Kevin Bieksa welcomes NHL's three-on-three overtime plan

Kevin Bieksa peered into his crystal ball Thursday and liked what he saw.
The Vancouver Canucks defenceman has a vision of how things will develop if the NHL adopts three-on-three overtime next season.
“I think it’ll be the two-on-one fest,” said Bieksa.
General managers recommended this week, during meetings in Florida, that the league adopt three-on-three overtime in 2015-16. The plan comes as a result of concerns about the number of shootouts that determine wins and losses.
Bieksa said three-on-three O.T. could lead to many new tactics on the ice.
“It’ll be interesting to see how the strategies develop three-on-three, whether: If you’re the home team and you get last (line) change and the other team puts three forwards on, maybe, you put your three defencemen on against them and then you come back with your three top forwards," he said. "Who knows? There could be a lot of strategies developed."
The GMs' recommendation must still be approved by the competition committee, which includes representatives from the NHL Players Association. There is no guarantee of that happening; however, Bieksa is one player who likes the idea.
“It’ll add to the game," he said. "I think it’ll be more exciting. I think the shootout was brought in not only to decide games, but to bring some excitement to the game, much like a soccer game at the end. I think this will have the same effect."
Some fans who like the shootout might argue that three-on-three overtime won't generate the same moves as the one that Calgary defenceman David Schlemko as he scored the winning goal, in the eight round of the shootout, against the Boston Bruins earlier this month. The inside-out move was reminiscent of the one that Peter Forsberg made on Corey Hirsch as Sweden beat Canada in the 1994 Olympic gold-medal game.
But Bieksa said the shootout has "plateaued" and fallen out of favour.
"It’s a good way to decide the outcome, but a lot of people aren’t the biggest fans of it," he said. "The three-one-three will be another way to decide the game, and it’ll be the new thing – and I think it’ll be entertaining.”