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Don't use the shoot-out!
It's cost Canada 2 gold medals, it's been compared to throwing footballs through tires to decide football games and now the NHL is considering using it to decide ties; it's the shoot-out.
With scoring down in the NHL and only one OT game that has seen a winner this year, Gary Bettman has considered going to the shoot-out, something that many sportswriters have agreed with and encouraged. But a shoot-out is not the answer to the NHL’s problem’s, in fact, it would even make it worse. Let’s put Olympic heartbreak and Wayne Gretzky v.s. Ray Bourque arguments behind us and look at how it would change the entire NHL game.
All plans involving a shoot-out call for a point to be given to each team after regulation and the second one to be given to whoever wins it in OT or a shoot-out. Seems good until you look closer. First of all, any game that’s tied late in the game or even going into the third period would not see another goal because there’s no incentive to open up the play and risk a goal against when you’re guaranteed at least one point and have a 50% chance (and it is 50% since it’s a completely random method of breaking ties) at a second point. That gives each team 1.5 points on average for a tie game. Over the course of a season that’s 125 points or an unbelievable season. Every team in the league especially the bad one would play for the shoot-out and the best way to assure a game is tied is if no one scores. A shoot-out might give you 5 minutes of excitement but it would kill the other 60.
Have an opinion on shoot-outs?
Send in your comments and I’ll post most of the clean ones here.
Ken Weigel's Solution
Scoring is far too low, and will remain so because of the size and speed of the players compared to yesteryear. Add the trapping defenses and clutching and grabbing, and you do NOT have hockey as it was meant to be played....In fact, we have not seen hockey as it was meant to be played since the early 70's - so long ago, most of today's fans have never seen it.....Hockey is SUPPOSED to be a game of speed and flow - it is NOW a game of TRAP, CLUTCH and GRAB....
WE MUST OPEN UP THE GAME! Shootouts would help, and we also must:
1. Further reduce clothing dimensions of goaltenders, and even consider reducing the size of the mitt/stick/pads...
2. Eliminate the center redline.
3. CONSIDER increasing the size of the net!
If we don't do something, we are all going to die of boredom while watching a game. What we have now is merely soccer on ice - and soccer is the most boring game in creation.
Other Commentaries
Don't Use the Shoot-Out!
Daigle's a block head!