Hockey Overtime/Shootout Rules

[Ustauk]

Some people have indicated to me that they thought the NHL no longer goes to overtime, and instead goes straight to a shootout.  This is incorrect.  From the NHL overtime rules

During regular season games, if the game remains tied at the end of the five (5) minute overtime period, the teams will proceed to a shootout.

And here's a wrapup of an Oilers game won in overtime.

http://scoreboards.canoe.ca/merge/tsnform.aspx?c=canoe&page=nhl/scores/final/W6676.htm

[Shayne]

The NHL is a shadow of itself.  Its truely a shame.



The overtime is still a bastardized 4 on 4.  The loser still gets a point, so while yes their is a winner, their isnt a loser.  They should change the single point to instead of calling it a "winning point" should be like a "bonus point".

[Thorin]

I've found that most of the changes to the rules have made the games more exciting to watch.



Bigger zones so there's more room to skate?  Good.

Less red lines so you're less likely to ice it?  Good.

Goalies can't play the corners so dumping it in and chasing it actually works?   Good.

Overtime is shortened and only four skaters and a goalie per side?  Bad.

Teams are not allowed to tie so there's a shoot-out?  Bad.

Length of games is easier to approximate because overtime is shortened and there's no second/third/fourth overtime periods?  Good.

Penalties are called a lot more so that people who skate are more valuable than people who hook/cross-check/trip/fight?  Good.



Are there any other major rule changes that I've missed?

[Shayne]

Just seems a little odd to me that a game thats near 100 years old needs to be "rebalanced".  Some people see exciting as a 10-9 game, others like myself see exciting as a 2-1 game.  Just because their are WAY more goals doesnt really mean its more exciting.



The teams being more or less equal is exciting.  The salary cap  was the way to go (the NFL has proved this for years), however the negative to a salary cap is that a dynasty is really a very hard thing to do (the NFL proved this till last year when the NE Patriots became a modern day dynasty).



What the NHL did was release NHL 2.0.  With the lockout and the drop in fans, the idea was to rebrand the NHL into a new game, a high scoring Arena Football equivelant.

[Thorin]

The rules for hockey were not stagnant from when it was first invented until 2003.  It's been changing the entire time.  Remember when goalies didn't wear pads?  Or masks?



I find the games more exciting to watch not because of a higher number of goals, but because there is more skating, more finesse, and more neat little moves that the players can now do.  As opposed to the classic Neutral Zone Trap, which is extremely boring to watch.



I agree the salary cap helps, although there aren't all that many teams that are actually hitting the cap (for instance, the Oilers are more than three million dollars below the cap but have already spent all they can on players).



Some other rule/game changes I missed:



Goalie pad maximum size is smaller than last season.  But they're still substantially bigger than they were in the eighties.

You cannot change lines if you just iced the puck.  Given that it's harder to ice the puck these days, this promotes line changes on the fly.

"Unnecessary delay of game" - you flipped the puck into the crowd on purpose, so you get a penalty.  What the hell?  Every instance I've seen of this, the player certainly didn't intend for the puck to end up in the crowd, he was just trying to get it past the defencemen.

Hooking penalties - you now get penalized if all you can think of to keep the other guy from scoring is to wrap your stick around him and hamper him.  This helps good skaters shine.  This used to be a common penalty to be called in the eighties, then got ignored in the nineties until it became the standard tactic to use on anyone who had a breakaway.



Although it certainly has changed the game, I would disagree that it's a shadow of its former self.  Unless neutral zone traps, lots of injuries, bruisers that can't really skate or puck-handle, and goalies with so much equipment on they barely have to move to block the shot floats your boat.

[Zapata Prime]

Well the shoot out is a great addition. I like the fact that there is a winner every game now! Most of my hockey buds agree that it is a good idea. Most international leagues have this so  why not give it a whirl.



The overtime periods HAVE NOT been shortened they have been 5 minutes during the regular season for many years now. It is only in the playoffs that they are full twenty minutes until some one scores and that has not changed either. There are no shoot outs in the playoffs.



The rule change about the puck going out of play without touching the glass first is a great rule.  I can tell you now as an old defenceman that was the oldest trick in the book. Can't clear the zone and need a line change?? Flip it over the glass. Works every time. But of course to get over this rule now defencemen just fire it into the players bench .



I'm not a big fan of 4on4 hockey in overtime and I'm not a big  fan of a point for the loser of overtime. If they want to award a point for an overtime loss then they should award three points for an overtime win. And that is a rule that we may yet see. That is the way it is in soccer and the NHL has been batting that one around for a year or two.



The bigger offensive zones aren't really affecting the game. They are making the shots from the point a lot easier for the goalies to deal with because they are further out. Even Gretzky (God rest Mrs. Gretzky's soul an amazing woman) will tell you the play develops in the neutral zone so why would you take it away?



And they have to get rid of that stupid instigator penalty. This is why the goalies are getting run and players are cheap shotting each other all over the place. What used to happen if someone touched Gretzky?? Semenko or McSorley kicked your ass. Now if some one cheap shots your player and you beat the hell out of him for it you get an extra penalty, an automatic review by the league and if you fight in the last 5 minutes of a game you get an automatic one game suspension.. That's BS. Let the players defend themselves. We don't need more Steve Moore and Brashear incidents



But that's all I gotz to say about that!!