#8 spot in east decided today by a shootout

[sWINGED 0]

wow. the isles needed 2 points today to get the #8 seed...it goes to a protracted shootout and they win.

on the one hand, i suppose that's pretty exciting...on the other hand, it seems rather cheap and disturbing.

what do you think (especially toronto fans!)?

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

I absolutely loved every second from the last 5 minutes of the 3rd till Brylin got stopped

[Guest Tunbo Batman]

SOs are overrated.

plus they ruin the OT fun of years past. now all they are trying to do is kill the clock to get to SO.

[T-Ruff 47]

Shootouts are better than ties 7 out of 7 days of the week....

Of course many fans are going to be angry at the shootout rule if their team does not make it because of one..... But 9/10 of these people would be praising the rule if it were vice versa..... This shootout is not the reason the Leafs missed the playoffs....Where were they in the 3rd period of the Sabres game they led 4-1? Where were they in the game vs the Islanders just 3 days ago when the lost 5-2?

The bottom line is...every team has the chance to get the job done during the season.....you can't blame a last game of the season shootout between two completely different teams.....

Edited April 9, 2007 by T-Ruff

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

I still find a lot of the OTs exciting

[hillbillywingsfan 792]

SOs are overrated.

plus they ruin the OT fun of years past. now all they are trying to do is kill the clock to get to SO.

specialy when we are going to the shoot out. worse team in the league...everyone wants us there.

[Kp-Wings 3]

I think Mack, who is the only Toronto fan here, is not terribly disappointed about the Leafs missing, since nobody thought they would come that close anyways.

I honestly don't care. I personally would have rather seen Toronto in, because I prefer Original Six teams to all others, but the Islanders are fine. In all reality, the Islanders are a better team anyways.

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

Let's face it, we all knew that this would happen eventually. When the SO was put in place, I accepted the fact that something like this might even happen to Detroit.

[betterREDthandead 58]

What's better? The game ending in a tie because New Jersey played boring defensive hockey for five minutes of OT, or the Islanders getting a chance to work around that tactic thanks to the shootout? I for one call this a shootout success story. Ties, as always, suck. And you know you didn't turn the game off.

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

I agree, ties do suck

[Wings_Rule_1010 4]

I couldn't imagine being a Islanders fan, watching that game, knowing if you lose the shootout your team's season is over. Talk about nerve-racking.

[Kp-Wings 3]

I couldn't imagine being a Islanders fan, watching that game, knowing if you lose the shootout your team's season is over. Talk about nerve-racking.

After having a 2-0 lead earlier in the game too.

[Mudvayneowns91 0]

I think it's better than the old way. You get 5 minutes of overtime and if no one scores, that's the end of the year for the Isle. How can you put the Isle's whole season on down the drain because they're unable to score in a 5 minute period. The Isle WON to get into the playoffs. Toronto would have got in based on a tie. How is that better....

[KronwallCRUNCH 5]

I would be furious if I were a Leafs fan. Just wait until the day that a shootout decides a HEAD TO HEAD fight for a playoff spot....

[Mudvayneowns91 0]

What's better? The game ending in a tie because New Jersey played boring defensive hockey for five minutes of OT, or the Islanders getting a chance to work around that tactic thanks to the shootout? I for one call this a shootout success story. Ties, as always, suck. And you know you didn't turn the game off.

thank God, you're preaching the truth

[Never_Retire_Steve 35]

Did anyone see the comparison of the player's faces during the SO between the two teams

[Mudvayneowns91 0]

I would be furious if I were a Leafs fan. Just wait until the day that a shootout decides a HEAD TO HEAD fight for a playoff spot....

I'd rather a SO decide a playoff spot rather than a one point tie. the SO has a clear winner. You can't put a team's season into a must score 5 minute period. That would have been far more unfair than the Toronto situation.

[J-Swift 0]

Did anyone see the comparison of the player's faces during the SO between the two teams

Yeah, the contrast between the moods of the two benches was pretty comical. Lou Lamoriello had his players cracking up, while half the Islander bench had their heads down. It honestly looked like Aaron Asham was ready to cry.

Anyways, I'm sure it stings for Toronto fans to miss out on the playoffs this way, but ultimately, 16 out of the 30 teams in the league make the playoffs, and if you miss out on the post-season as a result of the points awarded in a SO, you're probably not a very good team.

And as others have already mentioned, ties blow.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I would be furious if I were a Leafs fan. Just wait until the day that a shootout decides a HEAD TO HEAD fight for a playoff spot....

that'd be AWESOME

and here's why. Going into that game everyone would know who would benefit from a tie. So the team that "wins" a tie would play s***ty boring defensive hockey for five minutes and it would be awful. The shootout would force teams to actually play hockey instead of keep-away. And the shootout itself would be INTENSE. Can you imagine the atmosphere in the arena? In a way it'd be BETTER than the playoff OT game. I am NOT advocating shootouts in the playoffs EVER, but in playoff OT, the fans get burned out after a while. Whereas, during the shootout to decide the playoff berth, everybody in the place would be screaming bloody murder on every shot.

If the Wings were in that situation, I would much prefer to lose a shootout for the playoffs than lose out because one team "wins" a tie.

[Viperar 16]

that'd be AWESOME

and here's why. Going into that game everyone would know who would benefit from a tie. So the team that "wins" a tie would play s***ty boring defensive hockey for five minutes and it would be awful. The shootout would force teams to actually play hockey instead of keep-away. And the shootout itself would be INTENSE. Can you imagine the atmosphere in the arena? In a way it'd be BETTER than the playoff OT game. I am NOT advocating shootouts in the playoffs EVER, but in playoff OT, the fans get burned out after a while. Whereas, during the shootout to decide the playoff berth, everybody in the place would be screaming bloody murder on every shot.

If the Wings were in that situation, I would much prefer to lose a shootout for the playoffs than lose out because one team "wins" a tie.

i cant agree with you more

[Jedi 1,865]

I, for one, think that a team would need to do some SERIOUS soul searching before blaming a missed playoff spot on a shootout. Toronto had 31 losses and 11 OT/SO losses. Thats 42 chances (over HALF of their games) they had to pick up the extra one point needed to get into the playoffs.

The teams that make the playoffs are the ones who made the most out of the opportunities they were given. The teams that miss are the ones who blame the point structure because they didn't.

[haroldsnepsts 4,826]

Shootouts are a joke.

With the new rules and a 4 on 4 OT, there likely wouldn't be that many ties. An 82 game season can handle a few. And it at least is a legitimate way to award points.

I'd rather no shootouts. 10 minute 4 on 4 OT. 2 points to the winner. None for the loser under any circumstances. A point each for a tie.

apparently though I'm in the minority. people seem to prefer the spectacle and declaring a "winner," even if it's by arbitrary means.

[betterREDthandead 58]

I, for one, think that a team would need to do some SERIOUS soul searching before blaming a missed playoff spot on a shootout. Toronto had 31 losses and 11 OT/SO losses. Thats 42 chances (over HALF of their games) they had to pick up the extra one point needed to get into the playoffs.

The teams that make the playoffs are the ones who made the most out of the opportunities they were given. The teams that miss are the ones who blame the point structure because they didn't.

Truth. I don't really dig the idea that a below-average team gets a playoff berth, but one advantage of that is that teams that miss the playoffs have absolutely NO just reason to complain about the circumstances.

[Mudvayneowns91 0]

Shootouts are a joke.

With the new rules and a 4 on 4 OT, there likely wouldn't be that many ties. An 82 game season can handle a few. And it at least is a legitimate way to award points.

I'd rather no shootouts. 10 minute 4 on 4 OT. 2 points to the winner. None for the loser under any circumstances. A point each for a tie.

apparently though I'm in the minority. people seem to prefer the spectacle and declaring a "winner," even if it's by arbitrary means.

Well that's nice for ifs and buts. I'd rather have no limit OT and let them play till someone scores. But I'd much rather a team get into the playoffs due to a win on SO rather than some team limping in cause of 5 minuite period of trap hockey that turns into a 2-2 tie.

Edited April 9, 2007 by Mudvayneowns91

[WingsWingsWings 3]

I honestly don't care. I personally would have rather seen Toronto in, because I prefer Original Six teams to all others, but the Islanders are fine. In all reality, the Islanders are a better team anyways.