The NHL changed how its regular season games ended when ties seemed like no fun. The adage was that there should be a winner and a loser. So the shootout was officially introduced in the 2005-2006 season if the five-minute overtime did not produce a winner. The five-minute overtime period was introduced to the NHL in 1983.
The National Hockey League adapts and changes, trying to find the right balance of extra time in determining a winner while also realizing that late nights are an issue during the regular season because of travel. Ultimately, the league decided that the overtime period was not serving its purpose as only 44.