I would like to share the viewing message that my buddy and I have come up with for Sabres games. We DVR the game and start watching one hour after actual puck drop. That way, we don't have to watch any commercials - we simply fast forward through them. We also fast forward through the intermissions.
When the other team gets a power-play we fast forward through it, only stopping if they score a goal. That way, we don't have any of the tension of watching the Sabres try to get possession and clear the puck. If the Sabres go down by two goals we fast-forward to see if the other team scores next or if the Sabres get one and get back into it.
If the Sabres cut it to a one goal deficit we begin watching regular time once again. We've been able to get in whole games with about a one-hour time commitment. Be cautioned, if you start using this method it will become impossible to go back to old-style viewing.