NHL general managers met in Boca Raton, Florida, this past week, and among the items discussed was an ingenious recommendation to ensure more games end in overtime rather than going to the shootout.
It is such a good idea that one wonders why the general managers didn’t go a step further and implement it on a wider scale.
The rule change we are discussing here is an increased use of the “long change.” Through two periods and overtime, team’s benches are located near their own end of the rink, making it easier for a team stuck in its own end to chip the puck out and quickly change tired personnel.
Now, as CBC’s Elliotte Friedman reports, general managers are proposing that in overtime the teams would switch ends, making it more difficult for the defending team to get tired players to the bench. Friedman explains that this has been done in the United States Hockey League and that the league has seen more games end in overtime as a result.
Given that shootouts have a massive component of luck (Toronto, for example, is ranked second in the NHL with a 9-4 record this year a ...
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Article written by Jonathan Willis
The Incredibly Simple Rule Change That Will Boost NHL Scoring
March 14th, 2014 by Jonathan Willis Leave a reply »
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