Drinking the Kool-Aid

Jim Dolan would be happy with this article. Too bad for him it was not written by Sam Rosen or Joe Micheletti. I wonder if they would agree to write such fluff (who knows in the Dolan era):

"Just how good have the New York Rangers been this season?

Consider this:

With Monday night's 4-0 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at MSG, the Rangers completed the first half of the 2008-09 season with the most points since 2005-06 and the most victories since 1995-96."

And that was just the beginning. We go on to the end and see a nice little table that shows the most points the Rangers have ever attained at the 41-game mark. Prospect Park blogger Jess Rubenstein hit it right on the head with this post.

I still can't believe journalists play along as well. Here's today's post by Andrew Gross. He starts out the article by making some good points including saying he does not see this team advancing past the second round of the playoffs. But then he goes all newyorkrangers.com on us:

"Much of this thinking was sparked by reading Dan David's fine first-half review on the Rangers' web site. Simply put, David notes that, with 51 points, this marks the Rangers' best first half point-wise since 1995-96."

Fine first half review? Don't fall for this stuff, folks. Listen, I want the Rangers to do well as much as anybody. However, you have to look at the facts. The NHL points system is a joke. The fact that they have three columns in the standings and the first column combines two type of wins (regulations and OT/shootout) while the other two columns separate the regulation and OT/shootout losses says it all.

Forget the point system for a minute. Know that there are two results in a hockey game, a win or a loss- no more ties obviously. So when you look at the standings in your newspaper or favorite website and want to judge a team for their overall play this season, just combine the L and the O columns. The Rangers are 24-14-3 (or 24 wins and 17 losses). Not bad, thanks to the shootout. However, check in with my regulation standings every Monday for true hockey standings that does not include the 4 on 4 extra frame or skills competition.