NHL General Managers Propose 3-On-3 Overtime

The NHL general managers meetings are ongoing in Boca Raton, Fla., and one of the most notable bits of news to come out of the event is the recommendation of a 3-on-3 overtime format.

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A 3-on-3 format would become official when/if the NHLPA and NHL Board of Governors approve it.

There are a few options for the league to consider when it comes to 3-on-3. One possibility is keeping the five minutes of 4-on-4 and then adding a second five-minute OT period of 3-on-3 before going to a shootout. Another option is replacing 4-on-4 with 3-on-3 for five minutes and then going to a shootout.

Either way would help decrease the number of games that end in a shootout, which currently stands at 14.12 percent in 2014-15.

“I’m for something other than the shootout as often as possible,” Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray said Tuesday, per NHL.com. “I think (3-on-3) will be entertaining. I think it will be a fun part for the fans as well. I’m not sure where we’re going with it at this point, we haven’t brought it up in this meeting yet. I can see it as part of an overtime period.”

The Boston Bruins and Tampa Bay Lightning played two minutes of 3-on-3 overtime when they met last Thursday at TD Garden. It was very exciting and both teams created several quality chances.

Bruins head coach Claude Julien would like to see games end in a team setting rather than a 1-on-1 skills competition such as the shootout.

“Personally, I’m more of a team-oriented coach I guess, which I always believe that this is a team sport and should be decided by a team,” Julien said Thursday morning. “I never, never have been and I’m just being honest about it. I know (the shootout is) a great show and I know that we’re here for our fans. If the fans like it that much and they keep it in then I have no issues, I’ll move along with it.

“But if you ask me my personal opinion, I’d like to see it decided in a way that it’s more than just one player against a goaltender. Whether its 4-on-4 or 3-on-3 it’s still a group. I think that’s the way games should be decided.”

The Bruins are 3-7 in shootouts this season.

Bruins-Lightning Enhances Case For 3-on-3 OT>>