Related Order is restored to the hockey universeFewer TV timeoutsIn the Olympic hockey tournaments, there were only two TV timeouts per period, as opposed to the three that interrupt each period of NHL action. It takes close to three hours to watch a normal NHL game, but a few simple changes could easily drop that number to two and a half hours or less. Lots of top NHL players were suddenly forced into depth roles with the depth of some of the Olympic teams, and the IOC didn’t want them going home with sour attitudes because they didn’t get to play. In the NHL, teams carry 23 players on the active roster, but only 20 dress for each game. The NHL has adjusted its mandatory equipment policies from time to time: It was only in 1997 that the last helmet-less player retired.