talkinaway
Registered User
So, I've noticed something that's happened twice in Round 2, and it's bugged me. A player takes a penalty in the last two minutes of the game, and the opposing team doesn't get a full power play, simply because the clock's about to run out - and, to top it all off, the team on the power play is exactly one goal behind - meaning they lose some time to tie up the game.
The two games where this happened are the Game 4 in the Chicago/Minnesota series, and game 3 in the Anaheim/Calgary series. In the first game, Chicago's ahead 4-3, and has a penalty at 19:45 of the third period for too many men on the ice. Minnesota only gets 15 seconds of PP time - and, of course, they don't score in that short time. In the second game, it's a puck over glass penalty that gives Calgary only 92 seconds of PP time while trailing 3-2 - not a terribly unfair, but unfair nonetheless. In that case, Gaudreau does get a PPG, forcing OT, so this rule wouldn't come into play.
Here's my proposal. When a team is 1 goal ahead and commits a non-matching minor penalty in the last 2 minutes of the third period, play continues until the penalty clock runs out - not just the main clock. In theory, the last period could last as long as 22 minutes. If the offending team scores a SHG after the main clock runs out (but the penalty clock is still running), game over, because they're now two goals ahead, and a PPG would empty the penalty clock and they'd still be 1 goal ahead. If the PP team scores after the main clock runs out (but before the penalty clock runs out), then the third period is over, the game is tied, and you go into OT.
I know there are already a few rules in place to prevent stupid fights from happening in the final minutes - like the automatic suspension of an instigator. The only problem I'd see is if there's a brawl at the end of a close game when the game over horn sounds - if one team gets an extra minor, it's back on the ice. That could be a controversial thing. Plus, I'm not sure exactly how to deal with double minors in this case - but a double minor in the last two mintues probably doesn't happen often enough to warrant consideration. I used to think a penalty in the last two minutes didn't happen often enough to warrant consideration, but those two games show that it might be a way to adjust the game to make it more fair.
One technical consideration is that you'd have to add a decimal point to the penalty clock...but I think we have the technology to handle that.
The two games where this happened are the Game 4 in the Chicago/Minnesota series, and game 3 in the Anaheim/Calgary series. In the first game, Chicago's ahead 4-3, and has a penalty at 19:45 of the third period for too many men on the ice. Minnesota only gets 15 seconds of PP time - and, of course, they don't score in that short time. In the second game, it's a puck over glass penalty that gives Calgary only 92 seconds of PP time while trailing 3-2 - not a terribly unfair, but unfair nonetheless. In that case, Gaudreau does get a PPG, forcing OT, so this rule wouldn't come into play.
Here's my proposal. When a team is 1 goal ahead and commits a non-matching minor penalty in the last 2 minutes of the third period, play continues until the penalty clock runs out - not just the main clock. In theory, the last period could last as long as 22 minutes. If the offending team scores a SHG after the main clock runs out (but the penalty clock is still running), game over, because they're now two goals ahead, and a PPG would empty the penalty clock and they'd still be 1 goal ahead. If the PP team scores after the main clock runs out (but before the penalty clock runs out), then the third period is over, the game is tied, and you go into OT.
I know there are already a few rules in place to prevent stupid fights from happening in the final minutes - like the automatic suspension of an instigator. The only problem I'd see is if there's a brawl at the end of a close game when the game over horn sounds - if one team gets an extra minor, it's back on the ice. That could be a controversial thing. Plus, I'm not sure exactly how to deal with double minors in this case - but a double minor in the last two mintues probably doesn't happen often enough to warrant consideration. I used to think a penalty in the last two minutes didn't happen often enough to warrant consideration, but those two games show that it might be a way to adjust the game to make it more fair.
One technical consideration is that you'd have to add a decimal point to the penalty clock...but I think we have the technology to handle that.