Remember the video game NHL Hitz from about 15 years ago? Three-on-three hockey played such a breakneck pace your thumbs would cramp up if you weren’t properly hydrated. It was chaos and it was amazing. Well, that’s often what the NHL’s new overtime format has looked like in its first season.
The competition committee and board of governors voting to switch from a four-on-four OT format was a fun idea and it’s paying off in the form of fan entertainment.
As a way to freshen up the NHL All-Star Game the league decided to play three mini games of three-on-three in a tournament format rather than the standard 60-minute, five-on-five game.
Many of the best hockey players in the world congregated in Nashville this past weekend for some three-on-three puck, so we’ve decided to look back at the most memorable three-on-three moments so far from the regular season.
Flyers, Lightning kicks things off with a bang…
On the second day of the regular season, Philly and Tampa put on a show in the NHL’s first regular season three-on-three OT period. Lightning head coach Jon Cooper described it as “lunacy” and he’s not far off. It was like the wild, wild, West ironically featuring two Eastern Conference teams.
Johnny Hockey gets the hatty…
Johnny Gaudreau leads the Flames in points by a wide margin and one reason for that is his 12 multi-point games. The first career four-point effort from the Boston College alumnus came in early December in a dramatic game against none other than the Bruins. Gaudreau’s speed and creativity was on display as Team Pacific ended up winning the tournament.
Back to back like he’s on the cover of Lethal Weapon…
Ever since his performance with Team Canada at the world juniors, Jonathan Toews has proven to be clutch personified throughout his career. This season he’s second in the NHL in game-winning goals with four of them coming in overtime. Toews’ first goal of the season was a memorable one against Tampa as he split the D, made a nifty move on the netminder and stayed with it as he potted home the OT winner in a 1-0 game.
What’s crazy is the same thing happened the very next game, two nights later against the Ducks. Lone goal. Overtime. ‘Twas a beauty.
Getzlaf makes rare bonehead play…
One of the most embarrassing plays of the season came courtesy of Ryan Getzlaf. The Ducks captain was too fancy for his own good and an untimely between-the-legs drop pass resulted in a Coyotes win.
Not everybody’s a fan…
Erik Karlsson‘s is a game suited perfectly to a more wide-open game, so it was surprising to hear the reigning Norris Trophy winner speak out against the format. The Sens captain was one of three blueliners named to the Atlantic Division team.
Doughty’s dazzling defence…
Three-on-three isn’t all offence all the time, even though it sure might seem that way. Watch how Drew Doughty breaks up this Predators chance to spring Jeff Carter. Beautiful stuff.
Palmieri slams home an alley-oop pass…
Kyle Palmieri is having a heck of a season in New Jersey. He’s already set a career high in goals and points with plenty of games remaining to add to his total. In this December game against the Red Wings, Palmieri’s Devils battled back from being down 2-0 and it was Palmieri who played OT hero. The pass from Lee Stempniak is what makes the goal all the more impressive. These alley-oop passes seldom work in regulation but three-on-three gives the players so much more space they can work with. We saw plenty of plays like this in the all-star games.
The longest 2-on-0 ever…
Odd-man rushes and breakaways come with the territory in three-on-three, but Islanders Kyle Okposo and Josh Bailey were on maybe the longest 2-on-0 in NHL history. They were all by themselves from their own blue line in. What followed was the most obvious drop pass of all time and a game winner.
Toronto Marlies get in on the action…
This one didn’t happen in the NHL, but it’s worth showing nonetheless.
Things get weird in the pre-season…
To get players accustomed to the three-on-three format the NHL held demonstration periods during the pre-season even if a game wasn’t tied after 60 minutes. Flyers goalie Jason LaBarbera had an interesting (not to mention totally illegal) strategy when trying to prevent this goal from Jacob Josefson.
