Give Pavel Bure a time machine, throw him into three-on-three sudden death, and watch him fly.
The Russian Rocket was one of the NHL’s fastest players in one of its slowest eras, so it’s no surprise to learn that the Hockey Hall of Famer is a fan of the league’s new open-ice overtime format.
“It’s great. A long time ago, I was one of the guys who (was) saying we should play overtime four-on-four, and eventually we got it,” Bure, 44, told Dean Blundell & Co. Monday.
“Three-on-three, I think, is even better. It’s going to be fast for fans, and there’s going to be lots of goals.”
LISTEN: Pavel Bure talks Sergei Federov, Wayne Gretzky, 3-on-3 overtime
Twenty-nine OT winners, to be exact, through roughly one month of three-on-three action.
Despite its detractors — namely all-star defenceman Erik Karlsson and Dustin Byfuglien — the new Bure-approved OT has thus far achieved the league’s objective of reducing the number of games decided by shootout.
Sixty-nine per cent of three-on-three overtime games have been solved in five minutes or less. Only five NHL clubs have participated in more than one shootout this season.
Over the previous 10 campaigns, according to STATS, at least 50 per cent of games that went to overtime ended up being decided by the skills contest.
