The recent quadruple overtime marathon that opened the Vancouver-Dallas series last week has some in the hockey media suggesting that the shoot-out, used to settled tie games after a five-minute four-on-four period, should be carried over into the playoffs.
The rationale behind this is two-fold; first, that since the shootout is already used to decide regular season games it only makes sense for continuity to have it settle playoff games, and second, that too many overtime games in the NHL go on far too long.
I’m against carrying the shootout into the playoffs, since I believe it should be a team effort to win a playoff game, rather than an individual effort, which is what the shootout is, one shooter against one goaltender.
Now I can cite my reasons in detail why I’m against it, but I’m not going to bother because, quite frankly, I think television – American television in particular – will ultimately bring about the implementation of the shootout in the playoffs.
The NHL is trying desperately to raise its profile in the American sports market. They’re not trying to win back current American hockey fans, most of whom I expect probably feel the same way as most Canadian hockey fans, that the shootout doesn’t belong in the playoffs.
No, the NHL is trying to attract new fans, and by doing that they’re trying to get more face time on television, but a potential stumbling block during playoff time is overtime.
TV execs aren’t gonna like the possibility of an NHL playoff game going into one overtime period, and any games that go over that limit are likely to have them clutching their chest at the thought of potentially pre-empting other shows to fit in an overtime marathon.
Television is king in American sports (oh heck, in sports anywhere in the world). If NBC’s or Versus’s execs were to tell the NHL that they love the product but hate the overtime in the playoffs and would prefer to see the shootout implemented to settle these playoff games in a timely manner, well, I think we know what direction the league will go.
For me, it’s not a question of whether the shootout belongs in NHL playoff hockey, but rather, how long will it take pressure from TV broadcasters to force the league into implementing it.
Hey Spector,
I wrote something similar on this topic a couple days ago. Check it out... but yeah, long story short, I am vehemently opposed to changing playoff OT.
Having the shootout in the playoffs is a terrible idea. Even college hockey doesn't have it. Nothing says "playoffs" like seeing what a team is made of after they play a full 2 and a half games in one sitting. And I think you all would agree that watching Dallas and Vancouver go at it for 7 periods is FAR more exciting than a shootout (though it might require more coffee the next day...) Though I agree that the American market may one day insist on the shootout citing high demand and new fans, even this logic is faulty. If that logic worked, expansion teams like Nashville--meant to bring new American fans--wouldnt be playing to half-empty arenas night after night (i dont know the figures, but i was also rather certain they're not even selling out playoff games).
So am I, Andy, but I really don't believe there'll be anything any of us can do about it if the league gets pressure from their broadcasters to change it. I hope I'm wrong, I really do.
Shootout doesn't belong in the playoffs, definitely not. I know a lot of people who watch regular season games and if the game goes into a shootout, they turn it off. Like you said, its a team effort not individual effort and if the NHL brings the shootout into the playoffs, you'll see a lot of fans, old and new ditch this sport. If the american's want it that bad, then create a sport where you can do, don't ruin Canada's game because of their broadcasters preference, you don't see CBC or TSN complaining about long games...in fact, i'm pretty sure they consider it a treat.
Playoff hockey with a shootout. I would rather have hell freeze over. Guys I would love to hear what ya think of this idea.
1 full overtime period at 5 on 5 then after that go to 4 on 4 for following periods. In the Stanly Cup finals 5 on 5 the entire way
I still feel in the regular season instead of the shootout just do one 10 minute period at 4 on 4. I would say 85 percent of the time someone would score in 4 on 4 in 10 mins
Last edited by True_kings_fan on April 16th at 11:03 PM.
Like bloody h*** The fact they are used in regular season impacting the teams making the playoffs is damaging enough to the game's integrity. I want a winner, not a gimmick.
Those suggesting a shootout in OT are probably not die-hard hockey fans... hell, they probably arent even hockey fans. This is a terrible idea, and Im sure everyone on this board is going to despise this idea.
If it happens, the NHL sure would lose my respect.
TSN and Sportsnet both did a poll and on both of them the fans voted over 70% to keeping the playoffs the way they are. Maybe the NHL should listen to its fans here. The only reason why this is being discussed is because the game happened in the West. All the panelists from TSN and Sportsnet were whining that they had to stay up until three in the morning. If they don't want to watch it, go to bed. The only highlight they'll miss according to them is the game winner(this is considering the comments that the panelists made that nothing happened in the Vancouver Dallas game).
Shootouts are a horrible idea in the playoffs. The only shootout scenario will be a penalty shot. A shootout would only punish the losing team who might have come back 2 or 3 goals only to lose without even being on the ice. i know they all have faith in their goalies, but a hockey playoff game should be decided by playing hockey, not by a skills competition.
I hope the NHL doesn't look at this before they look at head shots. Patrick Eaves sorry man, but this is playoff hockey so keep your head up next time. As long as the rules allow the players to hit like this, they will. Don't like the rule, but haven't once been made at a guy for knocking another guy out with his head down. Funny thing I remember one of the first things they teach you as a kid growing up is to keep your head up, do they forget to teach this a pro level?
Hey Spector, I have to agree with you on this one. The Dallas vs Vancouver game was an awesome treat for us on the west coast. I think that game was a perfect example of why the shootout should NOT be brought in to the playoffs. This is a team sport, and the games should be won by the team as a whole. I also believe teams should not be rewarded for losing a game, whether it's in regulation or overtime. I also think the league should get rid of the point system, and adopt something similar to what the NFL has in place. Then again, that's just one American's idea.
Last edited by kings_fan_27 on April 17th at 9:15 AM.
The shootout in the regular season is exciting however in the playoffs it is a very bad idea. I like the idea of settling things 5v5 until the first goal is scored. And I think the sudden death format is WAY more exciting than a shootout. Think of the crowd and the fans oooing and awwwing as a shot hits off the post, a glorious scoring chance from the slot robbed cold by the goalie, and the drama on a 5v4 power play that may end the game. The shootout doesn't give hockey fans that kind of excitement. Since the series is seven games it is imperative that the teams win 5v5 to truly find out which team is better.
Hey Spec. Don't be so negative. We all know that television is run by the most ignorant people to ever walk the face of the earth. But we must have faith in the true hockey fans, that have endured through all these many years of Gary Betman and the laser puck and the work stoppage, to carry hockey into the twenty first century and who realize that the less you change about the game the better it is. Sure we all have to suffer through those stupid shoot-outs during the regular season but if television ever tried to pull that #### in the playoffs I'm pretty sure even the players would mutiny. But you are absolutely right in worrying about such a travesty because we all know how incredibly moronic T.V. executives are.
Shootouts are cool and all, but shootouts are shootouts. Hockey is hockey. Let's keep Hockey in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Ryan7878: I thought the Eaves hit was a really swell play. He had his head down, which is a no-no for any serious hockey player. During my coaching days, I constantly told my kids to keep their head up. Armstrong made a great read on the play, and delivered a brutal hit. Eaves just had his head down. The refs made the right call not penalizing Armstrong.
Thats what I don't understand. Why are guys being caught with their heads down so much. I remember in junior high and high school playing ball hockey being told the same thing. When I started playing ice hockey at 6 with no contact they said the same thing. You never know when your going to run into someone with your head down. It can be an accident or not an accident, but the only one to blame is yourself.
P.S.
Its playoff hockey which is more intense so look out for more of these clean hits.
Last edited by Ryan7878 on April 17th at 11:43 AM.
Fact is, what makes the NHL playoffs great is the marathon OT games. I remember being in grade school falling alsleep sometime around the 2nd OT of the 4 OT Pens/Caps thriller in '96. Sudden Death is the way to go, shootouts are nice for the regular season but overtimes are what the playoffs special. Keep the OT and for all you whiners in football that say that a coin toss determines who wins, PLAY SOME D YOU WUSSES. Sorry, different sport but I had to get that out there
Deciding any playoff game with a shootout would be retarded. Five minutes of 4-on-4 skating and 3 skaters flicking pucks at the net during the regular season is cheap already. If Gary Bettman does this then he is a bigger poo-poo head than I thought.
I think a 20 min overtime at 5 on 5 then any overtimes after that at 4 on 4 would work. I love the 4on4 Ot as it is. The ice is wide open and lets the stars skate
Don't mess with overtime! NHL playoff overtime is like nothing else in professional sports, and there is not better three words in the sporting world than "Next goal wins". I don't care if there is one overtime that lasts 30 seconds or 4 overtime periods that last 4 hours ... it doesn't get any better than that. Leave playoff overtime alone dammit - to heck with out-of-touch tv executives and bean counters!
Hi everyone!
Here in Germany we also use the shootout in the top league to decide tied games - even in the play-offs. With one exception: when the outcome of the game can clinch the series there will be no shootouts. That would mean if a team already has 3 wins, there will be no shootouts for the remaining games of this series. Would that be a format the NHL and the TV broadcasters could get along with??
My take on shootouts: I don't like them. Why shouldn't a game end tied, what's the problem with that? Why does there has to be a winner? When two teams have been fighting for 65 minutes to a let's say 4-4 deadlock, then none of those two teams should go one the record with two points and none should get an (OT)L.
The marathon overtime game between Vancouver and Dallas certainly generated discussion within and without the hockey community.
I listened to Bill Clement (the Versus and NBC hockey anchour) on XM Radio complain about the long hours that he had to work that night and declare that something had to change. (Don't like fires, Bill? Then don't be a fireman.)
I heard ESPN Radio host Jim Valvano -- a self-professed friend of hockey -- earnestly ask if there was not a better solution to overtime because "to the average sports fan these multi-overtime games make the NHL look like a freakshow." (So extended overtime makes the NHL look like a freakshow, but wilding NFLers, juiced up baseball players and tattoo covered NBAers are okay normal?)
Personally, I think it's a matter of perception and how you market the game. Was Vancouver/Dallas a tiresome game that ran on too long, a freakshow? Or was it a game for the ages, a duel between two goaltenders with something to prove (the playoff rookie versus the playoff veteran seeking redemption) and two teams that refused to quit?
I'm all for growing the sport and making it more accessible, particularly in the US market. But not at the expense of killing the things that make hockey unique and special.
I've watched hundreds of playoff games in my life, as have most of you. Apart from the various games featuring our favourite teams, which ones do you remember vividly? Odds are it's a marathon game.
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Last edited by Matt_McCallum on April 18th at 1:55 PM.
To a certain generation of fan, all I need to say is "Islanders-Capitals" and instantly you're back in 1987, remembering the Easter Epic.
What do we remember most about the Edmonton-Boston Final in 1990? (Nope, the generator blew and it was lights out in the 1988 series. Good try, though.) Likely it's Petr Klima, after having been benched by John Muckler for five periods, scoring in triple overtime. (Having barely played that night because he ticked off Muckler in the first period, the guy was so fresh he skated circles around the Bruins!)
Would MLB stand for suggestions any extra-inning games in the World Series be settled by a Home Run Derby? Would the NFL consider ending the Superbowl with a field goal kicking contest? Of course not.
We need to stop apologizing for the nuances of our sport and instead embrace them, trumpet them and market the snot out of them.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on April 18th at 2:33 PM.
If we're really concerned about the length of games, here's a radical concept: Bring back the tie, including for the playoffs. (Before any of you release the hounds, I'm not advocating this, merely throwing it out for consideration.)
TV programmers and on-air talent are guaranteed to have a game that will end in 2.5 to 3 hours. They won't necessarily end with the winner that Americans so desperately crave, but they will end before that all-important infomercial has to run, an acceptable trade-off.
What would be the impact if this insane idea? Let's consider a real-world example and look at the 1993 Stanley Cup Final between the Los Angeles Kings and the Montreal Canadiens.
Los Angeles won Game 1 over Montreal 4-1. The next three games were won by Montreal, but all in overtime. Those games now become ties because we ended them after 60 minutes. Game 5, the deciding game thanks to those three OT victories, was won by Montreal 4-1.
So in the proposed model, the 1993 Stanley Cup Final after five games would have both Los Angeles and Montreal tied with identical 1-1-3 records with two games to play. Moreover, each team would have 12 goals-for and 12 goals-against. Talk about evenly matched!
Let's say for sake of argument the next two games end in ties, or that the teams split the final two games with identical scores, so they finish the series with the same record and the same goals for and against. That's when sudden death overtime comes into play.
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Last edited by Matt_McCallum on April 18th at 2:35 PM.
The result is that endless overtime would be something that could only happen following the seventh game. That would reduce the potential for OT to a maximum of 15 times per playoff season (once per series) and OT would become something very rare and special, like a penalty shot.
I don't think this is better than what we have now, but to my mind it beats the daylights out of ending a team game through individual shootouts.
Last edited by Matt_McCallum on April 18th at 2:33 PM.
Matt,
Well said. Candid and informative with a dose of nostalgia. The powers that be need to stop placing so much emphasis on tweaking the game and just market it for the great game that it is.
I'm Lyle Richardson, also known as Spector, Foxsports.com 's "Prince of Pucks".,which is based on the fact I live in Prince Edward Island, Canada and I couldn't think of a better byline. I've been an NHL hockey commentator since 1998 on my website, Spector's Hockey, and I'm a contributing writer for Foxsports.com , The Hockey News and Eishockey News. I'm also a regular on The Faceoff Hockey Show and a frequent guest on "The Late Crew" on The Team 1200 Ottawa.
