LEAFS:Two new guys, two missed shots in shootout

[Panda_Bear]

Wow, these 2 new additions were solid for the Leafs. NOT!!

I'm looking forward to another disappointing season for Leaf fans.

[Shaner]

Wow, these 2 new additions were solid for the Leafs. NOT!!

I'm looking forward to another disappointing season for Leaf fans.

You and all other Leaf haters are such tools.

Allison had a hell of a game. He moved the puck well, created a lot of open ice for other players and kept the Sens back on their heels.
Lindros also had a good game. He was crashing and banging most of the night, he was hustling and he scored a goal.

Shootout means nothing! Shootout is not a team concept. During the preseason, I saw Yzerman and Lemieux miss a penalty shot, does that mean they suck and their teams also suck?

If you're going to voice your opinion, at least say something that isn't absolutely ********. You just lost all credibility regarding hockey conversations, because you have no idea what the game is all about.

[thelefteyeguy]

You and all other Leaf haters are such tools.

Allison had a hell of a game. He moved the puck well, created a lot of open ice for other players and kept the Sens back on their heels.
Lindros also had a good game. He was crashing and banging most of the night, he was hustling and he scored a goal.

Shootout means nothing! Shootout is not a team concept. During the preseason, I saw Yzerman and Lemieux miss a penalty shot, does that mean they suck and their teams also suck?

If you're going to voice your opinion, at least say something that isn't absolutely ********. You just lost all credibility regarding hockey conversations, because you have no idea what the game is all about.


ignore the troll...

[Ziggy007]

I would say they all performed pretty good actually. Liked what I saw from the new guys last night.

[NLI10D]

good game! hope sundin makes a quick recovery

[Anessa]

Shootouts aren't fair in the sense that you can have a great game and then get burned if you miss or hailed as a hero if you succeed.

[Dibble]

The leafs played a good game last night. Lindros faired a lot better than I expected, and Allison was looking good as well. I wanted to see O'neil do a little bit more however, but regardless, he played a fairly solid game.

Shootouts, in my opinion, should be more of a last resort. For example, after the 3rd overtime and we're all just hoping for the game to be over (especially since it's only a regular season game)... that's where they should have it. However, a shootout in the playoffs is a big no-no... it'll definitely ruin the fun.

[Tiberius]

The real issue the Leafs will have in shootouts appears to be their goalie... Ed Belfour... he just didn't look good at all in the shootout. It almost looked like he wasn't trying - but that is probably just a reflection of how his "style" works... especially at his age. The caliber of snipers almost any team can throw at you in a shootout pretty much dictates you need a goalie who can rise to the occassion. I think Toronto will have a fairly bad record in shootouts this season - but... you never know... Belfour could adapt and the Leafs snipers might start to hit the mark...

[poedua]

You and all other Leaf haters are such tools.

Allison had a hell of a game. He moved the puck well, created a lot of open ice for other players and kept the Sens back on their heels.
Lindros also had a good game. He was crashing and banging most of the night, he was hustling and he scored a goal.

Shootout means nothing! Shootout is not a team concept. During the preseason, I saw Yzerman and Lemieux miss a penalty shot, does that mean they suck and their teams also suck?

If you're going to voice your opinion, at least say something that isn't absolutely ********. You just lost all credibility regarding hockey conversations, because you have no idea what the game is all about.

I wonder if the NHL had given any consideration to extending the OT to 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes

5 minutes seems a bit too short and by going to 10, it'd at least reduce the liklihood of having to resort to those stupid shootouts if they had more time to score.

I see no downside to a 10 minute overtime IMHO

[spike-spiegel]

I wonder if the NHL had given any consideration to extending the OT to 10 minutes instead of 5 minutes

5 minutes seems a bit too short and by going to 10, it'd at least reduce the liklihood of having to resort to those stupid shootouts if they had more time to score.

I see no downside to a 10 minute overtime IMHO

10 minutes is too long. Over a whole season, it'll really wear the players down. The stats would be inflated by a lot. Goalies will very tired. Referees will be tired. The chance of injuries will go up. Fans might find it too long for a regular season game.

[poedua]

10 minutes is too long. Over a whole season, it'll really wear the players down. The stats would be inflated by a lot. Goalies will very tired. Referees will be tired. The chance of injuries will go up. Fans might find it too long for a regular season game.

I disagree

I think fans would prefer an extra 5 minutes to settle a game properly than a shootout - an extra 5 minutes wouldn't tax these players physically at all - in any way - they're superbly conditioned

[Tiberius]

I disagree

I think fans would prefer an extra 5 minutes to settle a game properly than a shootout - an extra 5 minutes wouldn't tax these players physically at all - in any way - they're superbly conditioned

I think you are missing a key factor when making your proposal to extend OT to 10 minutes. They could have done that if they wanted too... they could have even made it sudden death - until someone scores.

Instead, they made it 4 on 4 to make it faster paced and exciting for fans. They also made it so you still got 1 point - even if you lost - to encourage offensive hockey.

Finally - they introduced shootouts if there is still a tie.....

Why?

Easy.

The bigwigs thought it would be more "exciting" for the FANS (I'm thinking this largely was targetted at U.S. fans they are trying to sell the game too). They saw the shootouts in the Olympics and how for those few moments entire countries were glued to their TVs and living the moment - and somehow thought that would translate to the NHL regular season games. They are somewhat correct, but also somewhat wrong... So long as they leave shootouts out of the playoffs, I'm fine with them in regular season games.

[sportsfan99]

All the leafs but one looked very good.The one beeing domi gets off the bench starts yapping.In the new nhl you can not do that.He made multi mistakes durring the game.For ottawa not one of there better games but hasek looked very sharp.

[Wildfire]

Wow, these 2 new additions were solid for the Leafs. NOT!!

I'm looking forward to another disappointing season for Leaf fans.
lol, I love this.

Let's see, your ripping on Allison for messing up his breakaway right?
You do realize that he was a hero in the previous pre-season game against Detroit in the shootout when he scored with the exact same move (but this time it didn't work?)

As for Lindros after the 2nd goal, everyone was getting ready to bust out the red carpet for the new hometown hero, but then he misses the PK and suddenly he sucks?

[Montague]

As for Lindros after the 2nd goal, everyone was getting ready to bust out the red carpet for the new hometown hero, but then he misses the PK and suddenly he sucks?
It is ONLY one game folks.

WAY too early to declare either a team toast or plan a stanley cup parade route.

[mingming]

All the Lindros-Allison bashers out there should learn to watch hockey.

Lindros was a monster out there, in my opinion he was the best Leaf last night. Allison had some magic out there with his puck handling.

Everyone knows Lindros is an AMAZING player if he's not hurt, the same can be said for Allison and O'Neil (who also played pretty well).

As far as the shootout, it's just not a great way to break ties. What if a team misses the playoffs by 1 point, and the 8th place team once beat them in a shootout. It's just a hard pill to swallow knowing you didnt make the playoffs because of the shootout. At least if a game is tied, then there wouldnt be as many regrets.