Ranom chance or endemic problem?

[everyoneneedsasmil]

The Wings have to be setting some sort of record for most shootout and OT losses. At the same time, how much of this is a string of really terrible luck? Games going to overtime and shootout tend to equalize over time close to a 50% win/loss record. The best teams will often have a better record than .500, but it is generally lower than their overall record, as 60 minutes of higher skill/talent is generally more accurate and predictive of a team's ability. The opposite is also true of really bad teams. They will generally produce below .500 results in overtime and shootouts, but often better results than their non-OT/shootout record.

The Wings are not a great team, but they aren't a terrible team. Somehow they are a staggering 1-8 in games going to overtime or a shootout, and 0-4 specifically in games that go to a shootout. There isn't even enough to say that there is some specific issue that is making us particularly bad in these situations. You could point to the young blue line in overtime, but certainly they are good enough to keep the opposing team tied despite a bottom third offense. Further, the blue line has no effect on the shootout. You could point to that same bottom third offense, but it can't explain the shootouts. Despite a lack of scoring depth, the Wings still have more than three top line scorers - with Pavel Datsyuk being one of the highest scoring players in the shootout since it's inclusion in the regular season.

I'm hoping things equal out over the season, but I can't really be sure. The offense still is not getting things done consistently. We simply don't possess the puck that well, despite a puck possession scheme. The defense, likewise, is prone to giveaways and has a terrible time taking the puck from opposing forwards without giving up good shots first. There is still something wrong in Hockeytown, but hopefully some of it is just bad luck.