Columbus has more than its share of seasoned hockey fans. However, there are many who are still catching up on the sport, its rules and traditions. 1st Ohio Explainer is a series for those fans.
We're in the stretch run of the NHL playoff race and you're probably like a lot of Blue Jackets fans out there – compulsively checking league standings.
If you haven't, here's a quick update: the top three teams in the NHL all reside in the Metropolitan Division, with the Washington Capitals leading things at 97 points, the Pittsburgh Penguins in second with 95 points and the hometown Jackets in third with 94 points.
But what do all of the columns in the standings table mean? Let's break it down.
GP represents games played. NHL teams play 82 games during the regular season – 41 at home and 41 on the road.
W is the number of wins for a given team – regulation, overtime and shootout. “A win is a win,” or so the expression goes, but that's not entirely true. More on that in a second. Teams are awarded two (2) points for wins.
L as you might imagine, is the number of losses for a team. But only regulation losses, not overtime or shootout losses. Teams are awarded no points for losses.
OT (sometimes specified as OTL) is the number of overtime or shootout losses for a team. Teams are awarded one (1) point for overtime or shootout losses. This “loser point” is not universally popular.
PTS are how teams are ranked in the standings table and how playoff seeding is determined. Again, teams are awarded two (2) points for each win – regulation and overtime/shootout – while franchises are awarded one (1) point for overtime and shootout losses.
Did You Know?
ROW was championed by former Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson, who wanted to reduce the impact shootouts had on standings.
ROW is a team's total number of regulation and overtime wins. Why is ROW important? For all intents and purposes, it's the league's first tie-breaker. Technically, fewer number of games played is the first tie-breaker, but since teams play uniform 82-game schedules, ROW serves as the de facto tie-breaker for playoff matters.
GF, or Goals For, represent how many goals a team has scored on the season. Note: goals scored during shootouts do not count towards a team's total. The winning team is given one extra goal in the game score and one extra goal in the season total.
GA is the opposite of GF – how many goals a team has surrendered on the season – or Goals Against. Note: goals allowed during shootouts do not count towards a team's total. The losing team is charged with one extra goal in the game score and one extra goal in the season total.
DIFF represents the goals differential for a team. Basically, GF – GA = DIFF.
HOME is a team's home record, W–L–OTL.
AWAY is a team's road record, W–L–OTL.
S/O represents a team's record in games decided by a shootout.
L10 is a team's record over their last 10 games, W–L–OTL.
STRK is the team's current streak of consecutive wins or losses.
Other Columns You May See in Standings
SOW is the number of shootout wins a team has on the season. You'll see this paired with SOL in some standings in place of the S/O record.
SOL is the number of shootout losses a team has. Again, you'll see this paired with SOW in some standings instead of the S/O record.
PCT can mean a team's percentage of total points earned from points available, or more infrequently, a team's winning percentage.
DIV represents a team's record against its own division, W–L–OTL.
GFA indicates a team's average goals scored per game.
GAA are a team's goals allowed per game.
