I would think that shootouts are something teams would want to avoid.  65
minutes of hockey pretty much comes down to a roll of the dice.  I would
think the effect of the shootouts would be to force teams to play for the
win in OT rather than protect the tie.  You're absolutely right in
pointing out that there seem to be an odd number of ties so far this year,
though.  It should be interesting to see how this progresses throughout
the season.
 
-- Ron