Music: {allcanada} New tiebreaker rule could come into play in tight West

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

{allcanada} New tiebreaker rule could come into play in tight West

As teams scramble to make the playoffs in the wild Western Conference race, they are realizing that a win in the first 65 minutes might be far more valuable than a shootout victory.

NHL teams appeared to be making a minor move when they supported the Columbus Blue Jackets' proposal that non-shootout wins be the No. 1 tiebreaker in the standings.

Today, with four points separating fifth through 11th place in the West, that rules tweak could have major consequences.

"It certainly has the appearance that the rule change will have an impact on either who gets in or out or what seed someone will have," Detroit Red Wings general manager Ken Holland said.

It is possible that a team might pull its goalie for an extra attacker during a tie game to avoid a shootout, although there is risk involved in doing that in overtime because according to Rule 84.2, if a team is scored upon, it forfeits its guaranteed point.

The Los Angeles Kings were in eighth place, tied with the Minnesota Wild (who have played one more game) and two points ahead of the Nashville Predators and Anaheim Ducks. Los Angeles has the most wins in that group with 36, but if there were a tie with any of those three teams, the Kings could lose the first tiebreaker. The Wild lead with 33 non-shootout wins, followed by Anaheim (31), Los Angeles (29) and Nashville (27).

All coaches are thinking about this these days because of the topsy-turvy nature of the West standings.

Phoenix Coyotes general manager Don Maloney said the difference between third and ninth is a "bad half-week."

"Every game has seemed like an elimination game for us," Maloney said.

The Chicago Blackhawks and San Jose Sharks were both out of a playoff spot not long ago, and now suddenly they are among the top four teams.

"We are in a race for our division, and obviously Chicago is coming like a freight train," Holland said. "We are racing for a lot of different things. There are teams right now outside the top eight who could have a strong finish and get that fourth seed and start the playoffs at home."

Holland believes the race will come down to the final weekend.

"The race this year is tighter than the race last year, and the race last year was tighter than the year before," he said. "It's parity."