NHL has it right with three-on-three All-Star Game format

LOS ANGELES — The three-on-three format is an imperfect way to decide the winner of the NHL All-Star game, but it is still the best format we've seen.

“The entertainment value is pretty good,” Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said.

Hard to argue after New York Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh made a game-saving kick save in the closing seconds to allow the Wayne Gretzky-coached Metropolitan Division to defeat the Pacific Division 4-3 in the three-on-three All-Star tournament championship game.

Metropolitan goalie Braden Holtby stopped 17 of 20 shots in his two games of work. Who says players don’t come to All-Star games to compete?

“(The final) felt more like a regular-season three-on-three game,” Holtby said.

With seconds to go, and Holtby pulled out of position, McDonagh sprawled to get his skate on a shot from Ryan Kesler that was headed into the net for the tying goal. The puck flew off McDonagh’s boot and struck the post before bounding away.

“It’s a close game and we are all competitive,” McDonagh said. “We didn’t do very good last year — went out in the first game — and we wanted to do a little bit better and found a way.”

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Players could tell that Gretzky was committed to winning. He even successfully used a coach’s challenge to overturn a goal by Edmonton Oilers captain Connor McDavid. Gretzky is an executive with the Oilers organization. Tournament MVP Wayne Simmonds (three goals, eight shots in two games) called that challenge “the game changer.”

“You can tell he has a lot of passion and love for the game,” McDonagh said. “He sees the game so well. He was talking about different plays out there, trying to make adjustments. He used his timeout because he knew we needed a breather.”

Players on the winning team split $1 million in prize money.

“If somebody is going to give you 1 million bucks to split, then you go for it,” Ovechkin said.

Before the final game, the three-on-three format didn’t produce the same compete level that the tournament had a year ago. Last season, the scores of the three-on-three semifinals were 4-3 and 9-6 before a 1-0 finale.

This season the semifinal scores were 10-3 and 10-6. “I can’t really take it seriously,” St. Louis Blues forward Vladimir Tarasenko said after his Central Division team was eliminated. “I would rather just have fun out there. Of course we don’t try to lose."

The mini-tournament was missing the defensive effort present in last year’s format debut, but a 4-3 finale proved the NHL has it right with three-on-three format.

Nashville Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said it is challenging for players to crank up their intensity for a game that doesn’t impact the standings.

“Eighty-two games are for us to get stressed out and be on pins and needles,” Subban said. "Today is just about us having fun.”

Players try to find the motivation, but don’t always locate it.

“I guess there is a money prize if you win it,” Rask said. “(Boston teammate Brad Marchand) was trying to talk me into playing like playoff hockey but I wasn’t buying into it.”

But everyone agrees that the three-on-three works better than any other format. “I think it’s awesome,” said Chicago Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane. “I think fans have fun with it.”

Ottawa Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson certainly wouldn’t want to go back to five-on-five. “It’s hard sometimes to get guys to go as hard as you will when you play for your team, but I think it’s better if you have a little room to do your thing.”

Whether they all play their hardest or not, the players love to be there. “If your team scores 10 goals and you don’t get any, or you are minus-15 you take it,” Subban said. “It’s a privilege to be an All-Star.”