3 on 3 OT is awful.

[joestevens29]

Go minor hockey style. Take a player off every minute until it’s one on one

 

[ZegrassyKnoll]

Keep 3v3, take the goalies out, flip the goals around

 

[Stlblue50]

I see a Vancouver fan made this thread after watching the Blues 3 on 3 W over VAN last night. I will say that the Blues were clearly pissed at that pathetic display by the refs last night. With another phantom tripping call against Sunny in the 3rd for the only PP they handed out that period to the mind blowing 2 and 2 each when the Canuck player ignored the delayed offsides to hammer a vulnerable Sunquist.

Normally the Blues don’t swing back much and like to play fast but last night they clearly had no problem going very slowly and swinging back many times. It is an effective strategy to put the other team to sleep then turn on the jets like Holloway did.

I assume the league won’t go to a 3-2-1 point system because they want to keep teams close in the standings, in the hunt for as long as possible. 3-2-1 would create a lot more separation.

 

[Drake1588]

Play 60 minutes of regulation, then 5v5 for however long the league/players are happy to play, and if still undecided, the game ends in a tie. Every game is worth two points and there are no gimmicks.

I hate 3v3 and shootouts so much that I might even be able to stomach three points for a win in games that end in regulation, two points for a post-regulation win, and one for an OT loss or tie, to disincentivize teams from sitting back and playing for the tie with minutes left in regulation and throughout OT. The current setup is bad, though.

 

[Crow]

How about a 10 minute clock. The team that’s scores the most goals in that 10 minutes wins. Zero points for the loser

Would you not see a lot more fun offensive and exciting plays this way?

Could try it but seems like one team would score and then it would get super defensive and boring.

 

[StreetHawk]

I don't really put much stock into 3 vs 3 OT or the S/O. Those are extra points, which teams need at the end of the season now. I mean, typically there are 250 or so extra points awarded (add up all OTL) for all teams and divide by 32 teams you get the average number each team needs to remain neutral.
So, true 0.500 these days isn't 82 points, it's 82 points plus the average extra points per team that is your true 0.500 record. Which is why PO cutoff is like 92 points or something vs mid 80's. It's the extra bonus points.

 

[Monsieur Miz]

People actually want ties back?! I'm not watching 2+ hours of hockey for it to end in a f***ing tie.

 

[BLNY]

Trying to break tie games has been an issue that the league has been trying to solve for decades, and they keep getting shown that there is no great solution for it.

But I'm with you. I never had an issue with tie games to begin with, but I think they were targeting new American fans with these changes who are not really conditioned to ties in their sporting landscape. In Canada, it was a solution to something nobody had a problem with.

The OTL loser point is about the facade of keeping teams in the playoff hunt longer. Bettman thinks the key to an engaging season is more teams in the hunt longer. This idea that there would somehow be more meaningful games later into the season. When the NHL strives for parity they usually end up with parody.

5-minutes of 5-on-5 OT is a decent compromise, and it's a legit way to resolve a game. I'd even be okay with 4-on-4, which is close enough to real hockey. If 5 minutes of legit OT doesn't produce a winner, there was no winner.

That's not the case with today's 3-on-3 OT, which is designed to produce a 'win' no matter what, in a contest played under different rules. I get why people enjoy it – it's entertaining. But it's not a real hockey game, which is why they have to award tie points for the 60 minutes of real hockey that just ended. 3-on-3 OT doesn't replace the results of the full hockey game, it tacks on an extra mini-game.

Sadly, they'll probably stick to the gimmicky OT, because some fans have convinced themselves every game needs a "W", even if it's contrived and unrelated to legitimate hockey.

The OTL loser point is about the facade of keeping teams in the playoff hunt longer. Bettman thinks the key to an engaging season is more teams in the hunt longer. This idea that there would somehow be more meaningful games later into the season. When the NHL strives for parity they usually end up with parody.

 

[Perfect_Drug]

We've been watching this shit play out for years and it's getting worse. Not like 3-on-3 is a new thing. Players have found that by circling around and not attempting any shots until they get a really good chance increases their chance of winning, but also decreases the chance fans will be entertained.

Speak for yourself.

We got McDrai and it's entertaining AF for us.

 

[strattonius]

Just get rid of the shootout and end in ties after 3on3.

Both teams still get a point past regulation but fighting for the extra point only available in 3on3 would open it all up.

 

[NyQuil]

My thought process upon seeing the thread:

1. OPs team must have lost in OT yesterday.

*checks scores*

2. And they did.

 

[frontsfan67]

Win the faceoff, go into the attacking zone, throw it around for about 45 seconds, take it back out of the zone and all the way down into your end, change two skaters without letting the other team change, make a play towards the net while doing everything you can to maintain possession. Rinse and repeat.

Since when did we go from end-to-end action to this bullshit cat and mouse game? Every team in the league is doing it now. I don't care if it works, it's boring as shit. I would rather just see them go right to a shootout if this is how it's going to be. Ideally they go back to 4 on 4.

The other thing they could do is implement some type of shot clock system where you have 30 seconds to get a shot on net after receiving possession. As it stands, if you win the opening faceoff, your team has a 70-80% chance of scoring without the other team ever touching the puck.

As others have said, maybe an over and back rule is the answer.

The constant back and forth is very entertaining I find but may not be for everyone

Just get rid of the shootout and end in ties after 3on3.

Both teams still get a point past regulation but fighting for the extra point only available in 3on3 would open it all up.

ew this isn’t soccer

 

[Fantomas]

I think it's still great. People have just forgotten how awful overtimes were before the rule change.

 

[tsujimoto74]

There's a reason I consider any and all OT/SO games to be ties and move on from there. It's not legitimate hockey.

Agree. It’s that stupid ROW tie-breaker that legitimizes 3-on-3 like it’s not just as much of a gimmick as the shootout, but it really is. (That tie-breaker seems to be a relic from when they had 5-on-5 OTs.) I honestly wish the league would just bring back ties. Cut the gimmicks and end all the complaints fans have about some games awarding 3 points and others only 2.

 

[StreetHawk]

Agree. It’s that stupid ROW tie-breaker that legitimizes 3-on-3 like it’s not just as much of a gimmick as the shootout, but it really is. (That tie-breaker seems to be a relic from when they had 5-on-5 OTs.) I honestly wish the league would just bring back ties. Cut the gimmicks and end all the complaints fans have about some games awarding 3 points and others only 2.

First tie breaker should be RW. Lump the OT W in with the S/O. How often a season do we see 3x3 in regulation?

It’s here to stay. Just treat it for what it is.

Not getting a 3 point game so it’s the 2520 points plus the extra 250 or more per season.

 

[HabsWhiteKnightLOL]

Wanna fix OT?

3 points in regular wins
2 points overtime wins

0 points losing in OT and regulation. That would wakeup some teams just riding that free point

 

[ponder]

It was awesome at first, but yeah, now that teams have learned how to abuse possession, it sucks. But:

• I do prefer having winners to ties
• I do still prefer it to the shootout
• With 4v4 OT, too many games go to shootout. And I also think that, now that this possession strategy has been proven so thoroughly in 3v3, we'd probably see a fair bit of it in 4v4 too (toned down, but I'll bet it would still work pretty well)

So I'd like to keep 3v3, but with rule tweaks:

• Shot clock is interesting, it'd definitely fix the possession cheesing, but it does feel a bit too gimmicky
  • In basketball it's very reasonable that you can get off a good shot within 24 seconds, but in hockey, not so much, even 3v3
  • Also hockey is just so free flowing. Basketball has something very close to alternating possessions, but with hockey there's a lot more turnovers and neutral zone play, the shot clock just seems like a more awkward/poor fit for hockey
• Adding an "over and back" rule I like more, seems like a good fit for hockey
  • However, I don't think having the "over and back" point be the redline is enough, half the rink is still so much space to possession cheese
  • I prefer it being the blue line (offensive zone) - like once you enter the offensive zone, you cannot pass or carry the puck back to the neutral zone, if you do it should be treated either like icing or a penalty (or maybe icing the first time, penalty the 2nd+?). IMO there's a big difference between having 1/2 vs. 1/3 the rink to work with when it comes to possession cheese, 1/2 seems big enough to still do it, but at 1/3, I think defenders could apply enough pressure that you couldn't hold onto the puck so easily
  • Also, one of the biggest things with the possession cheese is that, when you bring the puck near centre, you can change safely but your opponents can't. I think you can still do this with redline over and back, but not with blue line over and back - sending 1 guy to change when he's that far from the bench leaves you 3v2 for too long
  • Obviously, this rule would only be for 3v3 OT, no changes to regulation time rules (or playoff OT rules)

IMO an "offensive zone over and back" rule would probably fix it. And if it doesn't, then you could consider a shot clock, which would definitely fix it, but at higher "gimmicky" cost.

 

[Reality Czech]

To the contrary it is full of chaos and unpredictability and full of tactics.

It seems very predicable to me most of the time.

Speak for yourself.

We got McDrai and it's entertaining AF for us.

Ok you're good at arcade hockey but it's not real hockey

 

[cjm502]

3 on 3 is better then both a tie or a shootout. There is no way to make overtime perfect, you have to compromise somewhere and 3 on 3 is a fair compromise. If you say it doesn't get you on the edge of your seat you're a liar.

 

[MessierII]

I disagree it’s the best way to wrap up a game by far

 

[KingAlfie11]

What is wrong with ties??? We had W-L-T until 1998-99 season and nobody was complaining. You play 5 vs 5 for 60 minutes and then you go 3 vs 3 it's a joke. I'm okay with ties.

P.S The most popular sport in the world football "soccer' has no overtime during league play. Why do we need to have a winner every game in hockey?

 

[koyvoo]

It was great the first couple of seasons, but this strategy of holding possession at all costs has killed it. I used to turn games off if they went to a shootout. Now, often times I won’t even bother with the 5 min OT.

People actually want ties back?! I'm not watching 2+ hours of hockey for it to end in a f***ing tie.

This is valid, I suppose. It’s just that the leagues method of making sure there are no ties is terrible.

 

[1989]

Speak for yourself.

We got McDrai and it's entertaining AF for us.

Who would've thought the Oilers would thrive in an all-offence, defence-optional game situation?

Personally not a fan of ties or shootouts to decide hockey games - at least 3v3 is representative of hockey and not just a total microcosm.

3-2-1 points isn't a guarantee to change the motivation of any given team especially if one or both are out of the playoff picture. Shot clock is probably the broadest stroke to implement but maybe the most radical change. I prefer 10 minute 3v3 with illegal zone re-entry the most.

 

[benfranklin]

Didnt read op, checks last nights scores, Canucks lost, checks out.

 

[Fantomas]

What is wrong with ties??? We had W-L-T until 1998-99 season and nobody was complaining

Uh, not true