The NHL is seeing fewer shootouts than ever, 10 years after introducing three-on-three overtime.
Speaking on The Fan Hockey Show, Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman shared an update on shootout data that was provided by the league to media assembled in Florida for the general manager meetings.
According to the NHL, games that go beyond regulation are ending in overtime 74 per cent of the time this season, a historic high. In 2014-15, the final season to feature four-on-four overtime, games that went beyond regulation ended before the shootout only 44 per cent of the time. The following season, when three-on-three overtime was introduced, that number increased to 61 per cent and it has steadily been rising ever since.
The topic was brought up as part of a larger discussion about whether or not overtime should be extended beyond the current five minutes. At last month's 4 Nations Face-Off, the NHL experimented with a 10-minute overtime period before the shootout and the game between Canada and Sweden ended after more than six minutes of three-on-three play.
After that game, two of Canada's biggest hockey stars shared differing opinions on the format change.
"I think it's a great kind of trial run," Connor McDavid said. "Something I think the players liked, the fans liked it. It felt a little more like it's in our hands. I don't think really anyone wants it to go to a shootout, so good thing we were able to find one there."
Nathan MacKinnon, however, throughout less time should be added.
"No," MacKinnon said with a laugh when asked if he'd like to see 10-minute overtimes in the NHL. "We were actually just talking about that in the room, maybe seven (minutes). I usually feel better than that normally."
Friedman said more discussions will need to happen before a change is implemented for regular season games.
"I definitely think that one of the conversations here is going to be, if we're trending up in that direction are you satisfied with that or is that still too many shootouts?" Friedman said. "And also, too, there's going to be the question about the effect on the players and who will have to play as much as they will ... but since we're definitely trending up in terms of the shootout deciding fewer games, people might look at it and say, we're good with this."
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