preview

Game Theory And Overtime Thrillers Research Paper

Decent Essays

Game Theory and Overtime Thrillers Overtime National Hockey League (NHL) games are very exciting. However, fans might be surprised to know that many NHL games go into overtime due to game theory. In the NHL, the winner of a game decided in regulation gets two points and the loser gets zero points. However, for NHL games decided in overtime or a shootout, the winning team gets two points and the losing team gets one point. Therefore, when a game goes into overtime, both teams are guaranteed at least one point. These points are crucial in determining what teams are eligible for the playoffs. This point system benefits teams that go into overtime, as both teams are guaranteed to get at least one point. Therefore, if a NHL game is tied with …show more content…

Firstly, it must be a tied game. If one team is losing, then they will almost certainly play an aggressive, offensive style. Playing conservatively in the final minutes of a game is not a logical option for a losing team. Secondly, there cannot be any penalties, as that would give one team a power play. A power play allows the team with an extra skater on the ice to play a more aggressive style of offense. Power plays also force the team that is man-down to play conservatively. Thirdly, it must be near the end of a game. When there is still a significant amount of time on the clock, there is time for a team to establish that they are the dominant team and win two points in regulation time. Additionally, the opposing teams cannot be in the same division or in the playoffs. Since playoff eligibility is determined based on the top teams in each division, teams do not want to go into overtime with division rivals. They do not want their rivals to be guaranteed a point from the game. In addition, points do not matter in playoff hockey, so this model does not apply to playoff games. Finally, this model assumes that the teams are of approximately equal skill, and that no team has any major advantages over the other. This equivalence of skill allows us to assign payoffs to each team that are based on the teams having an equal chance of …show more content…

Both teams are equally skilled, but they are using different strategies. We can assume that Team A earns 1.4 points on average in this scenario, while Team B earns 1.1 points on average in this scenario. Therefore, given that Team B is waiting until overtime, and Team A is playing to win in regulation, then Team A will earn a payoff of 1.4 points on average, while Team B will earn a payoff of 1.1 points on average. Likewise, given that Team A is waiting until overtime, and Team B is playing to win in regulation, then Team B will earn a payoff of 1.4 points on average, while Team A will earn a payoff of 1.1 points on average. The following matrix summarizes this

Get Access