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Originally Posted by CsInMyBlood
Wow interesting, it certainly didn't seem like this was the case, where did you find these numbers?
I guess it does show that ties went down to some extent at the beginning, 29.5% of draws in 98, to 24.7% the first year it was implimented and then rose from there, I guess making the NHL decide to go with a shootout. I just remember how much better OT got as opposed to the trap stalemate. It was totally noticeable.
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NHL standings. But per the error that was noted, cut those percentages in half. It was 14.75ish% down to 12.35ish%, but bounced back up almost as quickly. Subjectively, I partially agree and partially disagree with your recollection of how OT itself may have improved - especially in interconference play. But the OTL is why teams increased their trapping the hell out of the third period of games - because they wanted that guaranteed point. OT itself was frequently a flop because teams didn't want to give intraconference opponents the extra point.
And yes, the league went to the shootout to eliminate the "problem" of tie games. But I have always maintained that the solution was worse.