Regular readers of this site may know that I -- like many NHL executives, coaches, and players -- would like to see fewer games decided in the shootout and more while playing the actual game of hockey.
So I perked up when I read this tidbit from TSN’s Darren Dreger:
The architects of the NHL’s long change and pre-overtime dry scrape are rallying behind this week’s surge in games decided in overtime. To date, 11 of the 25 games that have gone past regulation have been settled in OT rather than a shootout. Last season, only 8 of 25 were decided in overtime.
Now, as satisfied as those who pushed for the OT tweaks might be, the AHL’s 3-on-3 experiment continues to produce impressive results. Eight of the 16 overtime games played this season have ended 3-on-3. Six have ended in 4-on-4 and just two of the 16 have required a shootout.
Rest assured that Red Wings’ GM Ken Holland, a strong advocate for 3-on-3 hockey, is pleased with these results.
Now, there are those that have said that 3-on-3 is just as gimmicky and no more related to the “actual game of hockey” than a shootout. Those people are wrong, of course. But they’re still........people.
PS -- Here’s a quote from Hershey’s Casey Wellman on a recent 3-on-3 overtime the Bears played (and won) versus Hartford:
“It was a whirlwind up and down. Everybody was up on the bench. We went with two forwards, one D. There were a couple odd-man rushes both ways.”
Sounds terrible.