COLUMBUS, Ohio — There’s nothing wrong with ties in sports. And we’re not talking about the kind Brian Burke casually drapes around his neck to look like every father of the bride at the end of a wedding reception waiting to settle up the bar tab.
Sometimes, a draw is a fair result, especially in the NHL where three-on-three overtime gives teams ample open ice and opportunity to decide a winner and loser. Which brings us to the topic of shootouts. This marks the 16th season the league has settled a team sport with an individual skills competition.
It was a novel idea coming out of the 2004-05 lockout and it created some initial buzz. Think of Sidney Crosby winning the 2008 Winter Classic in the Buffalo snow globe. But it’s become almost anticlimactic since the NHL adopted the frenetic five-minute, sudden-death three-on-three period at the end of regulation in 2015. It reminds me of the 'Seinfeld' scene where Kramer is asked if he’s ever faked orgasms.
“Well you know, if it’s enough already and I just wanna get some sleep.”
That’s where I am with shootouts — enough already.
Granted, the competition has been quite kind to the local team. The Penguins own an 83-53 all-time record and their winning percentage (.610) ranks second only to the Avalanche (.635). Thank you, Crosby (40.4 shooting percentage) and Kris Letang (.35.7).
But with each year it feels like an increasingly hollow way to end a regular-season game. I’m also in favor of abolishing the losers’ point, but the league loves awarding them to keep mediocre teams in the playoff hunt. In the spirit of compromise, I’d keep them around — allowing for a point each at the end of regulation — provided the board of governors dropped the shootout.
If the score remains tied after the 3-on-3 session, both sides earn a point and everyone gets a little more sleep.
YOUR TURN: Should the NHL get rid of the shootouts?