The standings shows where each team ranks in their conference or division. Teams may be ranked in terms of simple
winning percentage (the proportion of the games played to date which the team won), or based on total points, with differing numbers of points awarded for wins and
ties (draws). Many league tables show further statistics and may display: • wins • losses •
ties (draws) •
goal differential (Goals scored minus goals conceded) • goals scored • goals allowed (conceded) • home/away win–loss records Usually, if a league is divided into conferences and divisions, the league table will also be. Often, a less specific table is also included. For example,
National Hockey League tables will normally have a detailed table for each division, plus a table for each conference showing just the points totals. As an example, below is the league table for the
Northeast Division of the National Hockey League, as of March 31, 2004: In the above table, an "
x" placed before a team's name shows that the team has qualified for playoff position; other letters may be used to show that a team is guaranteed first place, has been eliminated from contention and so forth. From this table, we can see that
Boston,
Toronto,
Ottawa and
Montreal are all guaranteed playoff positions; the absence of a "
y" shows that the division championship is still to play for. Meanwhile, because
Buffalo has no symbol at all, they are not out of playoff contention, but have yet to clinch a playoff position. The following day, a new league table would appear in newspapers, updated based on the previous night's games. Of course, the above table would also be accompanied by those of the other divisions in the league. ==Instances==