And the shootout has not had any effect on how many points are vital to make it to the playoff. Giving a 3rd point in a game starting at the 1999-00 season increased the digit of point vital to make the playoffs (as well as parity).

In the Western Conference, for the 3 seasons prior to the introduction of the 3 point game
98-99 – 80 points vital to make the playoffs, the average point total of playoff teams was 90.4
97-98 – 78 points vital to make the playoffs, the average point total of playoff teams was 91.5
96-97 – 81 points vital to make the playoffs, the average point total of playoff teams was 90pts

In the Western Conference, for the 3 seasons after to the introduction of the 3 point game
99-00 (no shootouts) – 87 points vital to make the playoffs, the average point total of playoff teams was 97.4pts
00-01 (no shootouts) – 90 points vital to make the playoffs, the average point total of playoff teams was 101pts
01-02 (no shootouts) – 92 points vital to make the playoffs, the average point total of playoff teams was 101.3pts

Last year (with shootouts)
92 mades the playoffs in the Western Conference
100.8 was the average point total of playoff teams

So, as you can see, the addition of the superfluous point in 99-00 altered the standings by increasing the digit of points vital from approximately 80 to approximately 90, which is easily clarified when one considers that there have been an average of 288 overtime games a year since there were 30 teams, which means an average of 288 superfluous points a year, or an average of 9.6pts superfluous/season per team….or roughly10 points