NHL Minute: 1/22/13

Sunday was the NFL conference championship games and Monday was MLK, Jr. Day. Today is Tuesday, so it's back to hockey.

If you have DISH Network as your TV provider, you have NHL Center Ice for free until the end of January. I don't know if any other cable or satellite companies are offering that, but it's worth investigating, because NHL Center Ice lets you watch every game. Also, this is a good time to familiarize yourself with the channel numbers for NHL Network (NHLN), NBC Sports Network (NBCSN) and NBC, because they will all occasionally carry games throughout the season.

Points Explanation
If you're new to the NHL, the standings work like this:

• 2 points for a win
• 0 points for a loss
• 1 point for an overtime or shootout loss (Teams go to a shootout if nobody scores in overtime)

Each conference has eight playoff seeds. There are three divisions in each conference. The winner of each division automatically earns one of the top three playoff seeds in their conference. The other five seeds are earned based on total points.

For example:

1. Team A (Pacific Division Winner) - 105 points
2. Team B (Central Division Winner) - 99 points
3. Team C (Northwest Division Winner) - 97 points
4. Team D (Pacific Division) - 100 points
5. Team E (Northwest Division) - 96 points
6. Team F
7. Team G
8. Team Z

Notice how Team D has more points than Team B and Team C, but since Team A is the Pacific Division leader, they can't place higher than fourth? That's the incentive for winning your division in the NHL.

Sunday's Results

• Philadelphia Flyers 2, Buffalo Sabres 5
• San Jose Sharks 4, Calgary Flames 1
• Pittsburgh Penguins 6, New York Rangers 3
• Dallas Stars 0, Minnesota Wild 1
• Edmonton Oilers 3, Vancouver Canucks 2 (Shootout)
• Chicago Blackhawks 6, Phoenix Coyotes 4

Monday's Results

• Winnipeg Jets 1, Boston Bruins 2 (Shootout)
• Tampa Bay Lightning 3, New York Islanders 4
• St. Louis Blues 4, Nashville Predators 3 (Shootout)
• Buffalo Sabres 2, Toronto Maple Leafs 1
• Florida Panthers 0, Ottawa Senators 4
• Detroit Red Wings 4, Columbus Blue Jackets 3 (Shootout)
• Anaheim Ducks 5, Calgary Flames 4

Tuesday's Schedule
NEW FEATURE: Team records (Wins-Losses-OT/SO Losses)

• Winnipeg Jets (0-1-1) at Washington Capitals (0-1) (4 PT)
• Tampa Bay Lightning (1-1) at Carolina Hurricanes (o-1) (4 PT)
• Florida Panthers (1-1) at Montreal Canadiens (0-1) (NBC Sports Network; 4:30 PT)
• Dallas Stars (1-1) at Detroit Red Wings (1-1) (4:30 PT)
• Nashville Predators (0-0-2) at Minnesota Wild (2-0) (5 PT)
• St. Louis Blues (2-0) at Chicago Blackhawks (2-0) (5:30 PT)
• Los Angeles Kings (0-1) at Colorado Avalanche (0-1) (6 PT)
• San Jose Sharks (1-0) at Edmonton Oilers (1-0) (7 PT)