You love the shootout because your team is so good at it. It's like a bonus point.

I love how Bill refers to it as the skills competition. Thats all it is. I hate the idea of a team game being made into such an individual spectacle.

Can you imagine the NBA ending on the a three point shootout or baseball ending with a home run derby?

People have made ties out to be this awful thing, but they're better than shootouts.

End rant
- PhillySportsGuy

the devils missed the playoffs because they went 0-12 this season. not that i mind, i mean, (frank) them. but still...that's weak sauce.

the devils missed the playoffs because they went 0-12 this season. not that i mind, i mean, (frank) them. but still...that's weak sauce.
- hammarby31

i mean. going 0 - 12 is also weak sauce.

I don't have that luxury right now. If I was at school and the better half was within 2 blocks of me, then sure!
- Giroux_Is_God

trust me when i tell you that being married and having a 3 and 4 year old...you take what you can get.

i mean. going 0 - 12 is also weak sauce.
- stayinthefnnet

it is. no question about that.

The trouble with 1 vs 16 is travel. In those playoffs, in 1980, the Flyers first round was vs Edmonton. Then they played Minnesota. The semi-final was against the Rangers, and they finished up vs the Isles.
- Jsaquella

the first round was also a best of 5...so fewer games, too.

imho, it would make for such a better ending, not to mention the opportunity to create more rivalries by having playoffs between the conferences in earlier rounds. the flyers beat the oilers in the first round of the 1980 playoffs. i think that's awesome. the nhl (frank)ed up a good thing. shocking.
- hammarby31

It's all about the travel now. Kings played Sharks and Ducks before having to travel in this series. Rangers had Flyers and Pens. Hawks had Blues and Wild. That's just the way the league wants it. And truth be told I think we get better hockey in the long run because of it.

the devils missed the playoffs because they went 0-12 this season. not that i mind, i mean, (frank) them. but still...that's weak sauce.
- hammarby31

i mean. going 0 - 12 is also weak sauce.
- stayinthefnnet

The hockey shootout just lends itself well to deciding the extra point in a tie game. Soccer is similar, but the goalie is at more of a disadvantage than hockey imo. Bill can call it a skills comp all he wants. He's correct. Hockey is a game mainly comprised of skill, and skaters often face a goalie in a breakaway situation in a game. I have no problem with it for regular season when time and travel are more critical than playing a game every second day in the playoffs.
- rockychocbill

true, except an in-game breakaway and a shootout are different animals.

trust me when i tell you that being married and having a 3 and 4 year old...you take what you can get.
- hammarby31

is it like being in law school and not having a single girl in the program that you dont pretty much hope steps in dog poop every day for the rest of her life?

trust me when i tell you that being married and having a 3 and 4 year old...you take what you can get.
- hammarby31

I got a news flash for ya Hammar. It doesn't change when they're 20 either.

true, except an in-game breakaway and a shootout are different animals.
- hammarby31

most certainly.

no truer testament to that than good ole MAF.

no goalie in the league id rather have in a shootout. half of the time, he is playing around when he is making saves because its too easy for him, and he knows his team will bail him out if he does let one in.

but an in game situation, put it this way. A blindfolded Raffl wins every time.

trust me when i tell you that being married and having a 3 and 4 year old...you take what you can get.
- hammarby31

Oh, I trust you wholeheartedly.

most certainly.

no truer testament to that than good ole MAF.

no goalie in the league id rather have in a shootout. half of the time, he is playing around when he is making saves because its too easy for him, and he knows his team will bail him out if he does let one in.

but an in game situation, put it this way. A blindfolded Raffl wins every time.
- stayinthefnnet

Sounds like bryz

Sounds like bryz
- Giroux_Is_God

i feel like they should be forced to sit in a room and just talk to each other for a few hours. i think that would make for a good podcast.

It's all about the travel now. Kings played Sharks and Ducks before having to travel in this series. Rangers had Flyers and Pens. Hawks had Blues and Wild. That's just the way the league wants it. And truth be told I think we get better hockey in the long run because of it.
- rockychocbill

i understand that's a factor. i'm not convinced we'd get better hockey because of the way it is now. they could opt to go back to the 2-3-2 to minimize it, like they did in the 85 final. i don't like that, but it's been done before.

to me, cross-pollination (probably the wrong analogy) is a great way to enhance rivalries league wide and make the playoffs more compelling. edmonton-carolina....oooooooh, what a final round. good lord, are you (frank)ing kidding me? now, if they develop a history because they get to play earlier...that helps. it also helps if you can have a bitter, age-old rivarly compete for the cup like montreal-boston. i know it will never happen again, so it's a moot topic.

- Giroux_Is_God

is it like being in law school and not having a single girl in the program that you dont pretty much hope steps in dog poop every day for the rest of her life?
- stayinthefnnet

you'd have to ask my brother wilsonecho91 about that. he's an attorney.

i understand that's a factor. i'm not convinced we'd get better hockey because of the way it is now. they could opt to go back to the 2-3-2 to minimize it, like they did in the 85 final. i don't like that, but it's been done before.

to me, cross-pollination (probably the wrong analogy) is a great way to enhance rivalries league wide and make the playoffs more compelling. edmonton-carolina....oooooooh, what a final round. good lord, are you (frank)ing kidding me? now, if they develop a history because they get to play earlier...that helps. it also helps if you can have a bitter, age-old rivarly compete for the cup like montreal-boston. i know it will never happen again, so it's a moot topic.
- hammarby31

an added bonus. teams that like to just choke and hold will have a much harder time, because they actually call penalties in the regular season.

true, except an in-game breakaway and a shootout are different animals.
- hammarby31

For sure. But it's as close as it can get. If the goalies were getting beat 80% of the time somehow then I'd have an issue with it. But I think the scoring % is less than 25%, maybe even less than 15%. I can live with that.

And I love all the coaches like Tortorella who say they hate it, yet stand on the bench watching anxiously and celebrating if they win. That is so franking hypocritical to me. Just hand in your lineup card and go to the dressing room. Or at least just stand there stone faced and don't celebrate if you win it.

Same for the players who complain about it yet lean over the bench watching curiously. Eff off. If the NHLPA doesn't like it then they should just shoot every puck into the corner and skate off the ice until the league drops it. Truth is they actually like it. They've been doing it on roadways since they were 7 years old.

I got a news flash for ya Hammar. It doesn't change when they're 20 either.
- rockychocbill

why do you have to crush what little dreams i have left? i know this will be my future, but i lie to myself and say it won't be.

For sure. But it's as close as it can get. If the goalies were getting beat 80% of the time somehow then I'd have an issue with it. But I think the scoring % is less than 25%, maybe even less than 15%. I can live with that.

And I love all the coaches like Tortorella who say they hate it, yet stand on the bench watching anxiously and celebrating if they win. That is so franking hypocritical to me. Just hand in your lineup card and go to the dressing room. Or at least just stand there stone faced and don't celebrate if you win it.

Same for the players who complain about it yet lean over the bench watching curiously. Eff off. If the NHLPA doesn't like it then they should just shoot every puck into the corner and skate off the ice until the league drops it. Truth is they actually like it. They've been doing it on roadways since they were 7 years old.
- rockychocbill

an added bonus. teams that like to just choke and hold will have a much harder time, because they actually call penalties in the regular season.
- stayinthefnnet

i'm not sure i follow.

For sure. But it's as close as it can get. If the goalies were getting beat 80% of the time somehow then I'd have an issue with it. But I think the scoring % is less than 25%, maybe even less than 15%. I can live with that.

And I love all the coaches like Tortorella who say they hate it, yet stand on the bench watching anxiously and celebrating if they win. That is so franking hypocritical to me. Just hand in your lineup card and go to the dressing room. Or at least just stand there stone faced and don't celebrate if you win it.

Same for the players who complain about it yet lean over the bench watching curiously. Eff off. If the NHLPA doesn't like it then they should just shoot every puck into the corner and skate off the ice until the league drops it. Truth is they actually like it. They've been doing it on roadways since they were 7 years old.
- rockychocbill

man the devils must end up in a lot of shootouts.

why do you have to crush what little dreams i have left? i know this will be my future, but i lie to myself and say it won't be.
- hammarby31

It's important to distinguish between dreams and fantasies. Fantasies never have to die.

i'm not sure i follow.
- hammarby31

i dont think it would end up being an even 8 8 split if we just did an even scheduled for all the teams in the league. teams like NJ and NY would have a more difficult time creeping into the playoffs if they were forced to play more western teams, and more western teams would get into the playoffs. i still am a big believer that from top to bottom the west is a better conference.