A Flawed System?

Take a look at the current Conference Standings…notice something off?

The Washington Capitals are in 3rd place in the Eastern Conference with 56 points. The 8th seed Toronto Maple Leafs also have 56 points… The reason Washington is in third place is because they are 1st in the Southeast Division and the first three seeds are given to the division leaders.

The same thing goes for the San Jose Sharks who are in 3rd place with 62 points. Points wise, they should be in 7th place.

This is not the first time this has been an issue and it won’t be the last. The main reason this is such an issue is that some divisions are MUCH tougher than the rest.

The two divisions that definitely that are the toughest, in my opinion, are the Pacific and the Atlantic Divisions. 4/5 teams in the Atlantic are currently in playoff position. 5/5 teams in the Pacific are either in playoff spot, or pretty damn close.

More than likely there will be a few teams who have more points, but won’t make it due to the NHL’s current system.

The Capitals are in (numbers wise) the worst division in the league. The only other team giving them a run for their division title is the Florida Panthers (who by the way if they win tonight jump from 9th to 3rd place….).

It just shows that maybe realignment would work better. Bigger divisions with more competition.

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