Why such quick overtimes?
Daily News Flyers blog
Why such quick overtimes?
The numbers are staggering.
On Sunday, the Flyers had two cracks at an overtime win within the first 4:46, when Danny Briere finally delivered a Game 1 win over the Devils.
If you feel like overtime games have been ending quickly, you’re not alone.
Through the first 53 games of this Stanley Cup playoff season, 18 have gone to overtime (33.9 percent).
The overtime in 8 out of those 18 games (44 percent) hasn’t even made it past the three-minute mark. Fans barely have enough time to grab a beer during the intermission and get back to their seats to see the action.
The total overtime played in 18 games is 91:15, making the average overtime length just over 5 minutes at 5:04. Just three games have gone to a double overtime this playoff.
The Flyers, who are 2-0 in overtime this spring, have played an average of 3:29 in overtime. Jake Voracek delivered the game-winner in Game 1 against Pittsburgh at 2:23. Briere scored at 4:46 on Sunday.
If Briere’s first goal, with the distinct kicking motion, hadn’t been disallowed at the 2:13 mark, the Flyers’ average overtime minutes played would have dropped to 2:17.
Voracek chalked up the increased scoring chances to the fresh ice that comes with playoff overtime hockey. Eric Wellwood said he believes teams put an emphasis on early pressure. Hockey purists say the quick goals are a product of the open style game since the 2005 lockout.
“I think teams push and push to try and get that early goal,” James van Riemsdyk said. “Once you get to that five-minute point, though, I think everyone starts to settle in for a long night.”
Pick up Tuesday’s Daily News for more, with the yearly trends before and after the lockout and more player reaction.
For the latest updates, follow Frank Seravalli on Twitter: @DNFlyers
///The overtime in 8 out of those 18 games (44 percent) hasn’t even made it past the three-minute mark. Fans barely have enough time to grab a beer during the intermission and get back to their seats to see the action.///
Dude, have you ever been to a hockey game? They stop selling beer at the beginning of the third period. No one would get a beer during the intermission heading into OT because they stopped selling it a period before, moron.— General Turgidson- It's interesting that the Flyers have had such success early into overtime. During the regular season, they showed poor results in shootouts, which may have pushed them to improve at winning the game before the five minute OT session ended.— PA_Logic
- Slow news day, Frank?— chase26TJ
- I think the big difference over the last ten years is penalties called by the refs. 20 maybe even 10 years ago, in overtime and at the end of regulation in a tiem game you would need to kill someone for the refs to call a penalty. Now the refs pretty much call overtime the same way they call the rest of the game. That is to say they will blow the whistle if they think it is a penalty.— Go Flyers
- Hope all these games were as good as game 1 but with a different outcome. Bryz seems not too sure of himself sometimes and if Jersey can pepper him with more than 12 shots over the last two periods it could have been a different story. Sorry all but I'm thinking.....Devils in 7!!— snodog66
- See what happens when there isn't a shootout?!?!?!— macd41144
- My favorite part of OT playoff hockey is NO COMMERCIALS!!!— uncle meat
- The last time I was at an OT game, there was no beer being sold by then. It's a terrible feeling when the hangover starts before the game is over.— mikeyhigs
- I haven't been to a game at any level in years that beer sales didn't quit at the end of the 2nd intermission.
— AndyG 
Comment removed.- Now that you can no longer hold and interfere with players off the puck, it opens up the overtime ice.— blaqjaq
- Over Time Hockey is great as long as your team is on the winning side....LOL Love the fact we have won both OT games in under 6 mintues. LETS GO FLYERS!!!— srcdaddy1216
- All those marathon OT games happened during the dead puck era.— bobbyd24
- Comment removed.
- shees, I think the Devils were playing for the extra point at the end of regulation there.— potus
- Your joke probably has some hidden insight in there. Many teams these days are used to playing for the shootout and are accustomed to playing OT hockey in survival mode. It'd be interesting to see if there's any correlation between playoff OT performance and regular season shoot-out performance. There is at least where Philly is concerned! Of course, this piece is by Frank, and that would've required actual journalism.
— icarus
