The NHL's shootout solution is right under its nose

[KamaAina]

As of today, it's hockey season.

http://www.sbnation.com/nhl/2014/10/30/7129739/nhl-shootouts-ahl-overtime-rules

If there's one thing that's been a bit surprising about the start of the 2014-15 NHL season, it's the proliferation of shootouts deciding games. Thankfully for everyone, the American Hockey League has the solution we've been waiting for.

This season, the AHL changed its overtime rules. Rather than playing 4-on-4 for five minutes and then going to a shootout if no one scored, the league plays a seven-minute overtime. The first three minutes are played 4-on-4 and the final four minutes are played 3-on-3. If no one scores after that, then it goes to the shootout....

Just over half of the NHL games that have made it to overtime have gone all the way to the shootout, which fans love to hate or hate to love. The one thing that's clear is NHL general managers hate missing out on the playoffs because they didn't have a guy who could deke out a goalie during a game in mid-November.

The AHL numbers look almost like an oasis in an icy tundra filled with bland shots. The league hasn't played as many games, and yes, we know it's a small sample size, but seeing that only four out of 22 overtime games went to the shootout brings a tear to your eye. Seeing 12 of 22 games were won in 3-on-3 mode makes us jealous we can't see this happen in the NHL.

[Colorado Liberal]

1. The novelty of the shootout has worn out

My son (a goalie) played in a tournament in Canada once where the overtime rule was that you played 2 minutes of 4-on-4, 2 minutes of 3-on-3, 2 minutes of 2-on-2 (!), and then reset to 4-on-4 until you had a winner. We watched a game where one team took a penalty during the 3-on-3 phase, so when it switched to the 2-on-2 it became a 2-on-1 for the rest of the power play.

Definitely kind of hokey, but no worse than the shootout and the extended 2-on-1 was pretty exciting. Lots of open ice...