Reports: NHL to ditch 'dry scrape' before overtime
The NHL is doing away with the dry scrape between the end of regulation and overtime. The concern was that it slowed things down too much.
The NHL has actively been seeking ways to see more games finish in overtime and avoid the shootout. One of the plans to help those efforts was to have the Zambonis dry scrape the ice to remove excess snow before the overtime period.
It has been wildly unpopular among anyone watching the games live as it took up too much time between the end of regulation and overtime. That, in turn, was sucking some of the momentum out of the game. It turns out that the dry scrape’s unpopularity will bring its demise.
According to Chris Johnston of Sportsnet, the dry scrape will be no more starting Saturday. Teams will go back to the way things were with a shovel crew quickly coming to collect as much snow off the ice as possible near the benches and nets.
RIP, dry scrape. We hardly knew ye.
