A bet's a bet

BROSSARD - Andrew Shaw enjoys making friendly wagers with his teammates, but his winning percentage isn't exactly off the charts.

On Monday, Shaw came up short again at practice at the Bell Sports Complex, losing a bet to young gun Artturi Lehkonen.
The pair competed to see who could score the most goals on two shots from the faceoff circles and two breakaways, with the loser being forced to untie the winner's skates in front of plenty of onlookers.
While Lehkonen only found the back of the net once, it was enough to come out on top as Shaw didn't score a single goal.
"I've got to stop making these bets, I think," said Shaw, after untying Lehkonen's skates in the locker room following the on-ice session. "I haven't won yet."

Back on November 3 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Shaw lost out to Lehkonen, Charles Hudon and Michael McCarron at practice, too, and proceeded to pay the same debt. He was also on the losing end of a similar bet last season in Calgary.
The 26-year-old right-winger isn't giving up, though. He believes his luck will change, eventually.
"The odds have got to be in my favor at some point. I've got to get one," insisted Shaw, who has four goals and nine points in 18 games so far this season. "Determination. It's a good word for it."
And, when he does finally register a W, he plans on making the loser's experience extremely difficult.
"When I win, I'm going to triple knot [my skates] and tie them as hard as I can," cracked Shaw. "Make him struggle."

Head coach Claude Julien is a big fan of Shaw's ability to keep things light and fun all season long.
"Shawzy is one of those guys that loves to chat and have a good time, obviously with those bets that he has on the ice. We had Steve Ott here last year and that really sparked our dressing room a lot, too. Players like that aren't just important on the ice, but they're also important off the ice and in the dressing room," praised Julien. "It's good to have a lively room and those are the kinds of guys that keep it alive in there."

As for Julien's thoughts on the season-long competition itself…
"He hasn't untied my skates yet," said Julien. "So, we need to elaborate on that a little bit more."