You Gotta Admit...

New NHL fan or not, shootouts are exciting. I just saw one for the first time (Chicago/Colorado) and every fan was up on their feet, as were all the players. I understand the idea that you bust your tail for 60 minutes, only to lose in a skills match, but so what? OT games are decided by fluky goals all the time. Is it worse to lose on a crappy, soft goal in OT, or to lose in a shootout? At least in a shootout the goalies are focused and the shooters are making their best moves. Soft goals won't be an issue.

Besides, the vast majority of people would say that an exciting goal is way more fun than an exciting save, but in a shootout, you get to see both.

In unrelated news, Jeff Jillson was just placed on waivers by the Sabres to make way for energy guy Adam Mair. Jillson, a former 1st round pick of the Sharks, has size, offensive instincts (including a heavy shot) and is young with a decent contract. The downside is that he's having a hard time adjust to the NHL-level defensive play.

By waiver rules, the Blues would be one of the first teams to have the option to claim him FOR NOTHING. On this team, he'd be a great addition. His upside is sky-high, the risk is low (nothing traded) and on this version of the Note, couldn't be more porous than some of our current blueliners.

New ownership or not, the Blues would be nuts to pass on this kid.