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St. Louis Blues Like Their Chances In New OT Format

ByAndrew Martin|

Apr 24, 2015; St. Louis, MO, USA; Minnesota Wild goalie Devan Dubnyk (40) blocks the shot of St. Louis Blues left wing Alexander Steen (20) during the first period of game five of the first round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scottrade Center. The Minnesota Wild defeat the St. Louis Blues 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports

The NHL announced this preseason will showcase a new event for its fans, 3 v. 3 overtime.

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Personally, I was skeptical when I first read of the new format. The only reason for this being that I love watching shootouts. I understand that shootouts don’t jive well with hockey purists, but they’re still a major part of our game.

With this new format, I believe shootouts will be more infrequent than ever. This is a good thing for St. Louis Blues fans. Imagine watching Kevin Shattenkirk anchor a line with Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen in the new overtime. The game will be over once they touch the puck.

Alex Steen spoke to STL Today about the new format.

"There’s a lot of space. You’ve got to play a little bit more creative, a little more patient in certain situations and be ready to go when the puck gets turned over. The goalie has to be very aware and break up plays if he can. He can fire the puck and spring two guys. It will be a fun dialogue getting accustomed to this new 3-on-3 system.”"

While Jeremy Rutherford of STL Today believes Paul Stastny would be a first-choice player for the 3 v. 3 overtime with Vladi and Steener, I think that’s a mistake. Kevin Shattenkirk is one of the best offensive defensemen in the NHL. Watching him out there with Steen and Tarasenko will all but assure victory. I can’t imagine trying to stop that onslaught.

Granted, an errant pass leading to a breakaway the other way down the ice could leave Brian Elliot or Jake Allen exposed. If that happens it can be over before you know it.

In the 2014-2015 NHL season, only 44.4 percent of games ended in the 4 v. 4 overtime, according to Rutherford. I’ve always appreciated the shootout, but I think too much is given to teams that settle for overtime and the 1 point that comes with it.

Perhaps it’s my English Premier League bias showing through, but awarding 3 points for a winner and 1 point for a draw seems to be the best way to go. It’s not enough of a difference for a team that is in a tie game down the stretch to try to push for a late goal. When the promise of at least 1 point is on the table, most teams will try to hold out for that point in the standings.

Oct 16, 2014; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick (32) makes a save off a shot by St. Louis Blues right wing T.J. Oshie (74) as Los Angeles Kings defenseman Slava Voynov (26) defends in the third period of the game at Staples Center. Kings won 1-0 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

Making an overtime loss worth 1 point, and any type of win (overtime or regulation) worth 3 points, then you have a much bigger reason to try to win in regulation. You know what? I’d even be willing to set forth a motion to have regulation wins worth 3 points, overtime wins worth 2, and overtime losses worth 1. Get Gary Bettman on the phone for me.

Last year, the St. Louis Blues were one of the best shootout teams by number of wins. They posted 9 wins and 4 losses in shootouts. With that said, our Blues were in the 3rd most shootouts in the NHL. The Blues shootout winning percentage was just .692 compared to the Columbus Blue Jackets’ .818 and .750 of the Chicago Blackhawks. All of these statistics are nice, but the St. Louis Blues are ready to leave the past in the past.

The St. Louis Blues lost one of the best shootout wizards in the NHL when they traded T.J. Oshie to the Washington Capitals. Oshie had a shootout percentage of 36.4% last season. Oshie became a household name after his heroic performance for Team USA against the mighty Russians in Sochi for his repeated shootout goals to grab an early-tournament win for the Americans.

While Oshie is known for his shootouts, he was only 17th overall in shootout %. The St. Louis Blues very own, Vladimir Tarasenko, was rated as the no. 5 best shootout specialist last year. He converted 50% of his shootout attempts.

One thing is for sure. The St. Louis Blues have the horses to get them many 3 v. 3 overtime wins in 2015, but do we want them to be in that situation as much as last year? I don’t think so. Let’s try to bury the puck early and often. Doing this will save some life in the legs of our skaters and could come in handy when the playoffs come around and our energy seems to dwindle.

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