Greetings from St. Louis, where the Lightning are getting ready for Tuesday’s game against the Blues. Here are four thoughts about the NHL’s first three weeks of the regular season.
1. During Friday’s morning press conference before the Lightning game in Winnipeg, Jets head coach Paul Maurice was asked about how three-on-three OT has already evolved around the league. (The Jets, at that point, hadn’t played an OT game – they would later that night against the Lightning – but Maurice obviously had viewed overtime games involving other teams). The reporter noted that, since that first frenetic, wide-open OT game between the Lightning and Philadelphia Flyers on October 8, teams had gotten more conservative in how they approached three-on-three.