The Colorado Avalanche may still sit atop the league standings, but they’ve hit a rough patch, dropping three straight games. Their latest setback came in a tight 2-1 shootout loss to the Dallas Stars on Wednesday.
Amid the recent skid, Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon made headlines not for his play but for his strong stance against potential changes to NHL overtime rules.
Why Nathan MacKinnon Opposes Changes to NHL Overtime Rules
The game was tightly contested. Cale Makar opened the scoring with a late first-period power-play goal, but Jason Robertson responded in the second, capitalizing on a rebound to tie things up.
After a scoreless overtime, Wyatt Johnston netted the only goal in the shootout to seal the win for Dallas. Following the game, MacKinnon was asked about the idea of switching regular-season overtime back to 5-on-5. His response was blunt. “No. It would never end,” he said.
MacKinnon’s comment reflects a broader concern among players: the physical toll of extended overtime during an 82-game season. While fans may enjoy the intensity of playoff-style sudden death, the league prioritizes quicker finishes that keep games within broadcast windows and allow players to recover between games.
I asked Nathan MacKinnon if he’d be in support of changing the overtime format to 5-on-5 for the regular season.
“No. It would never end.”#goavsgo @TheHockeyNews #texashockey
— Ryan O’Hara (@OHaraSports) March 19, 2026
As of the 2025-26 season, NHL overtime is built for speed and excitement. Teams play five minutes of 3-on-3 sudden-death hockey, where the first goal wins. If neither side scores, the game moves to a shootout. The winner earns 2 points, while the losing team still earns 1 point.
Alternative NHL Overtime Rules Gaining Traction
Still, the debate around overtime isn’t going away. NHL reporter Ryan O’Hara suggested extending 3-on-3 overtime instead of changing formats altogether. “If we have to have a 3-on-3 OT format, make it 10 minutes. Roughly 64% of the games that have gone past regulation since the Olympic break haven’t resulted in OT goals,” he said.
Another proposal gaining traction is the “over-and-back” rule. Modeled after basketball’s backcourt violation, it would prevent teams from skating the puck back across center ice after entering the offensive zone.
The goal is simple: force teams to attack rather than regroup and slow the pace. A violation would likely result in a defensive-zone faceoff, similar to an icing call.
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But it also has its disadvantages, as Dallas Stars GM Jim Nill said, “All of a sudden, now I’ve got the puck at center ice, and you come and poke it. Did it go over the line? Did it not go over the line? Do we have a video replay on that? It just opens up a can of worms.”
For now, MacKinnon and the Avalanche are focused on turning things around. They’ll next face the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
