Sunday, April 10 at 10:08pm, the NHL regular season came to its close. As the avid sports fans we all are, we can take some time to reflect on another thrilling season by looking at the top eight storylines watched this season.

Top Eight Storylines

1. The Introduction of 3v3 Overtime and the Coach’s Challenge
Over the recent years, it was no secret that the NHL shootout was becoming over­used. In the 2014­15 regular season, there were a total of 170 shootouts in the NHL regular seasonroughly 13.8%, per Yahoo Sports. The NHL finally took a step to solve this problem and followed in the American Hockey League’s footsteps in making overtime a 3v3 contest for 5 minutes(rather than the previous 4 on 4 competition). As of the halfway point, the 3v3 overtime has been a success. In each of the past two seasons, about 25% of all games have needed extra time to determine a winner. However, the amount of games requiring a shootout has dipped from 13.8% to 8.4%­ therefore making 3v3 OT an effective solution.

Another change implemented over the offseason was the Coach’s Challenge. The new amendment to the CBA, the Collective Bargaining Agreement,allows coaches to challenge a questionable goal for goalie interference or an offsides play. As of mid­December, the Coach’s Challenge had been effective in the way that roughly 21% of goalie­interference reviews have been overturned this season, while the number is around 39% for offside reviews, per ESPN. The NHL is proud of the adjustment; however they recognize that the major flaw in the system is that goalie interference calls are simply based on judgement, as each play happens differently. Columbus Blue Jackets’ general manager Jarmo Kekalainen discusses the experiment, “There’s going to be judgmental decisions and calls made and we’re never going to agree 100 percent on those, but it’s going to give us a chance to get better calls and use the technology that’s out there to help us.”

2. The Best Rookie Class for Nearly a Decade
The NHL’s most recent success had been undoubtedly fueled by the emergence of young players, rookies in particular. Between last year’s spectacular talents in the 2015 NHL Draft class and rookies who were perhaps delayed in their entrance to the NHL, this year’s rookie class is undoubtedly the best in nearly a decade. Coming into the season, it was projected that the Calder Trophy (awarded to the best rookie) would uncontestedly go to Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid, the first pick in the 2015 NHL Draft.

Ex­-NHL player and Stanley Cup champ Mike Rupp says that he believes McDavid will be the best player in the world within the next three years. However, with McDavid’s season­ altering clavicle injury in his November 3, 2015 game versus the Philadelphia Flyers that caused him to miss 37 games, the race for Calder suddenly opened up.

Other rookies gained more recognition with McDavid’s absence, including Dylan Larkin, Artemi Panarin, Shayne Gostisbehere, and Jack Eichel, leaving the race wide­ open. They have caught the eyes of fans in various ways: Larkin broke Mike Gartner’s 1996 record as the fastest skater in the NHL by two­tenths of a second; Panarin leads all rookies in points with 77 through 80 games played; Gostisbehere set the rookie defenseman record by scoring points in 15 consecutive games; Eichel, the second pick in last year’s draft, has been silently producing with the Buffalo Sabres, but making his presence felt as one of the top sharp shooters in the NHL.

3. Out with the Old, In with the New
As with every year, there are changes to coaching staffs all over the NHL. However, this year especially there has been a prolific spike in the trend. Since the beginning of last summer, there have been ten alterations to teams’ head coaches­ a third of the NHL. In some cases such as the Minnesota Wild (John Torchetti), Philadelphia Flyers (Dave Hakstol), and Pittsburgh Penguins (Mike Sullivan), these changes have paid off­ securing all three teams’ playoff hopes. In others not so much; the Edmonton Oilers have one of the most talented offenses in the NHL on paper but yet still, Todd McLellan’s team manages to hold the fifth lowest goals for per game average in the league.

4. Woh Canada
Hockey has always been referred to as Canada’s game. However, as of Thursday, March 21, the final Canadian team with any shot at contending was shut out of playoff contention. With the Philadelphia Flyers’ overtime victory over the Washington Capitals, the Ottawa Senators’ playoff hopes were crushed. For the first time in 46 years, the 2016 NHL Playoffs is completely made up of teams from south of the 49th parallel. While some experts expect this to have effects on Canadian viewers, hockey fans, and TV ratings, it is also projected by many that there will be no impact, as every team cannot make the Stanley Cup Playoffs every year.

5. “Hockeytown”: A Legacy to be Reckoned with.
The Detroit Red Wings are known as one of the most prestigious teams in all of hockey. Being an Original Six team, the Wings possess 11 total Stanley Cups in their 90 years as a franchise and are proud to call numerous notable NHL alumni their own prodigies. However, another one of their profound achievements was in jeopardy as of last Saturday. Even though they took a loss against the New York Rangers, the Red Wings clinched this past Saturday thanks to the help of the Ottawa Senators, who bested the Boston Bruins 6­1. The Detroit Red Wings have now qualified for the playoffs in each of the last 25 seasons. To put that into perspective, the closest team to that record is that of the Pittsburgh Penguins with 10 consecutive appearances.

6. How did Anahiem Turn Around Their Miserable Season?
The Anaheim Ducks coming out of preseason were stacked on the top of the NHL power rankings by many. However, in their first 10 games, they were dead last in just about every category with an embarrassing record of 1­7­2 and scoring just 10 goals and being shut out 5 times. Many questions loomed: Where did the talented offence disappear to? Will coach Bruce Boudreau be fired? Can we expect any trades? However, the solution that seemed to solve their problems was nothing more than patience. Sunday night, the Ducks clinched the first seed in the Pacific Division; this was also Bruce Boudreau’s 7th Division Title in his 9 years as an NHL head coach.

7. John Scott: A Generational Talent
Every year, the NHL has an All Star Game featuring the most exciting players and talents. This year, they added two new touches: one being the format of a 20 minute, 3v3 contest as a simulation of the new overtime; the other being the way the players are chosen. Unlike in past years, the NHL left it up to the fans to vote online for each division team’s captain. With the help of social media and a sense of humor, fans voted NHL goon John Scott to captain the Pacific Division. There was a lot of controversy with the election and there were many steps taken to prevent him from attending. Not only did the NHL formally call him and plea with him to step out of the race, it is also speculated that NHL officials coaxed Scott’s former team the Arizona Coyotes into trading him out of the division before the game so that he would not be eligible to participate. They continued on their mission and had him sent down to the American Hockey League.

Hockey analyst and Boston Bruins’ Alumni Mike Milbury said in All Star Game coverage prior to All Star Weekend that Scott, “…doesn’t belong in the National Hockey League”; fellow expert Keith Jones backed him up in saying that the 33 year old wouldn’t even score a goal. John Scott later wrote an article expressing his discontent with the NHL and their steps taken to in fact prevent his appearance in his entry in the Players Tribune.

All Star Weekend rolled along eventually and Scott preserved his title as the captain of the Pacific Division. Any doubts about him not fitting in because of his “narrow” skill set were immediately challenged when Scott not only scored two goals in his two games played, but he also was titled the MVP of the tournament.

8. Records are Made to be Broken
The 2015­16 NHL Season has been headlined with numerous new records. As mentioned earlier, Red Wings’ rookie Dylan Larkin broke Mike Gartner’s previous record as the fastest skater in the NHL; Flyers’ rookie defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere also now holds the point streak record by rookie defenseman with 11 games; Patrick Kane of the Chicago Blackhawks as of mid­December owns the longest point streak record by an American born player with 26 games (16 goals, 24 assists= 40 points), this is the longest streak since Mats Sundin’s streak back in 1992­93; Washington Capitals’ star goalie Braden Holtby tied Martin Brodeur’s previous record of 48 wins in a single season while also playing in 12 less games.

Gallery • 3 Photos

Catherine Wilk.

Presidents Trophy Champion Washington Capitals congratulate goaltender Braden Holtby on a 3-2 win vs. the Boston Bruins, Jan. 5, 2016.