NHL Playoffs 2011: Is It Time to Introduce Shootouts to Stanley Cup Playoffs?

The Stanley Cup playoffs are arguably the most dramatic playoffs in professional sports today.  Every game is played at a fevered pace, every goal has meaning, deep-seeded rivalries are created out of the series played and overtime is the most dramatic in all professional sports.

That being said, recent changes in the format of how overtime is handled in the regular season are now making people wonder about the effects it could have on the postseason as well.  Shootouts are something that created a lot of drama in the regular season, what impact could it have in the playoffs?

This article is going to address the positives and negatives of introducing shootouts into the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Positives - Drama

It's very true that there is already a lot of drama packed into every single playoff game, and even more so in the games that go into overtime; but imagine how much more drama could be brought into the playoffs if the shootout happened. 

Imagine the shootout deciding who wins Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals.  There would not be a single person sitting in any building, bar or restaurant carrying the game.  The tension would be absolutely palpable in every location.  The joys would be greater, and the losses would be that much more devastating. 

How could that be a bad thing?

Time

Don't get me wrong, I've sat up watching a never-ending playoff game that didn't end until the fourth overtime just like the rest of you have, but sometimes those things get a little out of hand. 

The shootout could be a good way to make sure that no more than two overtimes are played and nobody has to fall asleep in the chairs of the arena because the game doesn't end until 2:00 in the morning.

The Best vs. the Best

This would just add to the drama of the whole event.  Imagine a lineup of players like this: Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier and Steven Stamkos against Marc-Andre Fleury.  That could be a very realistic possibility, and how amazing would it be to see the greatest scorers in the league go up against the best puck-stoppers in the league?

Negatives - There's No Need

The shootout was put into the regular season so that every game would have a winner and a loser.  This is already a truth about games in the playoffs. If there isn't a winner at the end of the game, they play until there is one.

Adding the shootout would be an unnecessary solution to a problem that doesn't even exist in the current playoff format.

The Drama is Already There

Overtime is an intense time as it is.  Putting the shootout in the playoffs might actually diminish the amount of drama in a given game because the shootout has a prescribed formula.  One guy skates in and shoots, then another guy skates in and shoots. 

How is that more exciting than seeing the action of the game, wondering who is going to be the hero and who is going to be the dog?  Seeing the nerves on the faces of each of the players on the bench, wondering if they're going to get another shift makes the playoffs more intense.

The rise in the crowd is multiplied by at least two when there are scoring chances in overtime, and the reactions are even bigger when a chance is thwarted by a great defensive play or a spectacular save.  Why try to replace it if it's already there?

Shootouts Eliminate the Team Aspect of the Game

There is nothing more representative of the team nature of hockey then watching the skating of the Stanley Cup.  How one player passes it to another, who passes it to another.  This ritual is something that absolutely demonstrates the fact that only a complete team can win the Stanley Cup.

Introducing the shootout into the playoffs would undermine the basic team aspect of the game.  We would no longer be deciding games based off a team effort, we'd be basing them off who had the better three shooters that could skate in unmolested from center ice against a goalie with no defensive help.

To me, I would rather sit and watch four overtimes and see the better team win than let it come down to a shootout.

Conclusion

The shootout definitely adds a sense of drama to the proceedings, and has been used to solve many an international medal game.  The big difference in that situation is that those are single elimination tournaments, not best-of-seven series.

The shootout could add more drama, save some of the fans the time of a triple overtime game, and even give us the excitement of seeing the best players in the game facing off one on one.  It could do all of those things, but the bottom line is that it isn't necessary.

The Stanley Cup playoffs already ensure that every single game has a winner and a loser, and it does so in a manner that allows the better team to win the game, not just three breakaways. 

The Stanley Cup is a team achievement, to introduce shootouts into the playoffs would cheapen that.  It would be a mistake to add the shootout to the playoffs.