Hockey Fans: Ilya Kovalchuk Just Made a Genius Suggestion About Overtime

I always hated when games ended in a tie. Was so boring. Years ago the NHL changed their overtime so that it consisted of 5 v 5 followed by a shootout. It was great, it was cool…for a bit. Then it got stale because there were so many bloody shoot-outs. Felt like they were happening all the time. Too often. The NHL then decided to change overtime again, going from 5 v 5, to 3 v 3, which was a drastic and much needed improvement. Shootouts are less frequent now but they still occasionally happen. 5 rounds, 5 different shooters. However Ilya Kovalchuk was recently interviewed and made a suggestion, a minor tweak to the shoot-out rule, and I have to agree I think it’s for the better.

“I think they should change the shootout rule; the first 3 should be diff guys, but then the same guy can go again. That would create that battle of, say, Kane against McDavid. They could go 1 after the other and that would be great for the fans.”–Marketing guru, Ilya Kovalchuk

— Eric Engels (@EricEngels) January 22, 2020

Now this rule is currently how the IIHF conducts their shootouts, and within recent memory back in 2007 Jonathan Toews showcased his skills as he kept taking shots in the shootout, kept scoring and eventually lead Canada to victory over the United States.