NHL Playoff Predictions 2012: Coyotes Will Dispatch Blackhawks in 1st Round

Just two years removed from a Stanley Cup championship and one year removed from a dramatic run through the playoffs, the six-seeded Chicago Blackhawks face Phoenix Coyotes in the 2012 Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round.

Unfortunately, that's where their journey is likely to end.

Chicago finished in fourth place in the Central Division in 2011-12, a competitive year in which only one team finished under .500 and eight points separated the first-place St. Louis Blues from the fourth-place Blackhawks. Overall, Chicago went 45-26-11, and five of its last six games went to a shootout.

But those overtime loss points are exactly what make the Blackhawks look a lot better than they are this year.

The Chicago Tribune's Steve Rosenbloom points out that the stats say the Blackhawks are 3-1-3 over their last seven games—but are they really? They lost in shootouts in two of their last three games, yet they still got two points for those losses.

In Saturday's regular-season finale—a 3-2 shootout win over Detroit—the Blackhawks led by two goals with five minutes remaining in regulation, but couldn't get the job done.

The case of the Blackhawks is one in which the record and the points tell a very different story from the actual stats. Yes, the Hawks may have finished with over 100 points this year, but that doesn't mean they didn't struggle, particularly after the regulation horn sounded.

As Rosenbloom reminds us, you don't get a point for an overtime loss in the playoffs. After an overtime loss, you get a step closer to going home for the year, and that's all.

The Coyotes finished the 2011-12 season with 97 points—four fewer than the Blackhawks—yet enter the playoffs with a higher seed after finishing first in the Pacific Division. The Coyotes have also won their last five games, all in regulation. Just like they'll need to do in the playoffs in order to advance.

Getting a point for escaping regulation with as many goals as your opponent is nice, but it's an unrealistic way of determining which teams will truly be better in the postseason. In the postseason, you need to score more than your opponent, period. The points don't—and shouldn't matter.