Count ‘em, three times. Freshman forward Jack Eichel has scored in overtime three times to win games for the No. 2 Boston University men’s hockey team this season, against the University of Maine, the No. 10 University of Massachusetts Lowell and the No. 15 University of Vermont. Eichel leads the country with three overtime winners and is the first Terrier since Hockey East’s creation to have that many in one season. He has played less than a year at the collegiate level and already has three memorable tallies to add to his already impressive NCAA resume. Every time Eichel has hit the back of the net in extra time, he celebrates with unabashed enthusiasm and his teammates pour over him. That’s how exciting overtime is. That’s why the NHL needs to rid itself of the shootout.
Hockey East is a perfect example of why the NHL needs to nix the “skills competition” at the end of a game to decide the result. Teams play full strength five-on-five hockey for five minutes, grinding as hard as they can, and if nothing happens, it ends as a tie. That’s how it should be, purely hockey, nothing more. No fancy dangling, no spinoramas, just the game itself deciding the result.
In post-regulation, BU is 3-1-4 this season so far. Its only loss was a 3-2 decision against No. 4 Harvard University on Nov. 25. BU has participated in one shootout this season so far, winning against non-conference opponent Wisconsin, a member of the Big Ten conference, but the result didn’t count in the standings because it isn’t a part of how Hockey East games are decided. Shootouts do exist, though, in Big Ten play.
As of Tuesday, 181 NHL games have gone to overtime, with 99 resulting in shootouts. Overall, 178 of 307 overtime games went into a shootout in the 2013-14 season, which accounts for roughly 58 percent of all games that went to overtime and 7.24 percent of all games. If the current shootout rate for this season continues, the league should see about 172 shootouts in 315 overtime games by year’s end.
If the NHL doesn’t want to use college hockey to modify its post-regulation rules, just look at its minor league counterpart, the AHL. The AHL has instilled multiple forms of overtime, four-on-four for three minutes, then three-on-three for four minutes, and finally if that isn’t enough, a shootout will decide the game. Last season, 64.7 percent of the games that went into overtime continued into a shootout, and this season, that number has been slashed down to 25.7 percent. Four teams have yet to play in a shootout in this AHL season, meaning every single one of their overtime games has been decided by playing hockey.
Reactions have been mixed from AHL players, but most seem to like the excitement the open ice brings in a three-on-three format, a lot of room for players to skate, pass and shoot, leaving little time for goalies to think on odd-man rushes. Sure, some goalies may like just 1-on-0 where they focus on one shooter, but think of the excitement a 2-on-1 or a 2-on-0 brings during not just overtime, but a regular game.
Back at the NHL level, players make sure they’re just as prepared for a shootout as they are for regulation.
“There’s scouting reports. I think every team does it, just for goalie tendencies,” said Boston Bruins winger Reilly Smith. “About once a week, we’ll do shootouts at the end of practice … [the shootout is] a good thing. It’s a key part of the game now.”
Smith has been key in Bruins shootouts, scoring game-winners during shootouts last season against the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning, and this season versus the Detroit Red Wings. “Those [second] points put you in or take you out of the playoffs, and I’ve been fortunate enough to been put in some spots where I was able to win games.”
Another Bruins forward who has been relied on throughout his career in the shootout is center Patrice Bergeron, scoring 22 goals on 69 career attempts as of mid-December, eight of those goals being game deciders.
“You want to go out there, if you’re called upon, and do your job,” Bergeron said about his career numbers. “To have more goals and more games end up in overtime, finish in overtime before a shootout … I don’t think it’s a bad idea.”
If the NHL wants something exciting and true-to-the-game to decide matches, I implore them to get rid of the shootout and figure something else out.
