As I type this, I am watching one of the best things that sport has to offer … NHL Playoff Overtime! Not only that, but the best of even that, something you maybe see once every season or two … a Game 7 overtime! The Boston Bruins and Carolina Hurricanes are going at it, and as I type, they are 8 minutes in.
Most sports have overtime, and they almost all do in playoff games (soccer, we’re looking at you. Bring the Golden Goal back!). Baseball extra innings in the World Series and Game 7 is pretty intense and extremely rare (three or four times ever?), the NFL has had a couple of games to go double overtime in the playoffs, it has happened. But, there has never been a Super Bowl overtime game (and I want a small tweak in the sudden death rules anyways). And, NBA overtime games in Game 7 exist, but the five minute overtime period there doesn’t have quite the same bravado. Maybe the closest recent “extra time” instance that brought on legitimate great drama was the ’08 NCAA Hoops championship, but the drama was just as much built from the 30-footer that took the game to overtime.
So why is NHL overtime so good? The never-ending play and the finality of it. It has the drama of a sudden death ending at a completely unpredictable time, but the nature of hockey allows for tremendous amounts of play, and interesting play at that. It also allows for amazing amounts of play, stuff you just do not see in any other sport. In no other overtime format, outside of baseball and pitching (and it’s more rare) does fatigue play more of a role.
I have fond memories of watching four and five-overtime games at 2:30 in the morning … on a work night! You can’t turn it off, you’re too afraid that you might miss something, and you fully understand you’ll be worthless the next day with no sleep!
Hopefully we’ll get a couple of these triple overtime style games this year, and even better if it’s a Game 7!
