How should the NHL Weight and Record 3-on-3 goals?
So far the biggest excitement about the pre-season has been the real and faux 3-on-3 overtime periods at the end of each game. Fans and pundits were curious about what this new format would look like but the belief was that anything that kept shoot outs to a minimum was a good thing. Thus far, the new format could be called a success in the way that the fans have received it, and for the most part media too. How rare for the NHL to hit a nearly unanimous consensus on a change to the game.
Looking further at the new overtime format reveals that there’s still much to learn and discover about it, both for coaches and fans. Tactics and strategies to get the best results will be tested and it goes beyond who should be on the ice. Consider the following:
Hitting the net on shots- missing the net on an angle could create an odd man rush the other direction very quickly.
Line changes- will teams want to make the goalie hold the puck to change lines as wholesale changes on the fly are hard and teams will not want to dump the puck.
The bench- the players who are likely to play may have to be positioned more effectively for changes
Those are but a few of the variables that coaches have to consider no win this wide open format that looks to be a positive change but what about goal scoring? Should the NHL count 3-on-3 goals in the same manner as regulation goals?
What if a player is a 3-on-3 specialist and their average goals scored jumps by 10 and all come from the OT format- should we think a perennial 10 goal scorer is now a 20 goal scorer?
There is so little time ever played as 3-on-3 in regulation that it’s hard to measure what the long term out come will be for this rule change, but if some players are benefitting because of the format does the NHL need to have a separate column for OT goals? On the stat sheet there could be regulation goals and assists and OT goals and assists.
Should the OT goals count towards the Richard trophy now that there may be so many more of them? Will other players have their stats inflated with assists because of the format?
What about the goalies, should their save percentage in OT count the same was as in regulation?
Remember that SO goals and saves do not count on the stat sheet but are recorded. Should this be the same for 3-on-3?
The NHL may not know what the end of the season totals look like but there’s a chance that the league may have to make adjustments at the end of the season if the results skew to far from expectations. Contracts could be affected too as 10 extra goals that puts a player from 25 to 35 is going to cost more to sign that player.
The other thing to consider is the third period. Will teams tied change their approach in the game if they are going up against a team that has an insanely good ‘kill rate’ in 3-on-3? Will they want to risk getting there knowing they are unlikely to win?
There’s many questions left to answer but certainly it will be interesting to watch the results unfold with this new format change. What are your thoughts, should there me a stat line difference for OT points now?