Well I'll offer a little differing opinion than the prevailing outcries: I
don't think shoot-outs are all that bad.  The hockey purist automatically pooh-
poohs them as an unnecessary interference with the way the game should be
played, but the neophytes in the stands probably look on it as an exciting
climax to what may have been a boring game.  Despite the novelty of seeing
two goaltenders really at the top of their game, I doubt many fans like to
witness 0-0 games.  The same for 1-1 games.  I would agree they shouldn't be
used in playoff games--the players need to be the ones who decide the outcome.
 
But OTOH, an overtime victory doesn't necessarily indicate who was the better
team that night.  In games which continue ad infinitum, like the Islanders/
Capitals epoch, the final score almost seems like a fluke.  As the overtimes
wind on the players seem to be engaged more in an endurance contest than a
hockey match.  And of course we know that the longer a games goes, the fewer
the penalties.  Not that it's right necessarily, just that it's true.
 
But my main point is why bother with a 5 minute overtime--it rarely settles
anything.  And I'm not sure whether a 10 minute OT significantly increases
the chances that a game will reach a resolution.  So if you accept the
premise that 1) games should reach a conclusion and 2)limited OT's still
result in ties than experimenting with a shoot-out doesn't seem so onerous.
Of course you could also opt for unlimited OT's which continue until a winner
is decided, but I don't think it's fair to the players who may have to play
the next night, or who may have some studying to attend to.
 
Personally I don't mind a game ending in a tie.  But what I abhor is watching
a team play for a tie.  Of course you can't legislate such tactics away, but
as a fan watching a team which had been exciting for two periods suddenly
decide it doesn't need to expend any more effort is the worst of all outcomes.
 
I'm not overjoyed at the thought of shoot-outs,but at least during the regular
season, I'm not sure they're such a bad thing.  Of course, echoing a previous
poster, eliminating interference, holding etc, would really make the game
exciting.
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            "NYS   // Hockey"
        Go 'Gate  //   Brian Morris
          Go RPI //      Albany, NY
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