When You Take A Look At The Standings For The NHL, You’ll See That There Are Three Columns, And Each Of Those Columns Pertains To A Different Facet Of A Team’s Record.
These Columns Are Referred To Collectively Using The Acronym W-L-OTL, However The Abbreviation W-L-Ot May Also Be Used.
The Initial Two Letters Of The Term Symbolize The Concepts Of Wins (W) And Losses (L) Respectively.
In This Particular Situation, The Losses That Are Designated By The Letter “L” Correspond Exclusively To Regulation Losses. After The First Sixty Minutes Of Play, A Team’s Record Is Determined By The Number Of Losses It Has Accumulated.
Despite This, There Are Still A Considerable Percentage Of Games In Which The Score Is Tied Following The Conclusion Of The Allotted Amount Of Time For Regulation.
Every Game Played In The National Hockey League (NHL) Must End With A Winner And A Loser. This Is A Requirement Of The League.
Therefore, In Order To Break A Tie In A Game That Has Already Gone Into Overtime And Regulation, The Two Teams Fight Against Each Other In A Shootout.
Whoever Emerges Victorious In The End Will Add One More Victory To Their Record, Bringing The Total Number Of Victories For Both Sides To A Total Of Two.
The Other Club, On The Other Hand, Will Notice An Increase To Their OTL Column As A Result Of The Loss That They Incurred.
Table of Contents
What Does It Mean When Someone In The Hockey World Refers To “OTL”?
When Referring To The Standings Of The National Hockey League (NHL), The Acronym “OTL” Stands For “Overtime And Shootout Losses.”
It Is The Total Number Of Losses That A Team Experienced During The Course Of The Regular Season In Situations That Lasted Beyond The Allotted Amount Of Time For Regulation.
A Team Receives One Point Toward Their Overall Standing Whenever They Lose In A Situation That Goes Into Overtime Or A Shootout.
It Is Essential To Keep In Mind That Teams Will Not Earn Any Points (0) Even If They Lose A Game That Was Finished Inside The Specified Amount Of Time.
How Do You Tell The Difference Between Losing A Game In Overtime And Losing It In A Shootout While The Game Was In Overtime?
While You Are Looking At The OTL Column, You May Be Wondering How To Differentiate A Loss In Overtime From A Loss In A Shootout. This Is A Very Reasonable Question.
It Would Make Things A Lot Less Complicated If You Could Remember The Results Of Each Game Without Having To Look Them Up.
Having Said That, Let’s Be Honest: Not Everyone Has A Memory Like A Photographic Camera. In Particular With Regard To Recalling Specific Outcomes Of NHL Games.
Having Said That, There Is A Speedy Way To Figure It Out.
You Are Going To Need The Help Of The S/O Column In The NHL Standings, Which Is Also Known As The “Record In Games Decided By Shootout” Column. You Can Find This Column By Looking At The “Record In Games Decided By Shootout” Column.
The Number That Is Listed Here For Each Team Is An Indication Of The Number Of Victories And Losses That They Have Accumulated (For Example: 4-1, 2-2, Etc.).
The S/O Statistic Gives You The Information That Immediately Shows You How Many Shootout Losses A Team Has Piled Up, So You Can Make An Informed Decision About How To Proceed.
The Balance Of The OTL Losses Can Be Attributed, In Some Cases, To The Losses That Were Incurred During Overtime.
Is OTL Different Between An Overtime Loss And A Shootout Loss?
Despite The Fact That This Is The Case, The Team That Has Notched Up Those Defeats Will Not Experience Any Immediate Repercussions As A Result Of This.
It Is More Likely That It Will Have An Impact On The Standings Of The Competing Club That Came Out On Top And Won The Match Against Them.
It Is Well Knowledge That A Team Earns Two Points For Every Victory, And This Point Total Remains The Same Regardless Of Whether The Victory Was Achieved During Regulation Time, In Overtime, Or Via A Shootout.
When There Is A Tie For First Place In The Standings Between Two Teams, The Number Of Wins In Regulation, The Number Of Wins In Overtime, And The Number Of Wins In Shootouts Are All Equally Relevant In Determining Which Team Comes Out On Top.
You Can Find A Representation Of This Information In The Tie-Breaking Methods #2 And #3, Which Are Located At The Very Bottom Of The Page That Provides The NHL Standings.
These Apply To The Rw And Row Columns In The Standings, Which Stand For “Regulation Wins” And “Regulation Plus Overtime Wins,” Respectively. Rw And Row Are Abbreviations For “Regulation Wins” And “Regulation Plus Overtime Wins.”
Rw Is An Abbreviation That Stands For The Total Number Of Regulation Victories That Have Been Accumulated By Each Of The Two Teams. The Victories That Are Noted In This Column Are Accorded The Highest Level Of Importance.
As A Result Of The Fact That Rw Does Not, In Any Way, Shape, Or Form, Correspond Directly To Overtime And Shootout Losses, We Will Not Be Discussing It Any Further At This Time.
If You Are Interested In Acquiring Additional Information Regarding The Rw Column That Is More In-Depth, Make Sure That You Read This Post That Is Located On My Blog.
On The Other Hand, There Is A Direct Connection Between Row And OTL, Which Is An Abbreviation That Stands For Overtime And Shootout Defeats.
The Final Row Tally Is Determined In Part By The Number Of Rounds Of Overtime That A Given Side Prevails In. They Do Not Take Into Consideration Any Victories That May Have Been Collected Throughout The Course Of The Shootout.
Because Of This, A Team Will Rank Higher In The NHL Rankings Even If It Has The Same Number Of Points (Pts), The Same Number Of Wins In Regulation (Rw Total), But A Greater Number Of Wins In Regulation And Overtime (Row Total).
If You Are Interested In Learning More About The Row Column, Make Sure That You Read This Piece That I Have Published On My Website.
When Was The Overtime Feature Of The NHL Standings First Made Available To Users?
The First Episode Of OTL Aired On Television During The 1999–2000 Television Season. However, At That Era There Was No Such Thing As A Shootout, And The Term “Shootout Loss” Applied Strictly To Losses That Occurred In Overtime.
If The Game Went Into Overtime And The Losing Team Didn’t Score, Each Team Would Receive One Point In The Standings.
In Prior Years, It Was Common Practice For Contending Teams To Play With A Higher Degree Of Caution During The Overtime Period. In Order To Remedy This Issue, The OTL Column Was Introduced Into The Standings.
For This Reason, If A Team Were To Lose In Overtime, They Would Receive No Points For Their Performance, Regardless Of How Well They Played.
Both Teams Would Rather Not Suffer A Loss And Come Away With A Point From A Draw In The Game Than Take A Chance On Dropping The Contest And Winning By A Larger Margin.
These Points May Prove To Be The Deciding Factor In Determining Which Teams Advance To The Postseason And Which Do Not.
Therefore, In The End, The National Hockey League Came To The Judgment That Every Club That Went Into Overtime Would Be Granted A Point, Regardless Of The Result Of The Overtime Session.
This Decision Was Made In Light Of The Fact That Every Club That Went Into Overtime Received A Point.
In This Manner, Teams Would Be More Ready To Take Chances In Order To Win Games In Overtime, Which Would In Turn Make The Game More Enjoyable For The Viewers Who Were Watching It.
As A Result Of The National Hockey League (NHL) Implementing Shootouts For The First Time For The 2005–2006 Season, The OTL Column Was Renamed To Reflect The Aggregated Outcomes Of Overtime And Shootout Losses.
The League Wanted Each Game To Have A Clear Victor And A Loser, But They Didn’t Want There To Be An Infinite Number Of Overtime Minutes Like There Are In The Playoffs.
As A Result, Following A Period Of Overtime That Is Five Minutes Long, The Teams Will Fight Against Each Other In A Shootout That Is Composed Of Three Rounds.
In The Case That After Three Players From Each Side Have Shot, There Is Still No Difference In The Score, The Competition Will Continue Round By Round Until A Winner Can Be Declared.
Conclusion
Learning The National Hockey League Standings And The Nuances That Lie Behind Each Column May Be An Intriguing Way To Delve Further Into The Tactics And Excitement That Pervade The Sport Of Ice Hockey.
It Is Intriguing To Observe How The Competitive Landscape Of The NHL Has Evolved Over The Years As A Result Of Developments Such As The Implementation Of Shootouts And The Development Of The Otl Feature.
Not Only Have These Additions Inspired Teams To Take More Risks While Competing, But They Have Also Made The Overall Experience Of Watching Hockey More Thrilling For Spectators.
Therefore, The Next Time You Peek At The National Hockey League Standings, You Will Have A Far Deeper Respect For The Numbers That Are Listed In Those W-L-Otl Columns.
After All, Each Row, Each Column, And Each Number Recounts A Tale Of Triumph, Defeat, And The Nail-Biting Suspense That Captivates Us And Keeps Us Glued To This Exciting Sport.