Shootout haters can scoff all you want...the shootout keeps people in the arena on the edge of their seats and those uneventful ties are a thing of the past. But I'm not here to preach the virtues of the shootout...awesome goal by Marek Malik last night to give the Rangers a 15th round shootout win against Washington.
In case you haven't seen, look for a clip somewhere...most sports sites will have one. It would've been a great goal for a skilled player but to watch a big lumbering defenseman to drop that sort of a move on a breakaway was unbelievable.
The Rangers continue to impress...third in points behind Ottawa and Detroit. I think they've learned their lesson that you don't need to spend $70 or 80 million to win in the NHL...it didn't hurt the cause either in the case of Detroit or Colorado. They're using mostly young players and castoffs from other teams. They're getting great goaltending out of Lundqvist and Weekes. Say what you want about the Rangers but it's very good for the NHL to have them back being a factor. The same can be said about Jagr as well...tied with Alfredsson, Forsberg and Spezza for the most points in the league.
I'm comming around on the whole shootout thing but really, did we have to see some of the scrubs out there fumbling around? Yes it was an awkward lanky slow defenceman that scored an amazing goal but I think maybe having a list of 6 or so of the top players in a rotation would be for the most part, better entertainment.
