from Andrew Berkshire of Sportsnet,

As it turns out, there actually have been more scoring chances on average per minute played during overtime in the playoffs so far this season, even if the difference is relatively small.

That higher frequency of scoring chances might not be enough to be caught by the eye though, since it’s just a 4.5 per cent increase in scoring chances on net, and a 3.9 per cent increase in scoring chances overall.

That brings us back to the stakes inflating our perceptions a little bit, but there’s another wrinkle to all this; shot attempts also increase in overtime, and they increase by a bit more than scoring chances do.

On average, teams have produced 21.875 shot attempts per 20 minutes played at even strength in regulation, but that rises to 23.333 in overtime, a 6.7 per cent increase. This means that the relative danger of each shot attempt is actually lower in overtime than in regulation, but teams are putting every available puck on net in order to either generate a scoring chance, or get lucky.

That increased pace of play is surprising considering the players should be tired, and the lower percentage of dangerous shots is possibly even more surprising since you would expect that tired players make more mistakes, but so far it just hasn’t been true during these playoffs.

more