Time's over for overtime

I like overtime in the NHL. In fact, I think it's a lot more exciting than the shootout. I actually go from channel to channel nightly on the satellite to find overtime games or games that are likely to go into OT. And since I'm a night owl, when the playoffs come around, the longer the overtime goes the better it is, for me personally anyway. However, after staying up to 3:30 the other morning to witness the Vancouver Canucks finally do away with the Dallas Stars, I'm reconsidering my love for the extra periods. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to see overtime eliminated from the playoffs, but would like to see a two period limit put on it. If nobody scores after an extra 40 minutes of action, then go to a shootout. Another possiblity may be going 5 on 5 in the first overtime period and then 4 on 4 in the second.

There are several reasons for limiting the length of a game. The first has to do with the fans. Most of the kiddies have to get up for school the next day and mum and dad need to wake up for work. It's sometimes hard to do after trying to stay awake for a marathon game. Another consideration is travel arrangements. Some fans are on a schedule, especially away fans, as they may have buses, trains, or planes to catch. Even the hometown fans may have a hard time getting home on the local transit systems at early hours in the morning, and then there's the case of the babysitter too.

The hockey itself often suffers in a long overtime game. I'm not sticking up for million dollar athletes here, but it's a natural human condition to get tired after several hours of activity. Both of these teams were so out of it by the second overtime period the other night that the Stars were absolutely pathetic on a two-man advantage and came nowhere close to ending it then and there. While Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo faced a record 76 shots, most of them were of the harmless variety in overtime. The fans seemed so disinterested in the game that the GM Place resembled the morgue-like Air Canada Centre during most of the overtime. This game, which was the sixth longest in NHL history, could conceivably affect the rest of the series in a negative way.

I think it would benefit everybody involved, including the television networks, if a two period cap was put on the game. This should incite more exciting and desperate hockey. I have to admit I also have a selfish reason for wanting a cap on overtime, and that's the fact I'm worried that the bars will close down before the game's finally over.