Hard-core NHL junkies tend not to like using penalty shots to decide games. I think it's okay in the regular season, because it adds some much-needed excitement to the end of a game, it gives you a chance to see players do things they wouldn't otherwise be in a position to do. Or you get to see them do something they SHOULD be doing, but maybe the game isn't coming to them at the NHL level.
For example, take Benoit Pouliot. That's him in the video, calmly finishing a penalty shot with sublime skating and puck handling. (Classic hockey: all you get in celebration is a short little hop as he skates his way back to the bench.) Guy was the fourth overall pick in the draft, but so far this season he's 144th in goals, 206th in assists, 183rd in points (!!) and 232nd in plus/minus (!!11!!). In other words, he's not producing like you'd expect the fourth overall pick to produce. In more other words, he's a bust, and you might wonder why he's even in the league. But you don't see him practice, don't know what he's like in the locker room, and, if you hadn't noticed, he's got skills to spare.
If you see this kind of skill from someone who can barely stuff the puck into the net, how good are the players that do it on a regular basis? Crazy good.
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