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3-on-3 OT Is Coming – How Does This Affect The Avalanche?

By Austin Manak |

News broke earlier today that the NHL is on-board for 3-on-3 overtime as soon as next season. I’m not sure who initially broke the news, but I gathered my intel from this article over on Puck Daddy.

The gist of it is, GM’s around the NHL are getting a little tired of the shootout. Too many games, and too many valuable points are getting won via the shootout, which is for all intensive purposes, a gimmicky skills competition. One or two ringers who excel in shootouts can swing a team’s fortunes drastically over the course of the season.

It seems that a bit of a compromise is in the works (something that the NHL is really good at – hello lockouts). Over 14% of games are being decided via the shootout this season. This number has consistently increased since the shootout was adopted.

Old school hockey fans would prefer to see the games decided by teams, not individuals. I myself actually don’t hate the tie. In fact, I kind of like it. There is something oddly satisfying to me about having two teams who were unable to clearly decide a winner on a given night to split the points, and both go home with bittersweet feelings. To me, ties make logical sense, and don’t have all the fluff that you get with all these OT/SO scenarios.

Most fans disagree. This is America after all (and Canada too!), and we like winners and losers. Gary Bettman likes the shootout, because he likes the excitement it brings to the game. 3-point games also help to keep the standings congested, and give more teams the illusion of the playoffs being a reality deeper into the season.

Red Wings GM Ken Holland has advocated for tweaks to the OT system for a while now. He was quoted in the Puck Daddy article I linked above as saying, ““We’re trying to make a move to a format that we think is going to decide more games in overtime.”

What we will likely see in the near future (I think it’s going to be in place for next season), is a system very similar to what they used in the AHL this year.

In the AHL there are 4 minutes of 4-on-4 OT followed by an additional 3 minutes of 3-on-3 action. This would up the total OT time to 7  minutes from the current 5 minutes of 4-on-4 in place in the NHL. It also will open up the ice in the second portion of OT.

The shootout won’t be scrapped, and will take place after the extra 3-on-3 session.

I love the idea of 3-on-3 OT. In some ways, it’s gimmicky just like a shootout is. You rarely see teams playing at 3-on-3 during a typical hockey game.

However, 3-on-3 is also incredibly fast paced and exciting. That’s what sports is really all about, right? Entertainment and excitement. The shootout has a certain aura of suspense, but the open-ice, up and down rushes, and high octane hockey that 3 against 3 brings to the table is going to blow the shootout out of the water.

Plus, it allows team-play to decide the game, which I think is a good thing for hockey.

For the Avalanche specifically, you have to like their chances of being one of the better 3-on-3 teams in the league.

How would you want to see the Avalanche deploy their lines in OT? I’d be excited for a MacKinnon-Duchene-Barrie trifecta. Leave a comment below.

The Avs have speedsters Nathan MacKinnon and Matt Duchene up front, who are going to be able to fuel their offensive game with that extra room to breathe. Tyson Barrie is one of the best defenseman at jumping up into the offense, and the free-wheeling style of 3-on-3 will suit him well.

You also have Gabriel Landeskog, Ryan O’Reilly, the crafty Alex Tanguay, and big-shot Iginla to round out a very dangerous group of forwards. Erik Johnson brings a threat of coast-to-coast beauty from the back end as well. The Avs seem to love playing off the rush, which 3-on-3 hockey will be conducive of.

The main reason I love the Avs chances in 3-on-3 action is the presence of Semyon Varlamov between the pipes. Varly tends to thrive when he has to make quick, reflex oriented saves. His athleticism and positioning should make him one of the strongest goalies in the league in this format. I mean, he’s one of the best in the NHL anyways…

I’m really excited for this change. Just imagine. Matt Duchene, Nathan MacKinnon, and Tyson Barrie skating against three Red Wings in the snow next season at Coors Field, with a golden goal on the line.

Yeahhhhh, that would be hockey heaven.

Next: Tyson Barrie is pretty good at offense

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