1.The key in OT is all about possession, as written earlier. The only shot at net that should be taken, ever, in OT, has to be an extremely grade A chance. like a cross crease one timer, 2 on 1, breakaway, etc. NEVER should a team give up possession for anything else. This chance, however, should really be looked for midway through OT, not off the bat.
2. The second key is tiring out your opponent and out-changing them. If you win the opening draw, I am fine not shooting for 2-3 minutes. Enter the zone with speed and force the opponent to match you, then cycle a bit, then curl back. Never risk losing posession. Retain possession while changing so the opponent cannot change, then rinse and repeat. If a clear tap in type chance arises after a few minutes then, finally, take it, but be ferocious in getting any rebound and then curl out again and repeat. The goal is either score, or do NOT allow the goalie to cover. The opposition will have zero energy after chasing you for 2-3 minutes. After being on the ice chasing and defending, you will have no legs. As such, if you get A good save from your goalie and pick up a loose puck, you will not have any legs to do anything with it. You will either ice it (you are still stuck on the ice and in your own zone), try to skate with it (but the fresh opponent has way more energy and legs), or just dump it forward, in which case the team with energy can regather possession immediately and come at your again. Rinse and repeat. This is why taking your shot in the first 30 second or a minute if you win the opening draw is foolish.
3. Use the goalie. this is the one biggest areas that teams have not figured out. the goalie can act as a fourth skater, a D man in essence. If the puck carrier is being hounded in the neutral zone by a defender and has no outlet, shooting it back into their own zone to the goalie is a good play. the goalie then acts as an up-passer. So, in that event, if the opposition attempts to change (which they almost surely will), the galie can catch them on that change with one 100 foot pass and away you go. The goalie, therefore, should be positioned about halfway to the blue line when your team has possession and return to the crease only if possession is somehow lost.
The sharks OT strategy tends to be beyond stupid. The sharks, when they get possession, usually force plays up the ice and try to score right away. They take a grade B shot, and then give up possession. They rarely, if ever, hold possession for 2+ minutes, so when the sharks take their chance, the other team has lots in the tank to possess the puck themselves, and if smart like WPG, will patiently tire the sharks out and then ultimately score.
Recognize, if you possess the puck, the other team cannot score, so you never ever ever ever want to give up possession unless the scoring chance is worth it and the other team cannot counter due to fatigue.
its a basic strategic chess match and the sharks stink at it. Thankfully, so do many other teams, but if the sharks can grow half a brain, they can win the vast majority of OT games regardless of talent or skill.
P.S.: playing not to lose in OT is great. After all, if you think of any OT as 50/50, if you cannot lose in OT, then you have, by definition, better than 50-50 chance of winning the overall game. So, holding possession and playing not to lose is genious.
