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Hockey in the Olympics is incredible except for one thing
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- Hockey in the Olympics is incredible except for one thing
Over about 34 hours, spanning from early Wednesday morning to Thursday afternoon, sports fans were reminded of two things:
1. Olympic hockey is amazing— Three of the four men’s quarterfinal games on Wednesday and the women’s gold medal game on Thursday were each tied at the end of regulation. Not only that, the game-tying goal in each of those four games came with less than 3:30 left in the third period.
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It’s the kind of thrills that create new hockey fans, because nothing matches the excitement of a Game 7 that’s close and that’s essentially what these were.
2. Three-on-three overtime when the games matter is terrible —When the NHL decided to get rid of ties after the lockout in 2004, it took several tries for them to land with the current format of three-on-three for five minutes followed by a shootout.
It’s gimmicky, but it means every game has a winner. For the regular season, it’s fine. It’s fun to watch occasionally, but not a true decider of who is better. But it’s acceptable in the regular season.
But in elimination games, it’s awful.
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Three-on-three hockey is simply not the same sport. Physicality and toughness are pillars of hockey throughout the first three periods. But when the game is on the line, tough and physical players often get marginalized and aren’t used in three-on-three OT.
United States players celebrate after a women's ice hockey gold medal game between the United States and Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics, in Milan, Italy, Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Hassan Ammar)AP
Thankfully, the three-on-three disappears in the NHL playoffs, which are decided by real hockey.
But in the Olympics, even in the medal round, three-on-three exists straight through the gold medal game. It’s set up as follows:
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Current Olympic overtime
Group stage and preliminary medal round— Same as NHL regular season. 5 minutes of 3-on-3 followed by shootout.
Quarterfinals and semifinals— 10 minutes of 3-on-3 followed by shootout.
Finals— Recurring 20-minute periods of 3-on-3 until there is a winner.
Here’s a better version
It’s important to concede one point to begin with. The NHL will never allow Stanley Cup playoff style overtime rules (five-on-five until its decided) in the Olympics. The players have to come back for a stretch run that will have many of the Olympians fighting for playoffs spots or seeds. The NHL is willing to expose their players to injury to help grow the game, but there’s a limit. They’re not going to be O.K. with games extending to two or three overtimes.
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Plus the Olympics aren’t built for it either. The same people volunteering at a game one night, might have other responsibilities at skiing or something the next day.
So at some point there will be a gimmick.
Group stage— Same as NHL regular season . 5 minutes of three-on-three followed by shootout.
Medal round: Preliminaries, Quarterfinals and semifinals— 10 minutes of five-on-five followed by shootout.
Men’s Finals— One 20-minute period of legit five-on-five hockey. In most games, this will be enough to crown a winner. Even if it’s not, it was at at least a worthy attempt.
After that they can start with either three-on-three period or a shootout.
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Women’s Finals— The women should play 5-on-5 sudden death until there is a winner. While the NHL isn’t likely to risk its superstars to Stanley Cup playoff rules, it would be different for the women.
The PWHL has a good product, but they’re in the early stages of trying to get the attention of more and more sports fans. A classic USA-Canada matchup that goes five periods would be outstanding to watch and and tremendous for the women’s hockey and the PWHL. No reason to cut that off any sooner than they have to.
Outtakes from a busy week ...
Baseball labor fight was already going to be ugly, now it might get uglier
It’s too early to determine exactly how, but the MLBPA changing leadership this close to a seemingly inevitable work stoppage will almost certainly alter the negotiations. For good? For bad? Who knows?
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But a different general means a different battle.
Tony Clark’s replacement Bruce Meyer is a polarizing guy, even among the players, with a reputation for being combative. Meyer vs. Rob Manfred could be a scary matchup for people who just want baseball to get played.
Neither guy has a reputation as a compromiser. It could get ugly.
From the goalies are weird department
Bruins goalie prospect Michael DiPietro is a pleasant and engaging guy, but he had a request at the beginning of his interviews:
Please don’t mention any of his AHL stats to him. He goes out of his way to avoid knowing them.
Don’t tell him, but they’re really good.
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The Top 5
The Top 5 Players the Patriots probably aren’t going to get, but are fun to daydream about
5— Alec Pierce
4— Trey Hendrickson
3— A.J. Brown
2— Brian Thomas
1— Maxx Crosby
Real Jeopardy! Clue
Sports clues from actual editions of America’s favorite quiz show. As always, mind the date
CATEGORY: Hockey $400
Date: Oct. 26, 2025
One theory on the origin of this Canadian insult word is with the losing team’s task of spraying water to refresh the ice
— Answer below
Today in Boston Sports History
Feb. 20
1929— Boston Red Sox announce they will play Sunday MLB games at Braves Field; Fenway Park located too close to a church (Source: On this Day.com)
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Lightning round
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If you get a chance, read Chris Cotillo’s story on Wilyer Abreu deciding to do interviews in English this year. Chris does a nice job of personalizing a challenge that a lot of players face. - Wilyer Abreu on doing interviews in English: ‘It took me time ... it means a lot’
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Like most middle-aged men, I occasionally fall asleep watching television and sometimes the TV and my dreams co-mingle. (I once dreamed Scott Van Pelt was interviewing me on the late SportsCenter. I woke up and he was actually interviewing Bruce Pearl). So I may have dreamed this, but I’m pretty sure I saw that WWE is broadcasting an event on SyFy network. That can’t be right, can it ?
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How quickly can the Boston Fleet get a Megan Keller promotional night onto its schedule?
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Kansas State fired Jerome Tang for cause because he ripped his players in the postgame. We’ve got a lot softer since John Chaney suggested Bruiser Flint should hit one of his UMass players with a bat to wake him up and nobody was fazed.
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Alysa Liu has to be the least hyped American gold medal-winning women’s figure skater ever.
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Not sure which is worse: The Chicago Bears might possibly build their new stadium in Hammond, Indiana and they might put a dome on it. Both seem wrong.
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Years from now, we’re still going to be making fun of France for banishing a guy for fighting Tom Wilson.
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The first 15,000 fans into Citi Field on May 29, will get a Bobby Valentine glasses and mustache disguise. The Red Sox should one-up them with Theo Epstein Gorilla masks.
Real Jeopardy! Question:
What is a hoser?
Finally...
Happy National Love Your Pet Day to those who celebrate.
How Ralph celebrates National Love Your Pet DayMatt Vautour
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