Molinari's Talking Point: Should NHL's 'loser point' get lost? taken at PPG Paints Arena (NHL)

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Penguins celebrate a Kris Letang overtime goal.

It all used to be so simple in the NHL.

Win a game, get two points.

Tie it, get one.

Lose, none.

The league then determined that a significant portion of the paying public wanted every game to produce a winner, so regular-season overtime was introduced in 1983. (Actually, it was reintroduced then, since there had been overtime before it was eliminated in 1942 due to restrictions imposed because of World War II.)

If that five-minute extra period didn't produce a winner, the game was deemed a tie -- and, of course, both teams got a point.

Overtime rules have been tweaked a few times since then, with the sides going from five players each to four to the current three.

And coming out of the lockout that shut down the NHL for the 2004-05 season, shootouts were added to guarantee that one team would win.

What stayed the same was that the other club would be compensated for its trouble with what's come to be known in some quarters as a "loser point."

Some see that as a reasonable reward for teams that get through 60 minutes of regulation tied, since that was the procedure in place when games ended after three periods, regardless of the score.

Others contend that losing is losing, regardless of when or how it happens, and that the defeated team should not benefit in the standings.

Another group believes the system should be modified, with teams winning in regulation getting three points, clubs that win in overtime or a shootout receiving two and an overtime or shootout loser being given one.

Any changes obviously could have an impact on the standings in a given season, although the same teams wouldn't necessarily benefit from one year to the next, so partisan rooting interests shouldn't come into play.

YOUR TURN: Would you like to see the NHL change the way it awards points to teams that win (or lose) games, depending on when the outcome is determined?

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