At least the Boston Bruins are finding creative ways to lose shootouts.
Brad Marchand had the chance to keep the Bruins alive in Round 5 of their shootout with the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night.
He did not keep the Bruins alive ... because he forgot to take the puck with him.
If Marchand had missed the puck completely, it wouldn't have counted as a shootout attempt. But because he grazed rubber and skated past the puck, it was an official attempt that handed Boston a 6-5 loss.
The veteran winger said he was well aware of the NHL's shootout rule and that he violated it.
"I know that rule. If you touch it on a penalty shot, that's your shot," Marchand said after the game, via the Bruins' team website. "It's unfortunate. Tough way to lose on a play like that."
Boston Bruins
So, what the heck happened?
If you've watched Marchand in shootouts before, his preferred strategy is speed: He gets a full head of steam and barrels down the ice to try to put the goaltender on his heels.
Marchand demonstrated a downside to that strategy Monday night, as he appeared to be thinking about his shot attempt before possessing the puck.
"I was just trying to get going and just missed it," Marchand said, adding that he doesn't think the NHL's shootout rule should be changed despite his gaffe:
"That's the way it is. I'm not going to overthink it."
Marchand still hasn't scored a shootout goal this season (0 for 7, the same as Boston's record in shootouts) and now has a 20.5 percent career success rate (9 for 35) on shootouts, so perhaps he was a little too eager to break the ice Monday night.