In the land of the blind, the one-point loss is king...
Now Entering The Loserverse
Some NHL teams settle their games in sixty minutes. Sometimes they need bonus hockey.
And sometimes they come painfully close to a consolation point before leaving with nada.
You are traveling through tie and space...
Hold on until overtime and there’s at least one point waiting. Win before the buzzer and you won't rely on a gimmick for the second. Lose in regulation? You'll get nothing and like it!
Failure to launch...
Loser Point Leak (LPL)
LPL = the number of late-tie games ending in regulation losses
Counts a team's total missed opportunities to secure at least one point by keeping a tie-game deadlocked through regulation. It measures chances that slipped away — or, more likely, were totally blown by your team's bad defensive play.
Cargo secured!
Late-Tie Conversion Rate (LTC%)
Show the math
LTC% = (late-tie conversions ÷ late-tie opportunities) × 100
LTC% = (late-tie conversions ÷ late-tie opportunities) × 100
Shows the share of late-tie games that wind up producing at least one point, which is good! Regulation wins, overtime or shootout wins, and points-earned OT/SO losses all count as Late-Tie Conversions. We show the fraction alongside the percentage because context is king.
Hypothetical example
20 late-tie opportunities: three regulation losses produce 3 Loser Point Leaks. If the other 17 games earn points, that’s 17/20 Late-Tie Conversions — 85.0% LTC.
Rare forfeited overtime points are tracked separately; they are neither regulation leaks nor points-earned conversions. Looking at you, Minnesota...
Talk To Your Doctor About Late-Tie LeakageBecause the lead is a terrible thing to waste.
Late-lead metrics follows the results of games in which a team was up by one goal or more at any point in the final seven minutes of regulation. The mission-critical question: did you bring two points back to Earth, or dump the cargo in deep space?
Congratulations, I'm sorry.
Second Point Dumps (SPDs)
SPD = late-lead games ending in a points-earned OT/SO loss
First you lose the lead, then you lose in extra time? From the highwire to a new miserable experience! Don't worry — your fans will follow you down. Plus one to your points column, but you feel shame.
How to disappear pointlessly.
Double Point Dumps (DPDs)
DPD = late-lead regulation losses
Lose the lead and ALSO lose before overtime? Everything is very much not in its right place. A game that slowly kills you, bruises that won't heal. No points, some surprises. Total let down.
Stay together for the points.
Late-Lead Conversion Rate (LLC%)
LLC% = (late-lead wins ÷ late-lead games) × 100
Say it ain't so. Don't let the lead go. Taking both points — carry me home. LLC% counts the eventual win, whether you held on comfortably or put fans through all the small things. What's the score again?
Hypothetical example
Of 20 late-lead games, 15 become wins, three become OT/SO losses, and two become regulation losses.
That's 75.0% LLC, 3 SPD, 2 DPD, and 2 LPL (each regulation loss is both a DPD and an LPL): 7 points dropped against a two-point win in every game.
| After a Late-Lead | Late-Lead Look | Late-Tie Lens |
|---|---|---|
| Win in regulation or OT/SO | LLC conversion · 0 dropped | LTC conversion |
| Lose in OT/SO, retain one point | 1 SPD · 1 point dropped | LTC conversion · no LPL |
| Lose in regulation | 1 DPD · 1 point dropped | 1 LPL · 1 more point dropped · no LTC conversion |
*Late-Tie scenarios also apply when the same game included a tie in the final seven minutes of regulation. A late-lead game can finish without a qualifying late tie, obviously. And while LPL counts -1 per instance, SPDs and Double Points Dumps count -1 each too, so total points dropped is just those columns added together. A late-lead regulation loss is both a DPD and an LPL, so that one game is -2. These are context stats and can provide overlapping views of the same game. Don't worry, you're doing so great!
Try on these late-lead lensesThat's one small skate for goalie — one giant gamble for the trailing team.
One group jettisons their tender. The other goes for a kill shot. This portal travels through the desperation belt, where goalies go on space-walks and no one can hear you blame the refs.
Close your eyes and pull the goalie.
A Hail Mary Attempt is a game with a one-goal-deficit goalie pull. A Hail Mary Completion is an attempt game where the trailing team scores a pulled-goalie equalizer. Just chuck it down field!
Hail Mary Completion Rate (HMC%)
hail mary completions ÷ hail mary attempts × 100
How often does betting on a pulled goalie totally work and the trailing team is able to equalize? I'm joking. If you or someone you know needs support, help is available 24/7 by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.
Two-Point Conversion Rate (TPC%)
wins after a hail mary completion ÷ completions × 100
Calculates how often a HMC eventually became a W. Regulation and OT/SO wins both count as a Two-Point Conversions — because for some odd reason the current points system values them equally.
Hit the fatality — or risk a respawn.
A Fatality Goal is an empty-net goal extending a one-goal lead to two. A Respawn Ratio shows share of defending games in which the opponent scored a pulled-goalie equalizer. Toasty!
Finish Him! Efficiency (FH!E%)
fatality goals scored ÷ knock-down opps × 100
Calculates how often a team can produce a death blow when leading by one late in the game. Repeat empty netters are excluded by only counting one-goal deficit attempts. Gotta risk it for the biscuit.
Respawns Ratio (RR%)
respawns allowed ÷ knock-down opps × 100
Shows how often the other team's extra attacker totally overwhelms your tired, fragile defense to erase a one-goal lead. Just get to the next checkpoint, quick!
Hypothetical example:
Across 20 qualifying goalie-pull games, the attacking teams complete five Hail Marys and eventually win two of those five games. That's 25.0% Hail Mary Completion Rate and 40.0% Two-Point Conversion Rate.
Those same games supply 20 defending opportunities and five Respawns Conceded. If the defending teams score Fatality Goals in eight games, that's 40.0% Finish Him Efficiency and 25.0% Respawns Ratio.
This is the Extra-Time Continuum
In a just and perfect world, five-on-five hockey is the starting context for measuring NHL quality, but a tied game at sixty minutes puts two teams at a temporal fork between the Gimmick Win and the Loser Point.
+2 points
Same value as a regulation victory — undoubtedly less righteous.
Expected Gimmick Wins (xGW)
Show the math
(OTW + SOW) ÷ GP × season length
(OTW + SOW) ÷ GP × season length
Projects total wins earned after regulation over the course of a full season. End-of-season stat is referred to as Gimmick Win Inflation (GWI).
Gimmick Win Dependency (GWD%)
Show the math
(OTW + SOW) ÷ all wins × 100
(OTW + SOW) ÷ all wins × 100
Shows the percentage of a team's overall victories that were earned in extra time. Quite savvy!
+1 point
The loser’s fate in the same “tied” game — didn’t win, doesn’t matter.
Expected Loser Points (xLP)
Show the math
(OT/SO losses ÷ GP) × season length
(OT/SO losses ÷ GP) × season length
Projects points supplied by extra-time losses over the course of a full season. End-of-season stat is referred to as Loser Point Inflation (LPI).
Loser Point Efficiency (LPE)
Show the math
(OT/SO losses ÷ all losses) × 100
(OT/SO losses ÷ all losses) × 100
Shows the percentage of a team's total losses that still earn a point. Sneaky, sneaky!
GWR%
Gimmick Win Rate shows, of the total games reaching extra time, how many become wins.
Show the math
OT/SO wins ÷ (OT/SO wins + OT/SO losses) × 100
OT/SO wins ÷ (OT/SO wins + OT/SO losses) × 100
LTC% asks whether a late tie earned anything.
LLC% asks whether a late lead eventually became a win.
GWR% asks whether a game reaching extra time eventually became a win.
Not all those who wander into overtime are winners. Gimmick Win Rate shows how often your fellowship gets to eat second points.
Brace for 3-on-3 impact. Now initiating bonus hockey protocol!
Welcome to the ISS Bettman — where our highly technical and very complex extra-time continuum decides who wins a hockey game: complete the session in overtime, or risk getting sucked into a Shootout Singularity.
The three-body problem just got a whole lot faster...
Gimmick thrusters engaged, prepare for neutral zone regroup. Settle things in overtime or drift into a breakaway black hole. Winning is preferable — but either way, somebody scoring clears this crowd for departure.
Games That Finish in Overtime (GTFO%)
Show the math
(OT wins + OT losses) ÷ all games entering OT × 100
(OT wins + OT losses) ÷ all games entering OT × 100
Overtime losses count here too: you didn't win, but at least everyone can go home. Read GTFO% alongside the OT record to understand how often a team settles things with a game that slightly resembles hockey before needing a veritable skills competition.
All that space and nowhere to hide.
Make like Han and go Solo for that gimmick point. Just don’t get cocky, kid. You’re in the breakaway black hole — where a team sport collapses into taking turns.
Attempted Shootouts Scored (ASS%)
Show the math
Successful team shootout attempts ÷ total attempts × 100
Successful team shootout attempts ÷ total attempts × 100
The team-wide version of a shooter's conversion rate. The bigger the ASS%, the better your chances of bringing home that bonus point. I don't think you're ready for this celly!
Unsuccessful Shootout Shots Received (USSR%)
Show the math
Saved + missed shots ÷ total faced × 100
Saved + missed shots ÷ total faced × 100
Nice bloc, Comrade Goalie! Saves and missed targets both count toward your team’s USSR supremacy. In Soviet Russia, goal score you! Unlike inflation, higher is better...
There are two sides to every shootout — both are SAD.
It wasn't supposed to end like this! But if it must — combine a team's collective shootout results to see where they stack up in the saddest space race on ice.
Shootout Accuracy Differential (SAD)
Show the math
SAD = ASS% + USSR% − 100%
SAD = ASS% + USSR% − 100%
Like crying happy tears, positive SAD means you score in the shootout more efficiently than your opponents. Negative SAD means the opposite is true, which is just extra sad. Zero would indicate a balance in the force.
SAD is a gap in percentage points, so it's perfectly fine and not at all embarrassing to call it SAD (pp).
Hypothetical example
A team enters OT 20 times, goes 8–4 in OT, and 5–3 in shootouts. Twelve games finish before the shootout: 12/20 = 60.0% GTFO. Thirteen of the 20 extra-time games become wins: 65.0% GWR.
Its shooters score 12/30 attempts = 40.0% ASS. Opponents fail on 21/28 attempts = 75.0% USSR, scoring on the other 25.0%. That produces +15.0 SAD (pp). It's totally normal to get SAD sometimes.
40.0% scored − 25.0% allowed = +15.0 pp
40.0% ASS + 75.0% USSR − 100% = +15.0 pp
Probably nothing!
"Loser Point" and "Gimmick Win" stats describe how points and wins were accumulated. "Late-Tie" metrics describe what happened to deadlocked games near the end of regulation. "Late-Lead" metrics describe whether a late advantage became a win or a points dump. And the Extra-Time Continuum simply separates gimmick hockey prowess from a straight up skills competition.
None are really trying to measure underlying quality. Lord Stanley decides that. But together, they help us see who wins cheaply, who loses efficiently, and who strands their consolation points out in deep space.
TheLoserPoint.com · A satirical framework for the NHL standings
Some NHL games offer two total points and some games offer three.
Lose in regulation
Losing after three periods gets you nothing...
Lose in overtime or a shootout
Winning hockey games rocks, but a loss in OT still earns half the value.
Win however you can
Winning in sixty minutes is considered more righteous, but a shootout victory produces the full two points.
Over the course of an NHL season, the ability to win cheaply — or lose efficiently — can separate the crap teams from those considered playoff-caliber.
A Hitchhiker's Guide to the Loserverse
His Lead Began to Leak Out...
Loser Point Leaks (LPL)
number of late-tie games ending in regulation loss
Counts a team's tied games with seven minutes or less to go that ended in regulation losses.
Late-Tie Conversions (LTC%)
Show the math
(late-tie conversions ÷ late-tie opportunities) × 100
Displays the percentage of tied games with seven minutes or less from which the team took at least one point.
Second Point Dumps (SPD)
late-lead games ending in a points-earned OT/SO loss
A team held a lead during the final seven minutes but finished with an OT/SO loss. Each SPD retains one standings point and drops the second.
Double Point Dumps (DPD)
late-lead games ending in regulation losses
Each DPD drops one point. Every DPD game also included a qualifying late tie, so it counts as one Loser Point Leak as well: one point as a DPD, one as an LPL. Get it? Good.
Late-Lead Conversions (LLC%)
Show the math
(late-lead wins ÷ late-lead games) × 100
The share of late-lead games that ultimately became wins. Regulation and OT/SO wins each count equally regardless of how gimmicky the game got.
Don't Panic — Pull Your Goalie
Hail Mary Attempts (HMA)
games with a qualifying one-goal goalie pull
Counts the attacking team's qualifying pulls one time per game even if its goalie comes out multiple times, which pretty much never works.
Hail Mary Completions (HMC)
attempt games with a qualifying pulled-goalie equalizer
And it's caught! The extra attacker erased the one-goal deficit. Each game counts once, even if a team completes more than one Hail Mary. Again, pretty rare.
Hail Mary Completion Rate (HMC%)
Show the math
hail mary completions ÷ hail mary attempts × 100
How often the empty-net gamble produced at least a tie.
Two-Point Conversion Rate (2PC%)
Show the math
wins after a hail mary completion ÷ completions × 100
How often a successful rescue became a victory.
Fatality Goals (FG)
qualifying empty-net goals extending a one-goal lead to two
The defending team puts the puck into the unattended net. Much cooler if their goalie does it.
Finish Him! Efficiency (FH!E)
Show the math
fatality goal games ÷ defending opportunities × 100
How often a team facing a qualifying one-goal goalie pull scored a Fatality Goal.
Respawns Allowed (RA)
defending games allowing a qualifying pulled-goalie equalizer
Your opponent completed a Hail Mary. Oh, and you were so close!
Respawns Ratio (RR%)
Show the math
respawns conceded ÷ defending opportunities × 100
How often a team's one-goal lead became a tied game again. Come on, now!
So Long, and Thanks for All the Points
Expected Loser Points (xLP)
Show the math
OTL ÷ GP × 84
The projected standings points supplied by games a team did not win.
Loser Point Efficiency (LPE%)
Show the math
OTL ÷ all losses × 100
The percentage of losses from which a team was able to salvage one point.
Expected Gimmick Wins (xGW)
Show the math
(OTW + SOW) ÷ GP × 84
The projected number of victories a team will collect through OT or shootouts across a full season.
Gimmick Win Dependency (GWD%)
Show the math
(OTW + SOW) ÷ total wins × 100
The percentage of a team’s total victories that required overtime or a shootout.
Gimmick Win Rate (GWR%)
Show the math
OT/SO wins ÷ (OT/SO wins + OT/SO losses) × 100
The percentage of games reaching OT or a shootout from which a team takes the whole two points.
Loser Point Inflation (LPI)
points earned from OT/SO losses
The actual loser points collected over a completed season, rather than a projected pace.
Gimmick Win Inflation (GWI)
OT wins + shootout wins
The actual number of extra-time victories over a completed season, rather than projected wins.
The Restaurant at the End of Regulation
Overtime Record (OT W–L)
OT wins – OT losses
Games decided during overtime, before a shootout.
Shootout Record (SO W–L)
shootout wins – shootout losses
The final results of all shootout sessions.
Games That Finish in Overtime (GTFO%)
Show the math
(OT wins + OT losses) ÷ all games entering OT × 100
The share of extra-time games that finish before a shootout. Overtime wins and losses both count towards this number.
Attempted Shootouts Scored (ASS%)
Show the math
successful team shootout rounds ÷ team rounds × 100
The team's scoring rate across all shootout attempts. Bigger is better. Measures team performance instead of individual attempts.
Unsuccessful Shootout Shots Received (USSR%)
Show the math
unsuccessful attempts ÷ rounds faced × 100
How often opposing shooters fail to score. Saves and misses both count, so this measures team shootout denial rather than goalie saves alone.
Shootout Accuracy Differential (SAD)
team ASS% + team USSR% - 100%
The result is a gap in percentage points, a.k.a. SAD pp. Positive means your team scores more efficiently than its opponents; negative means they do.
If it's just us arguing, seems like an awful waste of space.
Are you familiar with the satirical precept known as — Occam's Loser?
It means that all losses not being equal, the simplest points system tends not to be the right one.
Now you tell me — what is more likely here? That a consolation point from the NHL results in a mediocre middle that whisks teams away to the bottom of the playoff bracket to play one round with dear old division rival and then a split second later return you to the off-season without a single shred of proof?
Or — that this experience is the result of being the unwitting star in the farewell performance of one Gary Bettman. A man with the means, the motive and the opportunity to play you and indeed the rest of us as loser points in the biggest, the most elaborate, the most expensive hockey ticket of all time.
This site comes to you with some of evidence on team records. And a story that, to put it mildly, strains credibility.
Over half a billion dollars was spent building this franchise. Dozens of guys were cut. Are you really going to sit there and tell us that you took any of this seriously?
Is it possible that some of this data is actually meaningful? Yes. As a hockey fan, I must concede that. I must volunteer that.
We've been given something wonderful... something that changed us forever. A vision of the Loserverse that tells us undeniably how tiny, and insignificant, and how rare and precious these points all are. A vision that tells us we belong to something more athletic than ourselves. That we are not, that none of us, are fully out of contention for a playoff spot.
I wish that everyone — if even for one moment — could feel that awe and humility and that Cup.
That continues to be my wish...
How do you hide when you're running from yourself?
Every NHL team gets a DNA label, a final verdict based on their points pace. But DNA only tells you where a team ranks, not how it got there. Two Team Profile labels fill in the rest of their fate: how often its wins needed extra time, and how often its losses still earned a point. Read all three together as a team’s genetic report.
Do they win before it gets gimmicky?
These labels are based on Gimmick Win Dependency (GWD): a team’s hidden marker, the part of the genome that shows whether a win was earned in regulation or came from a borrowed ladder. Teams are judged valid relative to the rest of the league.
Righteous Winners
Rank in the league's bottom 10 for GWD. A smaller share of their wins need OT or a shootout because they're good at actual hockey.
Average OT Grifters
Rank in the middle 12 for league average GWD. They take the occasional extra-time win without making it their entire personality.
Gimmick Win Addicts
Rank in the league's top 10 for GWD. A suspicious number of their wins come from OT/SO because they're total skills comp merchants.
Can they steal a point from their losses?
You want to know how they did it? This is how they did it, Anton. These labels are based on Loser Point Efficiency (LPE): the percentage of a team's losses that reached overtime or a shootout and still earned a standings point.
Elite Losers
Rank in the league's top 10 for LPE. They don't always lose hockey games — but when they do, they prefer a loser point.
Average Losers
Rank in the middle 12 for LPE. Their ability to rescue a point in defeat is thoroughly ordinary.
Bad Losers
Rank in the league's bottom 10 for LPE. Too many losses end in regulation — with nothing to show for them.
There Is No Gene For The Hockey Spirit.
The winning and losing labels describe a team's extra-time habits. Point pace produces the verdict on its DNA label. Have a safe trip, Vincent.
True Contenders
On pace for at least 100 points through wins alone. Loser points are a bonus, not the foundation. The wins can still include OT and shootout victories — being a contender doesn't make them morally perfect.
Mediocre Middle
Below a 100-point pace through wins alone, but on pace for at least 90 official points once loser points are included. They may look valid in the final standings but it comes from some genetic forgery.
Hot Garbage
On pace for fewer than 90 official points, even with all the extra-time accounting included. Nowhere near enough pity points to make the record look respectable. They should probably just try winning more hockey games in general.
These labels can make for strange scenes. A team can be a Righteous Winner and an Average Loser, or a Gimmick Win Addict and an Elite Loser.
But their journey through the standings is a separate question: did all that cosmic noise produce a True Contender, a Mediocre Hockey Club, or a pile of Hot Garbage?