The San Jose Sharks entered Wednesday night's game with a chance to break back into the playoff picture in the hotly competitive Western Conference despite enduring a six-game losing streak this month.
They succeeded, sort of.
The way the NHL shows standings, the Sharks are tied with the Colorado Avalanche and Chicago Blackhawks at 56 points in 50 games. They have beaten Chicago in all three contests so far this season but lost in overtime in the only previous game against Colorado.
Because it is a three-way tie with an odd number of games, Chicago gets the nod for the seventh spot by having more wins, and the Sharks edge out the Avs because of a better goal differential.
Got all that?
That means technically the Sharks have the eighth and final spot in the West right now. But the reality is the Minnesota Wild, winners of two out of three games against San Jose, are one point behind the Sharks with one fewer game played.
That means they have captured a 10th of a percent more of their possible points than the three teams tied at 56. In any rational league standings, the Wild would be in seventh, dropping the defe ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by MJ Kasprzak
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