Quote:
Originally Posted by MountainTi
Never have liked the loser point. Kinda like a participation trophy. You showed up, lost, but here's your point
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Quote:
Originally Posted by roper1
Me either, have now watched too many 3rd periods with both teams trying not to lose.
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Tie games were an issue back in the day. Teams would go through the motions during the later stages of games, happy to get one point. Fans wanted to see a winner declared.
The solution the NHL went with (Bettman point) made things worse. There was a Sports Illustrated article about how the extra point affected the way teams played. It showed that in the latter stages of the 3rd period, teams played a less aggressive style of hockey; less shots on goal, less high danger attempts etc. In games against teams from other divisions, the drop in the level of play was more pronounced; the theory being that games outside of your division had less impact on the standings so teams were more likely to be satisfied with getting a single point and then going to overtime.
Some people have the opinion that all games should be worth 3 points ... 3 points for a regulation win and a 2-1 point split for games decided in OT or shootout. This would give teams more incentive to win in regulation time.