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Playoff Overtime Changes Being Discussed - Pay Attention! |
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There’s been some chatter going ‘round about the NHL changing the playoff rules in order to eliminate the three or four or possibly even five overtime periods. Reasons given range from network television viewership concerns to uniformity with regular season OT formats.
The remedy to the “problem”, I’ve heard, would be to play 4 on 4 after the first overtime and/or move to a shootout to decide the outcome of the game.
To that I say…balderdash!
First off, to those who cite “conformity” with the regular season as an issue… I say, “So what”? I mean, before the days of regular season overtimes and shootouts, games would end in ties after 60 minutes with no extra time added to determine a winner. But the playoffs were just as they are now…playing until someone scores and ends the game.
So regular season rules and playoff rules were different then…just as they are now.
Now I’ll also add here that I personally do not like the shootout. I find it to be a gimmicky way to determine the outcome of a game. Hockey is a team sport and I just have never taken much to the idea of an individual skills exhibition being the avenue to dole out Ws and Ls…or OTLs…or…whatever.
But that’s just me…and I know I’m in the minority opinion here, so I concede that its here to stay. But let’s just keep it in the regular season, shall we?
Regardless, even for those that like shootouts being the mechanism to decide who gets the extra second point in the regular season standings… I don’t believe there are too many out there who would like to see their team lose a playoff game by way of it. Worse yet…to lose a Stanley Cup Finals game in that fashion. Especially it was a game-seven.
Think of a World Series game going into extra innings and only being allowed, oh lets say, up until the end of the 12th to work out who wins and loses…then they go to a homerun derby. Or possibly an NBA Finals match having to go to a free throw contest after five or ten minutes of overtime.
Ridiculous…absurd…perish the thought.
The NHL is not alone in this practice either. The NFL modifies its overtime rules once the post-season arrives. In the regular season, if no one scores after a 15-minute “fifth” quarter, the game ends in a tie. Not so after game number 16…then they would continue to play on, much the way it’s done in the NHL.
So I have no issue with the non-conformity whatsoever.
Now, regarding how much time can be consumed during OT games and how it affects television time-slots…I ask you, is this a concern with Major League Baseball or the NBA? I mean, really… when was the last time a World Series game ended before midnight eastern time? And I’m talking about a regular nine-inning affair. So what if a game lasts a couple hours longer than the allotted amount of time given on the TV Guide Channel. Besides, if it’s a good game, wouldn’t that attract viewers?
And ya know…additional time given to our sport’s exposure on national television is not a bad thing.
What is a bad thing, in my opinion, is the NHL capitulating to the networks' desire to cater to the whims of the ever-increasing short attention span segment of our population. If certain individual lack to ability to remain focused on a thrilling game to its ultimate conclusion…then might I suggest they go watch a tick-tack-toe game.
Over and done with in 30 seconds…and sometimes there is even a tie!
Maybe the network carrying the game could be prepared for such a scenario by scheduling programming after the game that, if need be, could be pushed back or joined in progress. A “soft” schedule, so to speak. Possibly have the movie “Heidi” behind the playoff match.
Oops…OK, maybe that wasn’t a good suggestion for a movie…but you get the idea.
Lastly, playoff games that go deep into extra time are among the most thrilling, exciting and electric games there are to watch. It can all be over with on one great play…or one mistake. And how such a game is ultimately decided can go a long way in how the rest of the series plays out.
Case in point…look at the second game of the Ducks/Wings series last Sunday afternoon/evening. Anaheim survived a Detroit onslaught in the 41:15 worth of overtime in which they withstood 29 shots on goal. The Ducks prevailed with a win, and then took that momentum back home to win game-three Tuesday night.
Had that game’s conclusion been forced after the first, or even second overtime with a shootout…or the teams being made to play 4 on 4…and the Red Wings were able to win due to a “gimmick” necessitated in the name of “conformity” or “television schedules”, then the landscape of the whole series is altered.
Un-good.
So, leave the overtime rules alone. Let the teams decide on the ice who the winners will be by playing under the same rules that they have for 60 minutes…or 80 minutes…or 100 minutes…or just however the hell long it takes to do so.
And if NBC or Versus or whomever else has an issue with that, tell them to start selling commercial time to the manufacturers of Ritalin.
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