Erik Karlsson thinks 3-on-3 OT is boring; thanks to Senators, it was

The 3-on-3 overtime between the Ottawa Senators and Calgary Flames was the first I’ve seen that bordered on tedious, and even that had highlight-reel save from Craig Anderson on Johnny Gaudreau on the doorstep.

But yeah, it was a bit of a snoozer. Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson was bored too, although it appears he’s bored with the entire new 3-on-3 format. As the Sun reported:

"Well, its one of those things ... I don't know. It feels more like a bag skate for players like me. It takes a lot out of you," said Karlsson. "It hasn't ended any games for us yet. I don't know. I don't know what I think of it yet.

"It's not really hockey. It's about who holds onto the puck the longest. Who cheats the most. Small stuff like that. It's kind of boring."

The 3-on-3 last night was, in fact, kind of boring.

Because the Senators were playing in it.

Ottawa has now participated in four shootouts. No other team has more than two this season. There’s a reason for this: Their approach to the 3-on-3 is conservative, unimaginative puck-possession, looking to avoid any mistake rather than actually push to win the game in the OT. They spent most of the overtime against the Flames ragging the puck. They made it boring.

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They only attempted three shots on goal, and two of them came from Kyle Turris in the same sequence. They attempted six against New Jersey in their last 3-on-3; the Devils attempted six, and four were on goal. They were active in the 3-on-3 against Nashville with seven shot attempts. Their OT against the Leafs was warped by a power play for Toronto.

But last night was intentionally dreary, lest Johnny Gaudreau or Sean Monahan burn them with offensive brilliance.

Said coach Dave Cameron: "The league puts it in and we have to play it.”

I still think it’s going to be hard to coach the excitement out of 3-on-3 OT on every occasion, but Cameron did an effective job of it last night. It’s hard to produce entertaining hockey when one team just wants the credits to roll before the shootout.

Oh, and enough with these players complaining about it being a “bag skate” for them while at the same time saying “it’s not really hockey.”

Once more, with feeling: The NHL GMs wanted the AHL model of 4-on-4 then the 3-on-3 and the NHL players squashed it out of concern for their stamina and well-being. So you could have had hockey and then “not hockey,” but you would have still been tired.

(Forgetting, for a moment, the fatigue is the point of the 3-on-3 because it produces more chances and goals. Duh.)

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