Another Two Superstar NHLers Call Out Controversial Four Nations Faceoff Overtime Rules
The 10-minute overtime at the 4 Nations is creating quite a stir, as two more superstar NHLers have come out to voice their displeasure with it.
The 4 Nations Face-Off employed a 10-minute period of overtime, and players' reaction was divided on applying it to the NHL's 82-game season.
The rules of overtime have been a controversy for a great long time, and this new adjustment just proves it.
Nathan MacKinnon admitted he was fatigued after Canada's 4-3 win over Sweden when Mitch Marner's goal at 6:06 avoided a shootout using the regular rules of the NHL.
MacKinnon would be amenable to a seven-minute OT, though, whereas Connor McDavid was more willing to use a full 10 minutes.
The one undeniable benefit of a longer OT in high-profile tournaments is that it reduces the chances of a game's resolution coming down to a shootout.
Wednesday's Canada-Sweden overtime was high-scoring and entertaining to watch, yet regular-season three-on-three action tends to result in a more plodding style of play, a concern to hang onto the puck at all costs.
Extending OT over a season of 82 games also raises concern over added fatigue.
Alex Barkov seems to also be against the 10 minutes, like MacKinnon.
«If you just keep adding longer and longer overtimes, I don't know how guys would take it,» Barkov said. «I'm fine with how it is right now. I'll do whatever would be the decision.»
Patrik Laine says five minutes is more than enough
Patrik Laine is staunchly in favor of keeping the existing five-minute system of overtime, though, feeling it would be too fatiguing over a season of play and sees no need to mess with it.
- Patrik Laine
If the NHL did extend overtime, employing a different adjustment, such as longer breaks between TV broadcasts and shorter breaks between periods, would help to manage tiredness.
But it would also allow more opportunity for coaches to ride their marquee players, possibly having a boomerang impact in terms of workload.
The controversy rages on, but for now, though, it's business as usual at five minutes to close out the NHL season.
| POLL | ||
FÉVRIER 13 | 571 ANSWERS Another Two Superstar NHLers Call Out Controversial Four Nations Faceoff Overtime Rules Which OT format do you prefer? | ||
| 10 mins | 384 | 67.3 % |
| 7 mins | 74 | 13 % |
| 5 mins | 113 | 19.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Tom Wilson | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Alexander Ovechkin | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Brendan Gallagher | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Pierre-Luc Dubois | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Guenther | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Victor Hedman | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jack McBain | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dylan Strome | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Jake Guentzel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Michael Carcone | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Christian Dvorak | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Zemgus Girgensons | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Nick Paul | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brayden Point | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cam Atkinson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| John Carlson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Nick Desimone | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 56 | 39 | 14 | 3 | 81 | |
Capitals | 55 | 36 | 11 | 8 | 80 | |
Oilers | 55 | 34 | 17 | 4 | 72 | |
Stars | 55 | 35 | 18 | 2 | 72 | |
Golden Knights | 56 | 33 | 17 | 6 | 72 | |
Panthers | 57 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 71 | |
Hurricanes | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Wild | 56 | 33 | 19 | 4 | 70 | |
Maple Leafs | 55 | 33 | 20 | 2 | 68 | |
Avalanche | 57 | 33 | 22 | 2 | 68 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||