Stats in the Wild

Here’s a fun fact. NHL first round winners were 45-54 in shootouts in the regular season. First round losers were 63-43.  Here are the match ups (higher regular season point total first, shootout record in parentheses, winner in bold):

• Rangers (4-5)  vs. Ottawa (6-4)
• Bruins (9-3) vs. Capitals (4-4)
• Devils (12-4) vs. Panthers (6-11)
• Penguins (9-3) vs. Flyers (4-7)
• Canucks (8-7) vs. Kings (6-9)
• Blues (4-10) vs. Sharks (9-5)
• Blackhawks (7-7) vs. Coyotes (6-10)
• Predators (5-5) vs. Red Wings (9-3)

So, the team with the lower shootout win percentage won seven out of eight series. The team with the higher point total only won four out of eight (Rangers, Blues, and Predators), in part because good shootout records inflated some teams’ point totals. Why do we still have shootouts again?