CBC-Sports

Ruutu's shootout tactics raise eyebrows, blood pressure

November 18, 2008 04:03 PM | Posted by   P.J. Stock  

It’s Monday night and I just finished watching the Ottawa Senators versus the New York Rangers.

The game was lacklustre to say the least. Some great saves by both goaltenders kept me interested in watching. Who was going to finally get beat by a shot or who was going to make a mistake that would cost their team?

To their credit, both Alex Auld and Henrik Lundqvist played brilliantly. King Henry probably had the harder saves to make on the night but nonetheless a great performance by each puck stopper.

After 60 minutes of uneventful hockey, I thought of skipping OT and turning on Monday Night Football. When the shootout was first introduced, I didn’t know what to think of it. Now I'm hoping for a draw in overtime so I can see the mano e mano competition. I watched and as I hoped for, and should have known, no one scored.

Hello shootout.

The score after 65 minutes stayed at 1-1.

Fast forward a couple of shooters and the Senators decided that maybe Jarkko Ruutu could beat Lundqvist. He didn’t. Lundqvist made the save and re-directed the puck into the corner.

I knew I kept this game on for a reason.

Ruutu, returning from a two-game suspension for elbowing Montreal’s Maxim Lapierre, decided to take the rebound and shoot it at the Rangers’ netminder. If this was during the play of the 60 minutes of the regular game, Ruutu would have been penalized.

Nothing happened, well, except for Aaron Voros wanting to swing his stick from the Rangers bench at Jarrko’s head.

Now my head is spinning. If I’m the next Rangers shooter, do I shoot at Auld’s head? Do I miss and hope for a rebound to chuck one at the Sens keeper? Do I run him?

What if I ran him? There's no rule that says I can’t. Why don’t teams run the opposing goalie in any game where he's hot at the end of OT? Or even on the first shot in the shootout?

You might be penalized after the game by the league, but your team won’t be during the shootout.

Now my head is spinning so fast I’m breathless. If you’re a fourth-line player on Team A, playing Team B with whom you are tied with on the last night of the season, the winner advances, and you’re on for the last seconds of overtime, why not run the goalie? Heck, if you don’t get a major penalty and kicked out of the game, the NHL even allows you to participate in the shootout.

Just think, you could knock their goalie out, take a shot in the shootout, score the winner, get your team into the playoffs and get the girl.

Sorry, but I spent all weekend in that bubble at Hockey Night in Canada and I think they are starting to limit my oxygen intake.

Anyhoo, the Rangers won and after the game they did their normal salute to the crowd. Most of them, but not all of them. Some wanted a piece of Ruutu, who was skating off the ice.

Monday's game may have been a bit of a snoozer, but the Sens and Rangers meet again this Saturday on HNIC.

It should be a good day of hockey. Later in the night, the Bruins/Canadiens rematch will probably have that extra physical element to it. The Habs aren't too happy about a recent 6-1 beating by the Bruins and Milan Lucic. Stay tuned ...

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