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Lightning's Bishop: 3-on-3 OT is 'more of a gong show' than the shootout

Mike Carlson / Getty Images Sport / Getty

The Tampa Bay Lightning won their season opener in overtime, but that doesn't mean goaltender Ben Bishop is a fan of the new 3-on-3 format.

Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison made history by scoring the first 3-on-3 overtime winner to give the Lightning a 3-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, but Bishop still wasn't convinced.

"Personally, I don't think it's fair," he said postgame. "One breakaway, then another breakaway. I think the shootout, it's fair both ways. This is going to be a little bit more of a gong show."

Lightning head coach Jon Cooper and forward Ryan Callahan had their own ways to describe the mayhem that ended when Garrison scored less than three minutes into the extra frame.

"Lunacy for 2:17," said Cooper.

"Crazy," Callahan added. "I was having a heart attack on the bench."

Not every goaltender is opposed to the new format. Winnipeg Jets netmiders Ondrej Pavelec and Connor Hellebuyck gave it favorable reviews in the preseason.

- With h/t to the Tampa Bay Times

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