The shootout is one of the NHL’s more controversial topics.

First introduced after the full-season 2004-05 NHL lockout, the shootout was brought in as a creative way to end ties in the league. Now, every game had a winner and a loser, much the way of baseball and basketball.

Over the years, it’s divided hockey fans.

Some people like it. Some people really don’t.

Some see it as a quick way to end a regular season game, because, after all, there are 82 of them (and soon to be 84). Others hate that 65 minutes of hockey is decided by a glorified skills competition that they would say “is not real hockey.”

But here in Pittsburgh, the conversation around the shootout has taken a new turn. Whether you personally are against the shootout or not, nearly all Penguins fans have come to dread seeing it take place. Why? Because the Penguins usually lose them.

Last Sunday marked a full year since the Penguins have won a shootout. Their last win of that variety came all the way back on November 16th, 2024, at PPG Paints Arena over the San Jose Sharks.

Interestingly enough, the Penguins actually blew a 3-0 lead in a game they very easily could have won in regulation. Instead, the Sharks fought their way back to force overtime and an eventual shootout.

In said shootout, Sidney Crosby, Anthony Beauvillier, and Evgeni Malkin all scored for the Penguins, who won the shootout in five rounds. Malkin’s goal was the winner after Penguins goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic sealed the game with a save.

As the team skated off the ice, having picked up the extra point on the night, no one knew that another shootout victory would still await them all this time later. And it’s certainly not for a lack of trying.

Since then, the Penguins are 0-7 in the shootout, a terrible mark for the club. Those losses list out like this:

• January 3rd @ Florida, 3-2
• January 7th vs Columbus, 4-3
• February 4th vs New Jersey, 3-2
• March 23rd @ Florida, 4-3
• October 25th vs Columbus, 5-4
• October 28th @ Philadelphia, 3-2
• November 8th @ New Jersey, 2-1

No matter what they do, they just can’t seem to win once timed hockey is over.

This season in particular, goaltending has proven to be a huge issue in shootouts. Arturs Silovs, who has had the unfortunate luck of being in net for all three shootout losses this season, is a combined 1-for-8 in save opportunities. Twice he has allowed every shot he has faced in a shootout to go in.

Though he has tried different tactics in the net, nothing he seems to do in the shootout works. Nearly every opponent has taken his lunch money.

It’s obviously a problem area for Silovs, and one he needs to work on, but it has unfortunately taken away from really solid work he has given the Penguins this season. In at least two of those shootout losses, you could argue he was the biggest reason why the team even got to that point.

His struggles are also a difference from last year, before Silovs’ time in the Penguins organization.

Last year’s goaltending tandem, Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic, suffered a combined four shootout losses after that last win.

Though neither one of their shootout numbers were phenomenal last season, both were giving the Penguins a better chance than what Silovs is doing in that circumstance.

Over this losing streak, Nedeljkovic was 4-for-7 in saves. Jarry, the only returning member of that tandem, was 3-for-6.

Their saves, whenever they could get them, were wasted by poor shooting from the team’s shootout selectees. For a team that has boasted some decent offensive talent both last season and this season, they have not properly showed it off in the shootout.

In this losing streak, nine players have taken at least one shot for the Penguins in a shootout. Those shooters are a combined 5-for-22, or 22.7%. This struggling percentage includes missed opportunities from the team’s best offensive weapons. Here’s how they stack up:

• Rickard Rakell: 1-for-3
• Sidney Crosby: 1-for-6
• Bryan Rust: 1-for-6
• Anthony Beauvillier: 1-for-1
• Kevin Hayes: 0-for-1
• Kris Letang: 0-for-1
• Cody Glass: 0-for-1
• Evgeni Malkin: 1-for-2
• Ville Koivunen: 0-for-1

It’s just simply not good enough.

And maybe the most perplexing thing is this how much the involved cast has changed. This streak has now spanned two head coaches, three goaltenders, and nine total shooters.

The problem started under Sullivan. But this is Muse’s team now. How does he try and correct this issue?

Does he try and have his team play more aggressively in overtime? If Muse lacks confidence in his team playing in a shootout, he could direct his team to go for broke in 3-on-3 play. I mean, what do you have to lose, right?

Does he try changing up the shooters? Taking Crosby out is a non-starter; the captain has participated in all but one of the shootouts during this streak. The only one he missed was due to a misconduct penalty he was assessed after overtime during a scrum in Philadelphia.

But does someone like Rust comes out? As crazy as it sounds to not have someone like Rust shooting the puck, he clearly isn’t excelling in that role.

Does Muse try something super unconventional, and in the event Silovs is in the net for another shootout, pull him in favor of the backup? Coaches hate putting a backup in cold like that, but do desperate times call for a move like that?

Whatever you think the main cause for such poor shootout performances is, it’s costing the Penguins in the standings. The three points the Penguins lost in those shootout losses loom large with much of the Eastern Conference still bunched up together.

Had the Penguins claimed all of those games, they would be tied for second place in the Metropolitan Division alongside New Jersey. Even if they only won two of them, they would be tied for third with the New York Islanders.

Instead, they are currently in a four-way tie for a wild card spot at 24 points. Every point matters; the Penguins can’t afford to surrender extra ones in this fashion for much longer. It’s going to be quite the phenomenon to keep our eyes on.