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ANAL CANADIAN HOCKEY STATISTICS POEM
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Below is a definition of what an average NHL team is and how many points it
earns. The conclusion is that if an NHL team has played N games and has y
overtime losses then, were it a perfectly average team, it would have earned
N+y points in the standings.

Overtime games, where the winner gets 2 points and the loser gets 1 point,
introduce some 'inflation' in the standings. The value of the below idea is
that it measures the amount of inflation overtime games introduce and
provides an easy way to calculate whether a team is above or below average
in its play. You add the number of games played to the number of overtime
losses. That tells you how many points an average team would have that's
played that many games and has that many overtime losses.

It used to be that a team playing "five hundred hockey" would have earned N
points after playing N games. Calling it 'five hundred hockey' is kind of
meaningless, given the existence of 3 point games. Calling it 'average
hockey' is better.

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WHAT IS AN AVERAGE NHL TEAM?
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Definition: An average team wins as many games in regulation time as it
loses in regulation time, and wins as many games in overtime as it loses in
overtime.

Suppose a team is average according to our definition and that it wins x
games in regulation time and wins y games in overtime. Then, since it's
average, it loses x games in regulation time and loses y games in overtime.

How many points did it earn? From its x wins in regulation time, it earns 2x
points. From its y wins in overtime, it earns 2y points. From its y losses
in overtime, it earns y points. So, overall, it earns 2x + 2y + y = 2x + 3y
points.

How many points did it surrender? From its x losses in regulation time, it
surrendered 2x points. From its y losses in overtime, it surrendered 2y
points. From its y wins in overtime, it surrendered y points. So, overall,
it surrendered 2x + 2y + y = 2x + 3y points.

Our definition of an average team implies that it earns as many points as it
surrenders.

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HOW MANY POINTS DOES AN AVERAGE TEAM EARN IN N GAMES?
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How many points does an average team earn in N games? Suppose it wins x
games in regulation-time and wins y games in overtime. Then, since it's
average, it loses x games in regulation-time and loses y games in overtime.

x + y + x + y = N

The above equation just counts the number of games. Now we do some algebra
on the equation.

2x + 2y = N
x + y = N/2
x = N/2 - y

We have seen that it earns 2x + 3y points.

Points = 2x + 3y

Now we substitute:

Points = 2(N/2 - y) + 3y
Points = N - 2y + 3y
Points = N + y