"I was trying to do my best because I was caught out of position."
The quote of the day, via The Orange County Register, comes from the lips of Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler, who was called for holding the Rangers' Ryan McDonagh in overtime Tuesday night.
Given the extra skater, the Rangers won the game with a power-play goal by Mats Zuccarello, 3-2. A nice gift by the overgenerous Anaheim squad this season.
The whole idea of the 3-on-3 overtime format was designed with this in mind. Create man advantages with quick passes and strong skating. OK, so Vancouver players said this week that they had found a way to save their season by playing keep-away for the extra session in order to get to the shootout.
That is another way to avoid being out of position.
All of it is garbage. We continue to see writers ask for a standings format where a victory in regulation time would be worth 3 points, a victory in overtime would be worth 2 points and, here is where the logic dies, the loser in overtime gets a point? Or if the score remains tied after the extra session, the game ends and each team gets a point?
Again, hot garbage.
The Ducks deserved nothing after last night's game. They lost, go home and stew in it. Or, you might say, they deserve a point because they at least tried to win in OT while the Canucks would have been (and are) content to skate around like zombies, much like they did Sunday against Florida. Ryan Miller was the left to pretty much his own extra large glove and XXXXL pads in the extra session.
Fix the system. Force the teams to play for the win in regulation. Game ends in a tie, fine, but no points for either team. In fact, drop the points for a winning team. Employ the winning is the only team approach and your standings would still say W-L-T, but the W is the only thing that would get you ahead in the game. Ties count the same as a loss. The winning percentage would be a simple computation, and that number would separate those who make the playoffs from those who get to watch. Yes, more coaches would be forced to go for it -- and perhaps be fired for failing to win -- but that is the point, so to speak, of the game.
Win, and you enjoy the glory. Lose, and you must try again. Lose too often, and you must find a new job. Thanks for trying, Ducks, but no soup for you.
Very simple, and much more entertaining.
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