At the end of tie games, teams across the league dont play to win they play not to lose.
It wasnt always this way. For most of the NHLs history and through the 1998-99 season, a team earned two points for a win in regulation or overtime, zero points for a loss, and one point for a tie. But in 2005, the NHL mandated shootouts at the end of overtime, which prompted a change in the point structure. Now, the winner would get two points and the overtime loser one. (From 1999 to 2005, the loser of an overtime game also received a point, but matches could also finish tied, with each squad earning a point.) By and large, the new structure encourages teams in tie games to try to play for overtime, where the total number of points awarded to the teams increases by 50 percent (three vs. two).