The Blues got a point tonight but lost an additional point in the standings because the Nashville Predators won a free throw contest. Yay.

Coming out of the lockout, I was personally so glad that hockey was back, I would have accepted a new rule that said in a certain geometric area of the ice, goalies aren't allowed to touch the puck or it's a penalty. Really? OK. That shit sounds crazy, but whatever you want, NHL, just play some games. Thankfully, they didn't do anything that dumb, but they did institute the shootout to decide games, ostensibly because Americans don't like ties. You can call it something else if you want, but if you get real, you know that's the reason.

At first, like most novelties, I found it interesting. These are the most skilled players in the world; let's see them do something crazy with the puck. After a while, the novelty wore off, but since the Blues were terrible, it was a weird way to earn a bonus point even though they were the lesser team that night.

Now, I hate the shootout. And not just because the Blues are terrible at them. It's a contributing factor, I admit, but I think I'm part of a growing mass of NHL fans that are over it. There are hard-fought ties. There are ties that feel like losses and ties that feel like wins.

The shootout always feels like a gimmick.

But maybe I'm wrong in thinking I'm alone on this. Let's poll this thing.