Vancouver Canucks admit to playing for shootouts
Once their games head to overtime, the Vancouver Canucks are looking to go to shootouts rather than winning games in the extra session.
News of this strategy came after a 5-4 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers, which came after a 4-3 shootout win over the Detroit Red Wings.
The Province newspaper spoke to winger Daniel Sedin about this following the Panthers game.
Daniel Sedin: “The way we play in OT, we started talking to each other, saying let’s just play these tight defensively and we’ll take our chances in the shootout. Our thought is, play it like a PK. When you start skating around that gets tiring. Now, we’re standing still and just trying to defend the slot. It’s not pretty, but that’s the way we have to play.”
The Province also explained how it looked in person.
The Canucks, they looked like scrubs. If hockey were moved to 3-on-3, would they ever win a game? They looked like they couldn’t skate. Wouldn’t skate. What if I told you that part was by design?
Earlier in the season, the Ottawa Senators indicated they were using a similar approach in overtime. The Toronto Maple Leafs lead the league with seven shootouts. The Canucks are 0-7 in overtime and 2-2 in shootouts this season.
The NHL instituted 3-on-3 overtime this season as a way to try to end games before the shootout. At the recent NHL Board of Governors, commissioner Gary Bettman said the league was happy with 3-on-3 overtime.
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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper
