the 3rd best point total in franchise history.  If we do hit 50 ROW wins, we'll only be the 2nd club to physically hit that mark along with the '01 Cup team.  So, this team might not have the most wins through 66 games, but we can still become the winningest team in our history if we can get a ROW in 13 of our last 16 games.

The very fact that we're anywhere near the '01 team - you know, the one with Sakic, Forsberg, Roy, Foote, Bourque, Hejduk, Tanguay, Blake, etc - with a group that's defensive lineup still makes me a bit ill on occasion is really remarkable.  If Roy doesn't win coach of the year, someone wasn't paying attention.

Yr. Season Team Playoff W 66 L 66 T 66 Pts 66 W 82 L 82 T 82 Pts 82
22 '00-01 COL * 42 15 9 93 52 20 10 114
16 '94-95** QUE * 44 15 7 95 51 22 9 111
34 '13-14 COL * 40 20 6 86 50 25 7 107
18 '96-97 COL * 41 17 8 90 49 24 9 107
17 '95-96 COL * 37 19 10 84 47 25 10 104
14 '92-93 QUE * 36 20 10 82 46 26 10 102
23 '01-02 COL * 37 22 7 81 45 29 8 98
20 '98-99 COL * 34 24 8 76 44 28 10 98
24 '02-03 COL * 33 22 11 77 42 27 13 97
5 '83-84 QUE * 36 23 7 79 43 29 10 96
21 '99-00 COL * 29 27 10 68 42 29 11 95
19 '97-98 COL * 33 17 16 82 39 26 17 95
7 '85-86 QUE * 34 28 4 72 44 32 6 94
6 '84-85 QUE * 33 25 8 74 42 31 9 93
25 '03-04 COL * 33 21 12 78 40 29 13 93
26 '05-06 COL * 34 24 8 76 40 33 9 89
27 '06-07 COL 28 31 7 63 39 34 9 87
28 '07-08 COL * 29 29 8 66 37 35 10 84
30 '09-10 COL * 32 24 10 74 36 34 12 84
3 '81-82 QUE * 29 23 14 72 34 32 16 84
4 '82-83 QUE * 28 27 11 67 35 35 12 82
2 '80-81 QUE * 23 30 13 59 31 33 18 80
32 '11-12 COL 26 32 8 60 32 39 11 75
15 '93-94 QUE 26 34 6 58 33 41 8 74
8 '86-87 QUE * 24 33 9 57 32 40 10 74
9 '87-88 QUE 27 35 4 58 33 44 5 71
10 '88-89 QUE 22 38 6 50 28 47 7 63
1 '79-80 QUE 23 34 9 55 26 45 11 63
29 '08-09 COL 21 36 9 51 23 46 13 59
31 '10-11 COL 23 39 4 50 24 51 7 55
33 '12-13** COL 19 44 3 41 24 51 7 55
13 '91-92 QUE 14 41 11 39 21 49 12 54
12 '90-91 QUE 12 42 12 36 17 51 14 48
11 '89-90 QUE 11 48 7 29 12 63 7 31

Part 2:  Updated 2013-14 League Standings

These stats include both where the teams would sit currently as well as the pace they're on for the end of the year.  For some reason, these don't include last night's games, but they're relatively up to date.   The "Cur." column is the team's points in the current system, and the "+Pts" category is how many bonus points they've picked up through OTLs or shootouts.

Toronto and St. Louis have been helped tremendously by the current system, while Anaheim, Boston, and Nashville are pretty true to form.   Also, if the teams stay to pace, Washington will have gone to 18 shootouts over the course of the year.  Carolina will probably only have 5.

Given the end-of-the-year pace, this is what playoffs would look like under the old point system.  Please note the certain lack of a team from Detroit in the Eastern bracket.  They slotted into the 10th spot, 2 wins outside the 8th spot.

West
P1 Anaheim vs. Dallas WC2
C1 Colorado vs. Minnesota WC1
C2 St. Louis vs. Chicago C3
P2 San Jose vs. LA Kings P3

East
A1 Boston vs. New Jersey WC2
M1 Pittsburgh vs. Columbus WC1
A2 Montreal vs. Tampa Bay A3
M2 NY Rangers vs. Philadelphia M3

Rk Team Div GP W L T Pts Cur. +Pts W 82 L 82 T 82 Pts 82
1 ANA P 66 41 17 8 90 93 3 51 21 10 112
2 BOS A 65 41 19 5 87 91 4 52 24 6 110
3 COL C 66 40 20 6 86 91 5 50 25 7 107
4 PIT M 65 39 19 7 85 92 7 49 24 9 107
5 STL C 65 36 18 11 83 95 12 45 23 14 104
6 SJS P 66 33 19 14 80 91 11 41 24 17 99
7 CHI C 66 33 20 13 79 90 11 41 25 16 98
8 LAK P 66 32 24 10 74 82 8 40 30 12 92
9 PHI M 65 30 27 8 68 73 5 38 34 10 86
10 NYR M 66 31 29 6 68 74 6 39 36 7 85
11 MTL A 67 30 29 8 68 77 9 37 35 10 84
12 TBL A 65 28 26 11 67 75 8 35 33 14 84
13 MIN C 65 27 25 13 67 77 10 34 32 16 84
14 CBJ M 65 30 30 5 65 73 8 38 38 6 82
15 DAL C 65 29 29 7 65 74 9 37 37 8 82
16 NJD M 66 29 29 8 66 71 5 36 36 10 82
17 TOR A 67 26 28 13 65 78 13 32 34 16 80
18 DET A 65 25 28 12 62 71 9 32 35 15 79
19 NSH C 66 27 31 8 62 66 4 34 38 10 78
20 PHX P 66 26 30 10 62 73 11 32 37 13 77
21 VAN P 68 26 31 11 63 70 7 31 37 14 76
22 OTT A 65 25 31 9 59 68 9 32 39 11 75
23 CAR M 65 27 34 4 58 65 7 34 43 5 73
24 WPG C 67 24 31 12 60 69 9 29 38 15 73
25 WSH M 67 22 30 15 59 70 11 27 37 18 72
26 CGY P 66 22 37 7 51 59 8 27 46 9 63
27 FLA A 65 17 36 12 46 55 9 22 45 15 59
28 NYI M 67 19 38 10 48 59 11 23 47 12 58
29 EDM P 66 20 41 5 45 54 9 25 51 6 56
30 BUF A 65 13 42 10 36 46 10 16 53 13 45