EVOLUTION OF PATIENCE
3 ON 3 OT IS UNDENIABLY EXCITING — EVEN AS COACHES REALIZE CAUTIOUS PLAY IS KEY TO VICTORY
When the NHL went from 4- on- 4 overtime to 3- on- 3 for the 2015- 2016 season, nobody knew what to expect.
Would it be vastly different?
Would there be too much time and space?
Would the hockey world reject it as a gimmick?
Um, no. The product was beyond comprehension. It was exhilarating for both those playing and watching, and fewer games required the dreaded shootout. Now, 2 ½ years and about 750 OT sessions later, the feeling persists and the entertainment value remains skyhigh.
At ice level, anxiety has subsided with more and more repetitions as coaches and players have adapted to the style, adjusting their 3-on-3 tactics.
Most notably on t he strategy front, NHL teams have earmarked haphazard, speedboat hockey as suboptimal. They’ve learned first- hand that there are risks associated with pulling the trigger for the sake of pulling the trigger.
“You don’t want to waste opportunities,” said Canucks forward Sam Gagner, who scored his first 3- on- 3 OT goal last month off a breakaway deke.
“You see it all the time: guys take a bad-angle shot or something and it’s back the other way on a 2-on-1. You’ve got to be really aware of all your surroundings and make sure you’re working for your best opportunity and try to finish when you get your chances.”
Maple Leafs defenceman Morgan Rielly preaches patience: “What I think the play is and what teams are trying to do is to hold onto the puck and create chances without turning the puck over. It’s not easy.”
As counterintuitive as it may seem, considering overtime is a first- goal- wins environment, operating sensibly has become the trendy game plan. A single mistake — a poor line change, a botched stretch pass, a lowpercentage shot attempt — can cost your team a point in the ever-crowded standings.
The tactical phrase “Safe Is Death” — popularized in the early 2000s by John Tortorella, former head coach of the Lightning who is now behind the Blue Jackets’ bench — has its applications at 5-on-5.
At 3- on- 3, though, puck management takes over. Safe hockey is smart hockey.
“I think the guy with the puck has a lot of responsibility. If you’re going to shoot the puck, you want to make sure you hit the net,” Kings coach John Stevens said.
“I don’t think you want to get a guy that’s going to totally just go 1-on-1, because it usually leads to odd (man) chances the other way, so I think a real responsible game is important.”
HYBRID THEORY
So far in 2017-18, two- thirds of overtime periods have ended before the final buzzer. That’s the exact same 66.6 per cent as 2016-17, which suggests the NHL has established a comfort zone in the OT-to-shootout ratio. (In the first year of 3- on- 3, 61.1 per cent of OT games wrapped up before the shootout, up 16.3 per cent from the final year of 4-on-4.)
What’s more, the league has found a dramatic sweet spot.
A large chunk of OTs are either ending quickly, providing a jolt of adrenalin, or ending as the shootout lurks, providing a sense of relief before the so-called skills competition. It’s the best of both worlds: Not only are there a lot of first- minute goals being scored this year ( at an almost identical rate as ’ 16’ 17), there’s also been a lot of final- minute goals ( at an almost identical rate as ’15-’16).
What does all of t his mean?
Teams are often doing one of two things: pouncing on a grade-A scoring chance during the first or second shift, or exercising patience throughout the frame and capitalizing in the dying moments.
This evolution of patience has not gone unnoticed behind the scenes. In fact, it is generating enough buzz to prompt comment from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
“Somebody said to me the other day, ‘ Some coaches are slowing up the 3- on- 3 by having the players come back out of the offensive zone and reset up and make a line change, and that kills 15-20 seconds. Maybe we shouldn’t allow that,’ ” Bettman told Sportsnet 590 The Fan in late December.
“I said, ‘ Slow down, OK, there’s nothing wrong with the 3-on-3 right now.’ ”
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when the apparent passive aggressiveness started to gather momentum but, at least anecdotally, it feels like a relatively new development.
“When 3- on- 3 first came in, I don’t think guys knew what they wanted to do or knew what the best strategy was,” Rielly said.
“After a year or two, you learn that if you can attack on 2- on-1s, that’s a great opportunity. If you can hold the puck for minutes at a time and the opposing team gets tired, that’s a great opportunity. ( You don’t want to) just waste it on OK chances that are from the outside. You want to make sure you get a good look from the inside and capitalize on it.”
Regroup in the neutral zone if you have the puck. Go for a skate towards your bench.
Pushing for one final shot attempt can be a dangerous endeavour, so make a line change, play keep- away and watch the other team suffer.
Being held hostage in the defensive third during 3-on3 OT is a rare scenario in which a unit of NHL players looks completely helpless. A 40- second shift can morph i nto a two- minute slog, where the puck seems connected magnetically to opposition sticks.
“You have to be really careful with what you do. You make one mistake and you’re done,” Sharks forward Tomas Hertl said, speaking to the importance of owning the puck.
“I mean, 3- on- 3 without the puck … it gets pretty tough pretty quickly,” added blue- liner Alec Martinez of the Kings. “It’s terrible,” Rielly concluded.
POSITIONLESS HOCKEY?
OT periods at 3- on- 3 are almost like an intersection between basketball (where possessions typically end in a shot on goal) and soccer (where every player on the playing surface is typically involved).
Puck possession is empowering and it really doesn’t matter who rushes, hangs back or screens the opposing goalie. On the attack, job descriptions go out the window.
“If you don’t have anything,” Martinez said, “just turn around, throw it back to your goalie — something to maintain possession.”
“You don’t want to give the puck away,” Maple Leafs forward William Nylander said. “You don’t want to throw it at the net just because.”
The Flames and Kings have t owered over t he rest of the league in 3- on- 3, posting winning percentages of .774 and .707, respectively. Keep an eye on the Vegas Golden Knights, who boast a 6-2 record in OT.
All three teams seem to favour the two forwards, one defenceman formation.
“It’s an interesting dynamic,” Golden Knights forward David Perron said in reference to the different 3- on- 3 combinations.
“Two forwards and one ‘ D’ is probably the normal now. I definitely think there’s a time, though, that maybe three forwards could work. If you have three linemates out there, guys who play together 5- on- 5, basically you’ve just got to stay on top of your guy. It’s really not much different.”
“I’ve had coaches who put a checking unit out there against the top guys,” said Gagner, a member of the Canucks, Blue Jackets and Flyers during the 3-on-3 era. “I’ ve had coaches who go head- to- head. Two ‘ D’, one forward. I’ve never had one go three forwards yet, but I know teams have done it.”
At the core of the overtime experience, whether it’s 4- on- 4 or 3- on- 3, is pure hockey.
It’s hockey that lifts you out of your seat, hockey that grabs your attention and refuses to let go.
There is a tremendous amount of luck involved, too, with posts, shins, skates and other objects frequently contributing to the winning sequence.
Scheming and l uck be damned, game- breakers tend to star in the extratime period. It’s no coincidence Anze Kopitar, Johnny Gaudreau and Patrick Kane rank in the top-five in points among 3- on- 3 participants, while Jeff Carter and Alex Ovechkin are tied for the l ead in goals with seven apiece. Vladimir Tarasenko is a constant threat.
It’s a scary thought for defenders: the sport’s most talented finishers moving around fluidly. You would think all 31 head coaches, the natural control freaks of the NHL, are losing sleep over the uncontrollable environment that is 3- on- 3 OT. Not quite.
Tortorella recently noted he simply wants to “let ’ em play,” leaving players to their own devices, and Toronto’s Mike Babcock appears to function similarly.
“I think players get sick of hearing me say, ‘ Just hang onto the puck. Make sure we’re not outnumbered and it’s man- on- man. Real simple,’ ” Babcock said in early January.
Perron said his coach, Jack Adams Award favourite Gerard Gallant, rarely brings up OT and has been “trusting the players a lot.”
Gallant will be patrolling the Pacific Division’s bench for the 3- on- 3 all- star tournament and skills events this weekend in Tampa. The effort will be subdued, the outcome is irrelevant but it will undoubtedly be entertaining, much like the nearly 750 OT sessions since fall 2015.
All- star weekend or regular season, there are few holes to poke in 3- on- 3 OT. The NHL has a winner on its hands.
“Shootouts are more individual skills or relying on your goalie. I think the overtime is definitely the way to go,” said Perron, an 11- year veteran who has bounced around the league.
“It’s more exciting, you see more chances, you see all the offensive players on each side, and it puts on a great show for fans.”