What is the point? In the two best hockey leagues in the world, it is customary to award two points for a victory, regardless of whether the team won in regulation time or after overtime/shootout. That is, in fact, there is no additional bonus for the team that has coped with the task of winning in regular time. This hurts motivation, and if a draw in football is a loss of points, then in hockey it is just an inconvenience, points for a victory hang, but there is still a chance to decide everything in your favor. Why is it important?
Because winning in regulation time and winning with overtime and shootouts are valued differently, the odds gap is huge. At the same time, when buying insurance, you are not only almost certainly playing at lower odds, which will give a loss at a distance, especially if you prefer favorites. So, as insurance, you buy the desire of the team to win, while the overtime itself, and even more so the shootout series, is closer to the lottery than the skill level indicator. That is, you overpay, but it’s not even clear why. And if you play in regular time, you actually feel naked, because your interests are not protected in the same way as in another sport when betting on winning.
Well, the icing on the cake is that if you lose in overtime and a shootout, the losing team gets an extra point. Just think: initially, there are 2 points at stake in a hockey match, which the teams play, but if the game goes into extra time, then three points are already played out. That is, an extra point is artificially generated, a kind of emission, which is reflected in the standings. How can that be? Nobody can say, for sure. In European leagues, this is the order, three points at stake in a match: a win in regular time gives three points, including extra time – 2 points, 1 point is given to the team for a loss outside of regular time. Healthy League. But with the NHL, and then with the KHL, it’s a real disaster.
What to do. Alternatively, ignore the regular season of these leagues. Since to make long term profit you need to bet exactly at the regular time, and according to such scoring standards, your interests are not sufficiently protected. But if you still want to bet, then avoid teams that love draws – by the middle of the season you will definitely determine them. It is also better to avoid clear wins in matches between teams from different conferences. Due to the lack of direct competition, they may be tempted to play a draw and generate an extra point, which will never interfere with the tournament struggle. Games within the conference and divisions are usually much more competitive and uncompromising.