I hate the shootout in the NHL!!!

Watched the Leafs vs. Sens tonight. Leafs lost after a shootout. The shootout is bullshit. Hockey is a team sport, and when you decide a game on the basis of a shooter versus a goalie, its illegitimate as far as I'm concerned. It comes down most often to dumb luck...the shooter guesses right, or the goalie guesses right, or the shooter simply screws up. If the Leafs had won the game, sure I'd be happier, but it still would be a hollow victory. Whenever the shootout has happened in the Olympics, or other international hockey tournaments, and my team (Canada) wins....I'm relieved for sure, but I still feel like we 'got away' with something.

I hate the shootout. It sucks. Who's with me??

:mad:

I still prefer the game, but after missing an entire season of the Flyers I'm not complaining :)

Personally, I think a shootout is a better alternative than a tie game.

I'd rather have a tie than a flip-a-coin approach to deciding who deserves to win and who deserves to lose, which is what I believe shootouts are. Anyway, just my opinion.:)

it was interesting...maybe I'll feel differently when the Habs lose their first shootout. I never minded ties, to be honest. I would rather see a 10 minute overtime and a tie.

I just think they shouldn't give the losing team a point.

If they had shootouts in the playoffs I'd be with you. In the regular season I think it works.

I was at the Wild game last night and the flow of the game was a lot better. Seeing the higher scoring games is encouraging. While I've seen many very entertaining 0-0 games, I like hearing the horn sound.

Since so many say the regular season doesn't matter anymore, why not tweak it a little? I'm excited for the season even moreso than yesterday.

Nice to see Ovechkin and Parise light the lamp. Maybe Sidney should have shared some of the spotlight?

He was just insane on some of his saves.

That said, Crosby was pretty good to watch. This was my first real chance to see him play a full game and not just this clip or that clip. He made plays, was moving around and making passes, steals, shots, like he was one of the best players on the team. Maybe the best.

Recchi's goal was about two things. Recchi crashing the net, and Crosby placing a perfectly timed pass through the crease.

You can't make any kind of real evaulations of players from one game. For instance I saw one Capitals fan on another board make some idiotic pronouncements about Ovechkin because he scored 2 goals to Crosby's one assist. Regardless of the fact that Ovechkin was facing Carolina, and Crosby facing the Devils and Marty Brodeur, one of the best goaltenders ever.

Honestly the Devils looked pretty sharp. People haven't been giving them enough credit in the preseason, but they looked nice, and if Brodeur maintains his form they're a contender.

Getting back to Sidney though, while the Penguins struggled against Brodeur, and Thibault couldn't contain any rebounds, I think Sid was one of the best players in that game on either side, aside from Brodeur. He definately stood out to me.

sounds like a trade off to this non Ice Hockey fan

Since the loser still gets the 1 point for an overtime loss, one can think of the shootout as a contest for the extra point in the standings. It makes for good drama.

I caught a preseason game last week where they did the exhibition shootout afterwards. Since nobody was scoring, it went about 7 or so rounds deep at which point Pat Quinn gave Tie Domi a chance, and sure enough he won the shootout. Even though it was only a preseason game and the team played like shit, everybody left the ACC in a jubilant mood because of that. It was really a lot of fun.

Dumb luck may be involved, but dumb luck is part of the game. (e.g. dumb luck can play just as big a role in a penalty shot or defending a 5-on-3 power play or having your best player miss most of the game because he gets hit in the eye with the puck.)

For games where there is a lot on the line like a medal game in the Olympics or an NHL playoff game, anything but a sudden death overtime is unacceptable. For the NHL regular season where teams often play two nights in a row, this just isn't practical. So it's either a draw or the shootout. So why not give the fans an extra treat?

the shootouts are much better than a stupid tie. What I hate is the crack down on physical play.

I think what we won't see, and I don't want to see, is unnecessary hits. In the last 10-15 years, too many guys are hitting people just to say they made a hit, skating halfway accross the ice to nail somebody, or miss them sometimes. You just didn't see that in the 80's, but you still had plenty of hits - and fights, with a lot less high-sticks and other hits to the head.

...I hope Canada is putting whoever is responsible on trial for treason.

Since when is a tie an unacceptable outcome of a regular-season hockey game?

any and all decisions about the game of NHL hockey are finalized by Bettman in New York...an American who when he started his job probably couldn't even name half the teams in the league. Now, of course I'm sure many Canadians were involved in the process at some point, and I'm sure many Canadian fans enjoy the shootout, but let's just be clear about who the real power brokers are here.

I will give Bettman this - he has always supported doing whatever the league could to support the Canadian small market teams. I think he understands that the league's bread and butter is the Canadian fans, with the much higher TV ratings coming out of Canada, just to mention one area of importance.