In the beginning, there were ties.
Two teams would play three periods and if they were tied, they’d go to overtime – an additional period that isn’t quite as long as the initial three frames – and if no one scored, they’ll call it a draw and start preparing for the next game.
It was this way for a long, long time and it was simple.
Then, in an effort to make things more entertaining for the fans and spice things up a little, the NHL altered its overtime setup, instituting the shootout. They took the original format and said, “If these two teams are still locked in a stalemate after three full periods and one additional shorter period, let’s have a glorified skills competition decide the fate of the game.”
It’s dumb and the way teams could play for a shootout made overtime kind of redundant, so this year, the NHL, in all its infinite wisdom, decided to tinker with overtime, first shifting to a four-on-four format and this season, opting to remove one more player from the ice on each side, making three-on-three hockey at the highest professional level a reality.
Several players have voiced their dislike of the new 3-on-3 extra frame, including reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, who lobbied for a return to the “old-fashioned way” and suggesting that tied games should simply end in ties.
Now, it’s never going to happen because the NHL is ridiculous and thinks they have to take every step possible to increase scoring and make the game more enjoyable for fans, even when its players voice their displeasure with the changes, but it wouldn’t actually be a bad idea.
Why does their have to be a winner and a loser every single night in every single game? There are times where two teams are evenly matched and play to a deadlock and that used to be okay, so why isn’t it now?
This isn’t the playoffs where a winner has to be determined in order for teams to advance or introducing something completely foreign and new into the mix – though the NHL seems fine with doing that; it’s a return to how it was before a bunch of gimmicks were added into the end of game equation and the most simplistic way to do things.
Having games decided by a shootout is dumb, even if kids think watching a skater and a goalie go one-on-one is fun. Getting to that point after a quick, five-minute game of Shinny only makes it worse.
Karlsson and those that share his feelings about the new overtime setup are right – it’s a silly way to settle a game – and hopefully the NHL recognizes that and readjusts next season.
Of course, it’s more likely that Gary Bettman & Co. will just institute 2-on-2 overtime and tell goalies they can only wear those skinny foam street hockey pads and a baseball glove for a trapper from now on instead.
Game of the Weekend
Nashville vs. Los Angeles: first place teams collide Saturday as the Preds head to Hollywood to take on the Kings. Nashville once again sit atop the Central Division standings, going 7-1-1 to start the season, while Los Angeles has rebounded from missing the playoffs last season, notching six wins in their first nine games this year.
