The Fan In Van Podcast & Blog - Matt Lee

While the Vancouver Canucks have been very busy as of late, they have still been making out lists to Santa, and, with the exception of Mike Brown (who made the naughty list), are asking for several items this holiday season.

1. The Sedin Twins - Pinky and The Brain DVD Set. When Derek Boogaard called them this, they honestly had no idea who he was talking about. But perhaps grasping The Brain’s thirst for world domination will inspire the twins on the ice.
2. Taylor Pyatt - Anson Carter Voodoo Doll. Pyatt has been compared to Anson Carter a lot in recent years and I think the guy would love nothing more than for Carter to disappear altogether.
3. Markus Naslund - Confidence Spectacles. When you slap these babies on, they give you the vision of scoring highlight reel goals and the confidence to dismantle any team’s defence on any given night.
4. Jeff Cowan - A set of boxing gloves. If the guy could knock out an opponent for once, that’d be reeeeallly helpful.
5. Aaron Miller - NHL 08. Because the only other way this guy is going to be scoring in hockey is in virtual reality.
6. Sami Salo - Plastic Bubble. Does anyone know the appropriate size for a 6′2 Finnish guy?
7. Mike Weaver - Blow-up Doll. He’s getting pretty lonely up in that press box every night.
8. Roberto Luongo - Smaller pads. I think he’s just joking. Hopefully.

Zero wins in four shootouts.

Two goals in four shootouts.

Trevor Linden scoring a goal in the shootout.

Now I’ve seen everything.

I don’t normally make a fuss when it comes to shootouts, because half the time it’s always a crapshoot when guessing which skaters should be selected in the shootout. For Alain Vigneault, he typically throws out the guys who have had good to decent games, which isn’t the worst strategy, but is proving to be one that needs adjusting.

Just as the Canucks were overtime demons last season, the Edmonton Oilers are quickly becoming shootout wizards. And I’m not mincing words here when it comes to giving the Oil credit, because they’ve deserved it. 10 of their 15 wins have come in shootouts, and that’s not a lie. That’s ten extra points, and with that ten extra points they are in 10th place in the West as opposed to dead last, and a mere five points out of the Northwest Division lead. Without the ten points they’ve gathered from shootouts, they have only six regulation wins. Currently, the Oilers are 10-1 in second overtimes.

Pretty plainly, the shootouts are as essential as ever in the NHL. Had the Canucks found a way to snag the extra four points they squandered in 1-on-1s, they’re sitting a pretty second place in the West with a four-point cushion on Minnesota.

Now I know there’s the old saying “You can’t win ‘em all”, but the Canuck coaching staff has to start to get real drastic here if they’re going to even come close to winning a shootout. With former shootout king Brendan Morrison out indefinitely and with Trevor Linden and Ryan Kesler being the only goal-getters in the Canuck lineup, there needs to be some major tinkering in the shootout. That being said, here are my top five shootout specialists I hope Alain Vigneault will consider:

1. Ryan Kesler - Obviously you’ve got to stick with what works. Whether it’s the shade right and fake to the backhand move that he’s used in the past or the snap shot he used last night, Kesler has more moves than any of the Canucks right now.
2. Trevor Linden - Same deal as Kesler; while Linden has been scratched numerously this year, he’s proven to still have the gentle hands he had when the Canucks drafted him in ‘88.
3. Alex Burrows - He failed to get the puck on net in Edmonton, but don’t count out this feisty agitator in 1-on-1 situations. He scored two beauties on shorthanded breakaways this year and it’s evident this guy has an arsenal of moves waiting to be given a chance.
4. Sami Salo - Like I said, time to get drastic. Salo has yet to score this season and a shootout goal could oddly be the thing to jumpstart his confidence this year. Salo has scored some beauties, including an OT winner in Minnesota last season.
5. Mason Raymond - The kid may be up here for another week or two, but the reality is no goaltender has a book on the guy yet. He’s got speed and a nice shot so it’s worth a try.

Just missed the cut:

1. Mattias Ohlund - Also scored a beautiful out-of-the-box breakaway goal on Dwayne Roloson last year and certainly has a great shot if you saw his goal last night. Whether it’s from the point or from in close, Ohlund strikes me as a guy who can handle the shootout pressure.
2. Ryan Shannon - Remember this guy? He’s just returning from a knee injury in Manitoba, but something tells me we haven’t seen the last of this guy yet. Type his name in on Youtube and you’ll get an incredible shootout attempt during his time with Anaheim and an even better save by Marty Turco.

Thankfully the Canucks don’t have to play Edmonton until February 16th, so they’ll have plenty of time to fine-tune their mediocre shooters before the next shootout.

Hardly.

A mere two hours after the Canucks’ victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Wednesday night and people are already posting on message boards and on radio that Jason Jaffray and Mason Raymond are the answer to the scoring woes that have been plaguing them for the better part of two seasons.

Give me a break guys, the act is getting old.

Look, I could make a big fuss, give a bunch of bullshit about all this and say that Jaffray and Raymond are top-end players, but bullshit is exactly what it would be. I don’t want to take anything away from them; Jaffray was uncannily speedy and had a scoring nose and Raymond was fast and looked nothing like the Mason Raymond we saw at the beginning of the season. But to say they’re the solution — That makes me want to pick my brain a little.

Just because the guys had a goal and an assist each in the game doesn’t give them any more credibility than it would for any other rookie. Jaffray is a 26-year old who has been toiling in the minors, and for good reason: He isn’t a great skater (All the more reason I used the word uncannily above) and Raymond is still very, very young. The fact is, if we’re judging players based on one performance, the Canucks might as well go out and trade the farm to the Washington Capitals for Joe Motzko, an undrafted 27-year old who doubled his career goals total with TWO tonight in New York.

I’m not trying to be negative — I’m a very positive Canuck fan. I’m just trying to make sure that Canuck fans everywhere are being realistic here. If the two call-up kids can replicate this performance in San Jose tonight, then we can start making judgment. But after ONE game? Come on…