Olympics 3-on-3 overtime ‘not hockey anymore’: Could it change?
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The NHL season has resumed after the Olympic break and if a game is tied after 60 minutes, there will be a 3-on-3 overtime, followed by a shootout.
Just like the Olympics.
But when the NHL rolls around to the playoffs, it will switch to a 5-on-5 overtime.
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The Olympics doesn’t do that, though. It goes from a five-minute 3-on-3 overtime in the preliminary round, plus a shootout if necessary, to 10 minutes and a potential shootout in the knockout rounds up to the bronze medal. Even though the gold medal game’s overtime lasts for however long it takes for the first goal to be scored it’s still 3-on-3.
“It’s not a format we would have chosen, but we respect the rules of the tournaments we participate in,” NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly told USA TODAY Sports.
When Jack Hughes scored in the Feb. 22 gold-medal game to give the USA its first gold since 1980, it was done at 3-on-3.
“You take four players off the ice, hockey’s not hockey anymore,” Canada coach Jon Cooper said after that game. “There’s a reason overtime and shootouts are in play. It’s all TV driven to end games. So there’s not a long time. There’s a reason it’s not in the Stanley Cup Finals or playoffs because it gets ended in five.”
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