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Are You As Tired Of The NHL Shootout As I Am?

By William Grigsby

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SHOOTOUT CONTROVERSY

The shootout has been around since the 2005-06 season, when it became the method of determining a game ending in a tie after a five minute overtime of four on four doesn’t get it done.

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    • I, personally, have mixed feelings about the shootout. When it first came out, I —like many fans— thought it to be an exciting way to end a tie. After all, a tie is like kissing your sister… and that can be a task!

    I have seen many a shootout, and while it was new and exciting at first…over the past several seasons I have grown tired of it. There’s got to be a better way to end a tie game. SO, let’s analyze the pro’s and con’s of the shootout, shall we?

    PRO’S:

    • It brings some real excitement to the game; the type of excitement that brings the entire crowd to their feet to view it
    • Fans pay hefty prices to see a NHL game, why not entertain them?
    • New fans understand the concept, even if they don’t understand how the other rules of the game work
    • The NHL’s logic for using it is: SCORING, fans LOVE scoring!
    • Very few penalty shots are called during the regular season, so you are able to see your team’s best one-on-one players display their skills

    CON’S:

    • Hockey is a TEAM game, and the shootout just displays individual breakaways
    • It’s a gimmick, it would be like deciding a tie baseball game with a homerun contest
    • Why award a LOSS with a point, as is done now when the game ends in a tie? This merely motivates the road team to play conservative close games to be awarded at least one point after 60 minutes.

    A better method would be one being tried out by the AHL this season: The overtime period is increased to seven minutes, where for three minutes they play four on four, and the final four minutes are played THREE ON THREE.

    So far, this experiment has done wonders to end games before a shootout takes effect. How successful is it? After having 65% of it’s OT games going to a shootout last season, with this new format it has been reduced to just 15%. The NHL will be watching to see how the entire season works with this new rule. With 50-60% of OT NHL games going to the shootout last season, what have they got to lose?

    On 11-26-05, the New York Rangers and the Washington Capitals held the longest shootout on record. It went to fifteen rounds, with thirty scorers attempting to bring home the win for their team. This record was then tied in September of 2013, by the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. I think they just wanted it to end:

    SO, fans tell us what you think. Are you in favor of the shootout, or would like to lose it?

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