THE NHL : Five-Minute Overtimes Leave Unsettled Issues, Dissatisfied Fans

The Kings tie the Quebec Nordiques. And the St. Louis Blues. And the Winnipeg Jets. And the Jets again.

Four ties in the last six games. Nobody wins. Nobody loses. Nobody’s happy.

Entering play Tuesday, there had been 38 ties in the NHL this season, roughly 12% of the 323 games.

Thirty-eight times, both teams left the ice with varying degrees of frustration. Thirty-eight times, the fans went home feeling they’d paid their money but hadn’t gotten full satisfaction.

Bone-crunching checks. Tremendous shots. Impossible saves.

Everything but a verdict.

When the Nordiques twice came back from two-goal deficits to tie the Kings, they celebrated the outcome as a moral victory.

When the Kings rallied from four goals down to tie St. Louis, they, too, looked upon it as a moral victory.

But moral victories get old fast for people shelling out big bucks. When you’re paying anywhere from $60 to $200 for a seat, a game with a winner isn’t too much to ask.

Nor is a true champion.

The New York Rangers won the Patrick Division last season with 36 victories. And 13 ties.

The New Jersey Devils won 37 games and tied nine. But under a system that awards two points for a victory and one for a tie, the Rangers were division champions with 85 points.

Division titles ought to be awarded to the team with the most victories. Plain and simple.

Think about how many memorable baseball moments would have been lost if all games were stopped after 10 innings.

Or how many great endings would never have happened if basketball games ended after one overtime.

The NHL robs itself of such great finishes by limiting itself to one five-minute, sudden-death overtime.

Among professional team sports, only football allows ties to stand, but the NFL at least plays a full 15-minute period of overtime, if necessary.

That’s usually enough to get a sudden-death decision. A tie is a rarity in the NFL.

Advocates of the tie system in the NHL stress the already taxing load on players. Add unlimited overtime to the excessive demands of an 80-game schedule spread over two countries in a rough-and-tumble sport like hockey, goes the argument, and you would severely strain the physical capabilities of the players and fill up the injured list to unprecedented levels.

How about a compromise?

How about at least one full sudden-death period, as in football? That additional maximum 20 minutes would be more than enough in most cases.

In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the game goes on until there’s a winner. Originally, they only played one extra period and then stopped even if the game was still tied. Four NHL playoff games ended in a deadlock before the rule was amended.

Since the NHL was formed in 1917, there have been 338 overtime playoff games. Counting the four ties, 61 lasted 20 minutes or longer. That’s 18%.

Since the game has speeded up, opening more scoring opportunities, the overtimes have shortened. Of the 128 overtime playoff games since 1980, only 13, or 10%, have gone more than 20 minutes.

So if the full-period overtime rule were to be instituted, eight or nine of every 10 games would have a winner.

The Calgary Flames had the most ties last season with 15. Under the new rule, they would have been required to play 15 additional periods, or the equivalent of five extra games over the required 80.

That wouldn’t have taken too much out of them.

And it would have meant more action, more exciting finishes and more satisfied fans. Plus the assurance that all champions got to the top by winning the most games.

Ties may enhance the neck in fashion. But in sports, they are just a pain in the neck.

Hoping to line their pockets: The great NHL lines of the past were known by their nicknames.

For the Kings of a decade ago, it was the Triple Crown Line of Marcel Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer. For the Montreal Canadiens of the mid-1940s, it was the Punch Line of Maurice Richard, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach. And for the Detroit Red Wings of 1950, it was the Production Line of Gordie Howe, Alex Delvecchio and Ted Lindsay.

But in this age of free agency, what could be more appropriate than the Option Line?

That’s the name hung on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ line of John Cullen, Kevin Stevens and Mark Recchi, all of whom are in their option years.

In recent games, the Penguins have exercised their option and changed that line, replacing Stevens with Phil Bourque.

Battle of the sexes: Robbie Ftorek, no stranger to controversy in his brief stint as the Kings’ coach, has stirred things up in Quebec, where he is an assistant coach.

Commenting on the wives of the Nordiques, Ftorek told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “They don’t seem happy in Quebec. They have a negative impact on the players. I intend to meet with them sooner or later to discuss the matter. Wives and girlfriends have a big role to play with their husbands’ careers. They serve as a motivation and kind of a best friend to help them perform.”

Chauvinist was one of the nicer things Ftorek was called when those remarks were relayed to the Nordique wives.

In an effort to explain his remarks, Ftorek said: “I was just trying to point out the importance of a pleasant environment at home.”