With all due respect to Toronto coach Pat Quinn, who hates the shootout, does anybody feel cheated when the cheap contrivance of a penalty-shot shootout decided which team got a second point – and a win – when the Blackhawks beat the Avalanche a couple of weeks ago in the Pepsi Center? Didn’t think so.
The biggest mystery in all of this is why it took so long to come around to the reality that for what the NHL charges, a winner and a loser in the regular season are mandatory.
As with any experiment, the NHL should be open to tweaking as it goes, and my only mild quibble so far is that the current three shooters per team aren’t enough. Unless it stretches beyond that in the event of a tie after three rounds, that’s over too quick and only leans into the punch from Quinn and others that it’s more of a show than a fair way to determine an outcome.
As at the Olympics and in other international competitions, the shootout should involve at least five shooters per team. Yes, that can create strain, wear and tear on goaltenders, but that’s what they’re paid to face. Plus, it can turn the shootout into a bit more of a democratic enterprise if each team has to get down to a fifth shooter.
It also is clear that the best strategy is to go with your best shooter first, to set the tone, and that means Colorado coach Joel Quenneville should always lead with Joe Sakic, which wasn’t the case in the shootout loss to the Blackhawks. Alex Tanguay beat Nikolai Khabibulin first, but Marek Svatos missed the net and Sakic never got a chance to take a shot when all three of Chicago’s shooters bested Peter Budaj.
There is friendly disagreement on the issue of whether awarding a point to the team that loses in overtime or the shootout is a good idea.
I’m fine with it.
But those who feel otherwise base their stand on reasonable views. One, heightening the stakes by awarding two points for a win and none for any loss could add to the entertainment value and emotional edge after regulation. Two, eliminating the consolation points would simplify the standings.
My vote will change if it becomes apparent that more teams are playing conservatively in the final stages of the third period to make sure they get at least the guaranteed point and have a shot at the second point in overtime and, if necessary, the shootout.
However, with the league opened up – at least so far – there seems less and less chance of that happening.
Plus, if a team for some reason has proven to struggle in shootouts, a smart coach would further emphasize the nothing-to-lose aspect in the four-on-four overtime and encourage going for broke.
What’s the point? Speaking of the standings, the official NHL standings don’t differentiate between the two different ways to get one point for a loss. The third column is the total number of one-point losses, either in overtime or in a shootout. For example, the NHL had the New York Rangers, who had two losses in overtime and one in a shootout, at 5-3-3 heading into their Saturday night game against Montreal.
But the standings distributed by The Associated Press – the one run in most newspapers – break down those single-point games into overtime losses and shootout losses, so the Rangers were shown at 5-3-2-1.
The Eagles have landed
The Colorado Eagles made the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Last month during a visit to the Hall in Toronto, I noticed a picture of the Eagles celebrating their Central Hockey League championship in the “Hometown Heroes” section.
In their third season, the Eagles had a 73-game sellout streak at the 5,289-seat Budweiser Events Center in Loveland going into their Saturday night home game against Wichita. They continue to draw attention and fans from the booming northern Colorado corridor. A few Denver-area Avalanche fans gave the Eagles a try last season during the lockout, when they could get tickets, but for the most part, the franchise’s success at the gate had very little to do with the lack of NHL competition – credit geography and reasonably priced tickets.
Greg Pankewicz, the 35-year-old right winger who was the CHL’s MVP last season, has returned for a 15th pro season.
Manny’s legacy
A lot of us wondered if Manny Legace ever was going to be considered a legitimate No. 1 goalie, much less capable of helping an elite team deep into the playoffs. But when he became the first NHL goalie to win 10 games in a month in a Thursday night win over Chicago, he had a right to be proud.
“When my grandkids are around, I’ll be able to tell them I wasn’t just a slug in a rocking chair,” Legace told reporters.
And the Wings’ fast start brought this from Brendan Shanahan: “I guess a lot of people thought the salary cap was going to be the end of the Red Wings, but we knew better. We were supposedly a very old team that had lost its advantage over all the other teams. I don’t think we used it to motivate us. We just felt differently.”
Forgive? Yes. Forget? We’ll see
Tampa Bay coach John Tortorella apologized – kind of – for ripping Atlanta’s Erik Boulton for his vicious elbowing of the Lighting’s Paul Ranger recently. Tortorella said he didn’t believe a coach should criticize another team’s players. “I respect what players have to do in this league, especially those type of role players who do a lot of things other people aren’t willing to do,” Tortorella told The St. Petersburg Times. “But there still has to be some honor in it.”
For the record, Ranger said Boulton called him and “felt pretty bad. He apologized. I don’t think he meant to cheap shot me or anything. It was a natural kind of reaction. I kind of fumbled for the puck, and he tried to catch a piece of me.”
Boulton’s regret is admirable, but anyone who saw the play in question knows Ranger was being too nice.
That funny Foppa
Peter Forsberg finally got his first goal of the season against the Panthers on Thursday night. More notably, he has an assist on all nine of Simon Gagne’s goals. Forsberg failed on a penalty shot in regulation and missed the net.
“I was looking for Simon,” Forsberg told reporters, “but then I realized he was on the bench.” And Forsberg added, “I hope I was chosen because I was the last guy to touch the puck. It would be stupid to pick me otherwise.”
Hey, how come all these guys become witty after they leave the Avalanche?
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-820-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
