Maple Leafs Stand On Tradition; Lose in Shootout

The NHL actually scored a PR coup by keeping some vestige of hockey in the modern-day quest for an extra point in the standings.

That's how the 3-on-3 version of overtime came to be.

Pond hockey has been deemed less of a gimmick than the shootout. Frankly, it is.

Already, the Philadelphia Flyers and Tampa Bay Lightning have shown that this format has more ceaseless thrills and spills than skater vs goalie. For example, garden variety defensemen get to think they're Bobby Orr:

When Mike Babcock answered the call for a miracle worker in Toronto, he knew it was going to be painful.

Dude's nothing if not a realist.

And to take the Maple Leafs job, he must've been drawn by the lure of tradition. That's big up there.

Where's the tradition in 3-on-3 overtime? If the Leafs are gonna lose, they're gonna do it the modern-day old-fashioned way, dammit!

And that involves avoiding the net for five grueling minutes of open ice. But the Leafs were up to the task.

Low bar, dude. But understandable.