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Originally Posted by Fire
That would make the shootout pretty much meaningless, why should fans watch it? Might as well get rid of the shootout and bring back ties. I wouldn't have a problem with that.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
I wouldn't have a problem with just having ties after OT either. I know I have travelled to other cities to watch a game, seen a tie, and didn't feel like I had missed out on anything.
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You guys might not have a problem with getting rid of the shootout but the NHL certainly would. They already understand that the shootout is fun and exciting and it engages new fans that might not yet understand the full game. I highly doubt that the shootout will ever been removed from the game.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ken0042
It also brings the jump into the game that is sometimes missing towards the end of the 3rd, or even in the OT as teams work towards getting to the shootout. I still recall seeing teams pull the goalie in OT towards the end of the season, because they really needed that extra point.
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The problem with the proposed 1 point for a shootout win system is that it is an even bigger disaster to the standings than the loser point. Now instead of games randomly becoming "3 point" games they only become "1 point games". At least the hybrid 3 point games can justify giving both teams 1 point because they played the regulation game to a tie and then giving out the third point because one team eventually wins. The 1 point game system has no logical justification and creates as big of a mess as the current system.
The problem with the current point system isn't that there is overtime or that there is a shootout, the problem is that not all games are valued the same. Some games are 2 points in the standings and some games are 3 points. For the system to be fixed every game should have the same value. Either make every game worth 3 points or 2 points or 1 point.
From an entertainment standpoint, I would rather have a 3 point system with 5 player shootouts and no overtime. The 4v4 overtime is as bad of a gimmick as the shootout and it seems most teams play the 5 minute overtime as a formality to get to the shootout. So why keep going through that formality? The only reason the 4v4 overtime was brought into the NHL is because they wanted to test it out as a possible permanent format for regulation hockey.
Besides, even the shootout haters have to acknowledge how far the shootout trend has spread. I know most of the rec hockey leagues in the city now resolve ties with a shootout (whereas they used to just accept ties before). Its fun, simple and fast.