In case you missed it during your summer hockey slumber, the NHL will completely overhaul the overtime rules in 2015-16, switching to a 5-minute long 3-on-3 format.
Yes, overtime will be completely 3-on-3. No 4-on-4 at all. All the details are here. The idea is to cut down on the number of shootouts by making it easier to score during the OT period, although games still tied after OT will go to the same shootout we’ve come to love and or hate.
The new rules will be tested in 45 preseason games this fall, giving players, coaches, officials and all of us the chance to see what this will all be like before the puck really drops on October 7.
For the Flyers, this means that three of their preseason games will see an added overtime period — regardless of whether or not it’s actually needed to decide the game.
The Tuesday, Sept. 22 home game against the Rangers, the Friday, Sept. 25 home game against the Islanders, and the Wednesday, Sept. 30 game against the Devils are those affected. Obviously, games that require OT will also do so.
Here’s the NHL explaining this:
Preseason games tied at the end of regulation will use the same extra-time procedure as during the regular season — a five-minute, sudden-death overtime period using the new 3-on-3 format, followed, if still tied, by a shootout.
The games on the list below that are not tied at the end of regulation WILL NOT have a shootout following 3-on-3. For record-keeping purposes, the team ahead at the end of regulation will have been deemed the winner, eliminating the need for a shootout even if 3-on-3 concludes without a goal.
Should be fun to see which 3-man lineups the Flyers put out on the ice in the preseason. Just days away, now.
