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Add Craig Anderson to the list of those who dislike the shootout

Nikita Kucherov, Craig Anderson

Tampa Bay Lightning right wing Nikita Kucherov (86), of Russia, prepares to score on Ottawa Senators goalie Craig Anderson (41) during a shootout in an NHL hockey game Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, in Tampa, Fla. The Lightning won the game 4-3. (AP Photo/Chris O’Meara)

AP

The problem with complaining about the shootout right after you lose one is it comes across as sour grapes. But in accordance with my previously stated new purpose in life, I have to pass along what Senators goalie Craig Anderson said after Ottawa fell to Tampa Bay, 4-3, in the “gimmick” last night.

“It’s a skills competition,” Anderson said, per Senators Extra. “Flip a coin and call heads. That might be a better way to settle it.”

When asked for confirmation that he wasn’t a fan of the shootout, he replied, “I’ve never been a fan since Day One.”

Anderson’s argument, which seems to be gaining more and more momentum these days, is that the shootout is “taking a team game and making it individual.”

There have now been 120 shootouts in the NHL this season. That’s 120 points, or 6.9 percent of all the points that have been awarded, from a competition that proves nothing about the actual quality of a hockey team.

For the record, Ottawa is 2-6 in the shootout.