What if, instead of penalty shots after overtime there were 2v1 rushes inthe same manner until a winner was decided?
Unless I missed it, I think I'm the first to agree with the OP that a 2-on-1 shootout would be a better alternative than the current penalty shot shootout, lol. A penalty shot incorporates the skills of a goalie and a scorer. Why shouldn't defensemen also factor into the result? Similar rules to current shoot outs, can't reverse the puck and can't send a player out twice until all other players have had a turn. Let the home team have the first "last change" option and then alternate.
It could take more rounds to get a winner, but is that a negative? Longer it goes, the more the drama builds. As far as wear and tear on the players, it's not like you're extending 3-on-3 playing time. Maybe a bit more work for the goalie, but there might be plays where his defender prevents a shot from even getting through, so maybe not.
While still a bit "gimicky", who can argue that a 2-on-1 rush isn't closer to "real hockey" than penalty shots? Plus, seems like it could add some interesting strategy to the process. Do you send out your scoring challenged, but great defensive 2-way center as a scorer or a defender? Same with your high scoring but defensively challenged defensman.
When compared to a penalty shot shootout, is there a down side to this that I'm overlooking?