The other day I was listening to some sports commentators discuss the All-Star Game format. As everyone knows, the format is three 20-minute rounds of 3-on-3 in a strange division elimination series, ending with a mini "cup final" of the best division in the East vs. the best division in the West.
Jeff Marek's interesting take-away was this: he'd heard a story that back in the day, the New York Islanders used to use the 3-on-3 format as a form of punishment, a lengthy bag-skate type scrimmage in practice if they did poorly the game before.