MONTREAL — Zach Werenski want to see an extended extra time. Brock Nelson is open to the concept. Aleksander Barkov sounds skeptical. Patrik Laine couldn’t care much less. Nathan MacKinnon desires no a part of it.
After the opening sport of the 4 Nations Face-Off offered a primary have a look at a 10-minute extra time interval — a rule change instituted for this brief best-on-best match — there’s a whole lack of consensus amongst gamers about whether or not or to not institute such a change for the 82-game common season, the place the extra time format has lengthy been a speaking level.
MacKinnon brought on a stir Wednesday night time when he described himself as utterly gassed throughout the additional interval of Canada’s 4-3 extra time win over Sweden — when Mitch Marner scored on the 6:06 mark, which means the sport would have gone to a shootout below common season guidelines. However in the exact same reply, the Avalanche star mentioned he could be open to a seven-minute OT, and mere minutes earlier, Connor McDavid sounded optimistic concerning the new format.
“I think it’s a good little trial run to see how it works,” McDavid mentioned. “I don’t think anyone wants to see it go to a shootout. The players, the fans, nobody does, so it’s good to have a little bit of extra time. Obviously if we didn’t have that, we would’ve ended this one in a shootout.”
Not less than within the best-on-best format, gamers are usually comfortable that there’s much less likelihood issues will finish in a glorified abilities competitors.
“Obviously shootouts can be a lot of fun,” Barkov mentioned. “But I think when there are so many talented guys, skilled guys playing three-on-three hockey, I think it’s probably one of the best things to watch, how much skill there is on the ice.”
Based mostly on Wednesday’s extra time, when Canada and Sweden performed dramatic, end-to-end hockey all through, that’s actually true.
The common season, although, just isn’t best-on-best, and the three-on-three format has confirmed to be hit and miss, with some overtimes turning boring as groups prioritize possessing the puck over every part else. And over 82 video games, there could be concern concerning the further toll on gamers.
“If you just keep adding longer and longer overtimes, I don’t know how guys would take it,” Barkov mentioned. “I’m fine with how it is right now. I’ll do whatever would be the decision.”
Nelson, who described himself as detached however up for making an attempt it, hit the nail on the top.
“I guess it all goes back to the question of whether someone wants to decide it in a shootout,” he advised The Put up.
One factor that might assist maintain gamers contemporary if the NHL chooses to elongate extra time could be adopting one other rule change for this match: including 30 seconds to TV timeouts whereas taking a minute off every intermission break.
In fact, that additionally provides coaches leeway to play their high guys much more, so maybe it might have the other impact in observe.
“Your top guys go on and if it’s a back-to-back, it takes a lot out of you,” Werenski mentioned. “It’d be one thing to fiddle with, I believe. Particularly perhaps preseason or one thing,simply to see how guys really feel.
“I wouldn’t be opposed to going to 10 minutes. But seeing MacKinnon’s comments, he was pretty gassed it looked like. It takes a lot out of you.”
