31.1 – the percentage of regular-season games played by the Flyers under Dave Hakstol that have gone to overtime.
The NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast mentioned before the start of the extra period in Tuesday night’s overtime loss to Dallas that the Flyers have gone to overtime 24 times this year, three more than any other team. That statistic ended up going out of date quickly, as Nashville ended up going to OT for the 22nd time this season in their game against Minnesota, but the Flyers still hold a healthy lead over the rest of the NHL in games that need overtime to determine a winner.
This has actually been something of a trend under Hakstol. In 2016-17, the Flyers were tied for second (with New Jersey) in the NHL in games played in OT with 24; only the Red Wings, with a whopping 29 games that needed an extra session, had more. And in 2015-16, Hakstol’s first year behind the bench, their 27 overtime games again led the league, just ahead of Carolina’s 26.
In fairness to Hakstol, this isn’t necessarily something that started under him — in 2014-15, Craig Berube’s final season with the Flyers, they had 26 overtime games, second in the league behind only Boston. But it’s continued under him, and during his time as an NHL coach no team has played in more overtime games than his has. The average NHL team has gone to overtime in about 23.1 percent of its games over the past three seasons. The Flyers have done so in about 31.1 percent of their games — roughly an extra six or seven games per season compared to an average team.
NHL Overtime Records, 2015-18
| Team | Games | OT Games | OT % | Reg W-L | OT W-L | SO W-L |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia Flyers | 241 | 75 | 31.1% | 81-85 | 25-18 | 12-20 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 241 | 70 | 29.0% | 67-104 | 19-29 | 16-6 |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 241 | 65 | 27.0% | 82-94 | 15-28 | 8-14 |
| New Jersey Devils | 240 | 62 | 25.8% | 74-104 | 22-17 | 10-13 |
| Ottawa Senators | 240 | 61 | 25.4% | 77-102 | 17-13 | 14-17 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | 240 | 61 | 25.4% | 86-93 | 14-17 | 14-16 |
| Nashville Predators | 240 | 60 | 25.0% | 108-72 | 11-24 | 12-13 |
| New York Islanders | 241 | 60 | 24.9% | 90-91 | 18-20 | 10-12 |
| Chicago Blackhawks | 241 | 59 | 24.5% | 97-85 | 25-23 | 6-5 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 241 | 59 | 24.5% | 91-91 | 32-13 | 6-8 |
| Anaheim Ducks | 241 | 57 | 23.7% | 111-73 | 10-23 | 10-14 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 241 | 57 | 23.7% | 109-75 | 22-14 | 10-11 |
| Buffalo Sabres | 240 | 55 | 22.9% | 72-113 | 15-20 | 5-15 |
| Edmonton Oilers | 241 | 55 | 22.8% | 80-106 | 20-14 | 12-9 |
| Vancouver Canucks | 241 | 55 | 22.8% | 65-121 | 15-22 | 9-9 |
| Arizona Coyotes | 240 | 54 | 22.5% | 66-120 | 16-21 | 9-8 |
| Washington Capitals | 240 | 54 | 22.5% | 125-61 | 22-15 | 9-8 |
| Calgary Flames | 241 | 54 | 22.4% | 82-105 | 25-11 | 8-10 |
| Columbus Blue Jackets | 241 | 54 | 22.4% | 94-93 | 19-11 | 14-10 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 241 | 54 | 22.4% | 86-101 | 17-16 | 10-11 |
| Vegas Golden Knights | 76 | 17 | 22.4% | 38-21 | 7-4 | 3-3 |
| Florida Panthers | 238 | 53 | 22.3% | 95-90 | 11-15 | 15-12 |
| St. Louis Blues | 240 | 53 | 22.1% | 106-81 | 22-15 | 10-6 |
| Boston Bruins | 239 | 51 | 21.3% | 109-79 | 15-19 | 9-8 |
| Tampa Bay Lightning | 240 | 51 | 21.3% | 107-82 | 19-11 | 13-8 |
| Dallas Stars | 241 | 51 | 21.2% | 100-90 | 16-21 | 7-7 |
| San Jose Sharks | 241 | 50 | 20.7% | 109-82 | 16-16 | 11-7 |
| New York Rangers | 240 | 48 | 20.0% | 102-90 | 16-12 | 9-11 |
| Minnesota Wild | 240 | 47 | 19.6% | 111-82 | 9-22 | 9-7 |
| Winnipeg Jets | 240 | 46 | 19.2% | 101-93 | 11-19 | 10-6 |
| Colorado Avalanche | 240 | 38 | 15.8% | 80-122 | 15-13 | 7-3 |
(“OT Games” in the above table includes shootout games. All numbers courtesy of NHL.com’s statistics page.)
Unsurprisingly (to anyone who has watched them in a shootout in this century, at least), the Flyers perform better in the regular 3-on-3 overtime period than they do in the shootout, and the two balance each other out a bit to the point where the Flyers have basically had a coin flip’s chance to get the second point once they secure a first one. But no one has been “better” at securing that first point than the Flyers have in the past few seasons.
Why is that, though? Is this a point that suggests that Flyers teams under Hakstol play more conservatively in the third period, simply trying to get to overtime, and if so is that something to pin on the coach? Is this just what happens when you have a team as thoroughly average as this Flyers team is, in that they find themselves tied with teams after 60 minutes fairly often? Is it something else? I don’t know. But the Flyers have given their fans Free Hockey more than any other team over the past few seasons. Do with that information what you will.
