Three NHL Game 7’s are scheduled for tonight, so I figured I’d run some Game 7 numbers.

For this analysis, I used both numbers via AC Thomas’ nhlscrapr package (provided by Thomas himself), and also penalty data that I collected a few years back, summarized in a paper here, a recent article here, and published in International Journal of Sport Finance.

What’s different about Game 7’s?

For starters, there are far fewer penalties.

On average, teams combine for about 9.4 penalties (excluding matching majors) in playoff Game’s 1 through 6, but just 7.0 in Game 7s. This could be the result of changes in style of play, or due to referees being less inclined to assert themselves into the game.

In terms of win percentage, going back to 2002, home games have won 57% of Game’s 1 through 6, and 52% of Game 7s. Here’s a chart…