MONTREAL (AP) 鈥� Canada and Sweden traded chances back and forth, skating up and down the ice for 3-on-3 overtime that provided dazzling entertainment in the opener of .
By the time for Canada, more than six minutes had elapsed. Had it been during the NHL regular season, the horn would have sounded at the 5-minute mark and the game decided in a shootout.
Extending OT to 10 minutes is one of the experiments taking place at the tournament that could go into use as soon as next season. There's still plenty of debate over whether it should, and Marner's goal made it a hot topic in Montreal.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 know. It鈥檚 a good question,鈥� Finland captain Aleksander Barkov said Thursday. 鈥淥bviously there鈥檚 a lot of games 鈥� 82 regular-season games 鈥� and on top of it, if you keep adding longer and longer overtimes, I don鈥檛 know how guys would take that. I鈥檓 fine with how it is right now.鈥�
Canada鈥檚 Nathan MacKinnon, who played more than a third of OT, said the discussion even came up in Canada's locker room on Wednesday night. His answer about 10-minute overtimes becoming a reality in the NHL was clearer than he could see by the end of that game.
鈥淣o. No. No,鈥� MacKinnon said. 鈥淚 was happy when Marner scored because I didn鈥檛 have much left to give, so 5 to 7 would be good.鈥�
Changing the rules would require an agreement between the league and Players' Association, though it's good timing for that with collective bargaining talks ongoing and official negotiations on the horizon. Adding more of a workload without extra pay is a strike against extending OT, and it would tax the top players more than others.
鈥淚 like it as far as I think it鈥檚 more fun, overtime,鈥� U.S. goaltender Jake Oettinger said. 鈥淵ou have to ask the top players that would be playing extra minutes, I think, for them, but I vote yes on it. I think it鈥檚 great.鈥�
It would also increase the likelihood of games ending before a shootout, which Canada's Mark Stone called 鈥渁 glorified skills competition.鈥� Self-professed shootout-hating U.S. defenseman Zach Werenski would prefer that but is concerned at the potential consequences.
鈥淚n overtime, usually your top guys are going and if it鈥檚 a back to back or whatnot, obviously it takes a lot out of you,鈥� Werenski said. 鈥淚t was something to mess around with, I think, especially maybe preseason or something just to see how guys feel. I wouldn鈥檛 be opposed to going to 10 minutes. I just don鈥檛 like shootouts that much.鈥�
The NHL is also using the tournament to try adding 30 seconds to each of the three television timeouts every period and subtracting a minute from each of the two intermissions. Canada coach Jon Cooper isn't sure about how much of an impact that might have, if any.
鈥淭V timeouts are long as it is,鈥� Cooper said. 鈥淐an you recharge some of your top-end players? Of course you can. But then what does it do to the guys that haven鈥檛 been out there, haven鈥檛 been out before the TV timeout? And now you鈥檝e got to wait through that. It鈥檚 kind of the double-edged sword in that part.鈥�
The 4 Nations is also using the international system of awarding three points for a regulation win, two for an overtime or shootout win, one for an overtime or shootout loss and none for a regulation loss.
鈥淚 feel like it makes a bigger difference in the end,鈥� Sweden's Lucas Raymond said. 鈥淚鈥檓 used to it back in Sweden when I was playing, it was always a three-point system. It鈥檚 a little bit different, but it for sure brings a bigger impact.鈥�
Changing the point system is the least likely thing for the NHL. When asked about it, Commissioner Gary Bettman has said there is not much of an appetite to abandon the current format of two points for a win of any kind and one for an overtime or shootout loss.
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AP NHL:
Stephen Whyno, The Associated Press
