Everyone has the proper to their opinion, but as of late, with social media, it looks like everyone, no matter whether or not they cover hockey, has an opinion on three-on-three extra time to find out a gold medal on the Olympics.
Haven’t watched much of the Olympics, and I’m obviously late on this. But 3 v 3 extra time for a medal, nonetheless a gold medal, is patently insane.
— Gareth Wheeler (@GarethWheeler) February 19, 2026
3-on-3 extra time to choose who medals is diabolical
— Shayna (@shaynagoldman_) February 19, 2026
3 on 3 extra time for a gold medal is wild
— David Dwork (@DavidDwork) February 19, 2026
The Great Debate: Should the NHL Extend 3v3 Time beyond regulation to 10 Minutes?
The controversy was reignited after Team USA defeated Canada 2-1 in extra time to win the Gold Medal in the ladies’s hockey tournament. This was the fifth straight extra time game on the Olympics to be determined by the three-on-three extra time format. Three men’s quarterfinal games, in addition to the bronze medal and gold medal games in the ladies’s tournament.
Well, let’s be honest, the identical people complaining about three-on-three extra time can be the identical individuals who would complain had a gold medal been decided by a shootout. That’s the reason the IIHF (International Ice Hockey Federation), not the IOC (International Olympic Committee), modified their rules governing International Hockey.
Back in 2019, the IIHF modified their extra time rules, introducing three-on-three extra time for all games. Five minutes in all preliminary games, with the time increasing to 10 minutes for the quarterfinals and semifinals.
Before that, all International Games featured preliminary games played at three-on-three, while playoff games were four-on-four extra time before going to a shootout. The concept of going to 20-minute continuous three-versus-three extra time was to eliminate the Gold Medal Games from being decided in a shootout.
Commissioner Gary Bettman Says No To Expanded 3 v 3 Time beyond regulation
And who wants that? A skills competition to find out the Gold Medal, or any playoff game, within the Olympics, World Championships, or World Juniors, shouldn’t be ideal. That isn’t hockey. Three-on-three extra time is a chess match. It’s hockey for individuals who know the way the roller version of the sport is played.
It is simple to say, well, the NHL wouldn’t determine the Stanley Cup winner in three-on-three extra time. That’s true, however the NHL isn’t changing the extra time rules anytime soon. As we have now seen, the NHL plays five-on-five, continuous, sudden-death extra time to find out a Stanley Cup Playoff winner.
It’s fun to look at in the primary extra time and even the second extra time, but after that, the gameplay really deteriorates. Those on the lookout for a highlight reel goal can return to the ladies’s Gold Medal Game between Canada and Team USA, where Megan Keller scored the Golden Goal, a rare sight. Often, it’s an unpleasant goal where the puck goes off a stick, leg, skate, or one other body part.
So to do this on the Olympics can be tough given the schedule. Remember, the semifinals and the Bronze Medal Game are played back-to-back, so asking these professionals to play continuous extra time in back-to-back rounds can be tough. Not to say the Gold Medal Game is played the day of the closing ceremony.
The Most Dangerous Player For Canada and Finland on the Olympics
A few of the NHL Players will wish to attend the ceremony before heading back to their respective clubs to resume the season this week. Ideally, the IOC would change the games’ schedule and have the bronze medal and Gold Medal games played on the identical day, as in women’s hockey. You see it in other IIHF tournaments: the 2 medal games are played on the identical day.
Nevertheless, ending the sport sooner somewhat than prolonging it’s the proper call. And for individuals who cover the sport and even the casual fans that watch every 4 years and don’t watch all season or only parts of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, watch the World Juniors, World Championships on women’s and men’s side, because these rules wouldn’t be foreign to you.
Because the rule change in 2019, 4 gold medals have been decided on this format, including Team USA ending its 92-year drought on the IIHF Men’s World Championship, defeating Switzerland 1-0 on Tage Thompson‘s goal in three-on-three extra time.
As well as, three gold medals have been decided on the Women’s World Championships, in addition to three Gold Medal Games on the World Junior Championships, including Team USA in 2025. And let’s not forget this is able to have been the format had the NHLers gone to the Olympics in 2022.
The Most Dangerous Player for Team USA and Slovakia
And before anyone brings up the 4 Nations Faceoff Gold Medal Time beyond regulation Game between Canada and the USA, that tournament was an NHL tournament with no IIHF or IOC input. That will likely be an analogous case with the 2028 World Cup of Hockey.
Three-on-three extra time is far more exciting than five-on-five extra time. Five-on-five can drag on, especially late within the extra time session, as teams look to reset for the subsequent extra time period somewhat than try to attain.
Not less than with three-on-three extra time at 20 minutes, you recognize the sport will end. The IIHF got it right with this decision, but regardless of how games end, people on social media won’t ever be glad.
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