McDavid bemoans shootouts: 'Crappy way to finish a game'

The best hockey player in the world understands why the NHL uses shootouts, but he's not a big fan of them.

Connor McDavid made that clear when asked whether he'd favor going from five minutes of three-on-three overtime and then a shootout, if necessary, to 10 minutes of extra time in the same format with no shootout.

"I'd like that," the Edmonton Oilers captain told Sportsnet's Tim Micallef on Friday's edition of "Tim and Friends."

"No one loves the shootout," McDavid continued. "It's a crappy way to finish a game, but at the end of the day, it's about the players' health and safety. It's a long season. The overtime taxes a lot of guys, so making that longer could have some effects there, but I agree with you in the sense that no one wants to see a game end in a shootout."

McDavid, a two-time MVP who turned 26 on Friday, is the Hart Trophy favorite again this season. He leads the league in goals (37) and assists (45). He also paces the Art Ross Trophy race by a whopping 16 points (with 82) while possessing favorable underlying numbers over 44 contests.

The Oilers have played only one game that's required a shootout this season; a 4-3 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Dec. 15. The team is 2-3 in games that have gone beyond regulation in 2022-23, with two wins and two losses in overtime.

Edmonton occupies fifth place in the Pacific Division at 22-18-3.