HENDERSON, Nev. -- General managers gathered for a five-hour meeting Tuesday and proposed several changes aimed at increasing scoring and boosting attendance in the National Hockey League.

Got the cubicle blues? Start hunt for new job now. There has to be winners to every one of our slew of contests. Looking to drop a few pounds? Maybe our diet and fitness section can help. Want to find out homes for sale near you?

Smaller goalie pads, 3-point victories and limits on goaltenders handling the puck behind the goal line were among the changes suggested by the NHL's 30 general managers, who were given a mandate by NHL commissioner Gary Bettman to find ways to improve the game.

Tuesday's recommendations will be examined further at another GM meeting in the spring and then passed on in July to a panel of hockey experts assembled by Bettman. The final package then must be approved by the league's owners at a board of governors' meeting in the late summer.

Scoring has dropped by 2 ½ goals per game over the last 15 years to an average of five per contest.

The proposed changes would have the greatest impact on the goaltenders. Not only would the width of the goalie pads be reduced to 10 inches from the current limit of 12, but the netminders would no longer be allowed to play the puck behind the back-end red line.

"The original thought right now is that if the puck is behind the line and the goalie touches it, it's a two-minute penalty," said Bettman.

The general managers will also ask the American Hockey League to experiment with a new system that will award three points for a regulation victory, two for an overtime victory and one for an overtime loss. The format may also include a game-deciding shootout, where the shootout winner will also get two points, while the losing team earns one. Tie contests would be eliminated.

"We'd like to provide an incentive for teams to win in regulation," Bettman added.

Other suggestions include having the nets moved back to 10 feet from the back boards instead of the current 13 feet and bringing back the tag-up offsides.

Finally, two changes are expected to go into effect as soon as this week. The penalty shot rule was clarified so as to include players who are dragged down while streaking towards a loose puck that would lead to a breakaway. Before, a player had to be in control of the puck to be awarded a penalty shot.

Also, if a puck should go in while the net is slightly off its moorings, the goal will now stand.