The Canucks lost another game in the shootout on Thursday night, losing the game 4-3 to the Detroit Red Wings. While they didn’t deserve to win the game based on their play in regulation time and overtime, the shootout is a different animal. It usually has very little to do with the run of play. They lost the shootout because Detroit is a much better shootout team than the Canucks.

The Canucks are one of the best teams in the NHL but they are one of the worst in shootouts. One would think that a team that boasts a Vezina trophy finalist and a lineup filled with offensive talent would be good in shootouts. Instead, Vancouver has a 3-5 record, are 19th in shooting percentage and are 5th worst in save percentage. And this is not a new problem for the Canucks, it has gone on a few years. They were 4-5 last season and 4-4 the year before and 3-7 the year before that. So what gives?

No Go-To Guy

The shooters that beat Roberto Luongo on Thursday night were Pavel Datsyuk and Jiri Hudler. That should come as no surprise, as these are the Red Wings’ go-to guys in the shootout. The Wings have played in 6 shootouts and Datsyuk and Hudler have shot in every single one of them. If they needed a 3rd shooter, Todd Bertuzzi would have been called upon.

The Canucks quite simply don’t have a go-to guy in the shootout. Mason Raymond and Alex Edler were given the assignment on Thursday, but they don’t shoot all the time. Alex Burrows and Cody Hodgson have shot most often, but they have only shot in 5 of their 8 shootouts.

Alain Vigneault

Alain Vigneault does not stop pucks or score goals, and if he had a guy like Pavel Datsyuk in his lineup he would get questioned a whole lot less. But with that being said, Vigneault has done a poor job of giving his team the best chance of winning in the shootout.

Vigneault needs to recognize who his best shootout performers are, and stick with them. Too often he has played hunches or given opportunities to players just because they are having a good game. What he ought to be doing is identifying his top guys and turning them into shootout specialists. The Canucks’ shooters were never more consistent than when Kyle Wellwood and Pavol Demitra were trotted out in each game, despite their play in regulation time. Last year AV failed to recognize Jeff Tambellini as his best shootout option, as he didn’t select him every game despite his excellent career shooting percentage.

This year, Vigneault needs to realize that Cody Hodgson and Alex Burrows are his two best shootout specialists. Burrows and Hodgson are each 2/5 in the shootout this year and consistently put forth a great effort. A lot of fans and media have been suggesting that Vigneault give Daniel and Henrik Sedin another chance. Perhaps Daniel should get the odd opportunity (after Hodgson and Burrows), but Henrik has put forth some of the worst shootout attempts I have ever seen (including this one).

Roberto Luongo

Quite simply, Roberto Luongo needs to be better. He is too good of a goalie to perform this poorly in the shootout. Luongo has a respectable career shootout save percentage at .663. Currently this year, Luongo has a .476 SV% in the shootout.

Luongo is 49th out of 57 NHL goalies in save percentage. He appears lost in the net, biting on every fake and getting beaten by any decent shooter. But it didn’t used to be this way.

In Luongo’s first season in Vancouver (2006-07), he was pretty good in the shootout. He had the 25th best shootout save percentage out of 71 goalies. Lu was even better the following two seasons (07-08, 08-09), but has seen his shootout save percentage drop in each of the last three seasons.

It appears that either Luongo’s reactions are starting to slow down with age, or shooters have a book on him.

Luongo might want to consider shifting the way he approaches the shootout. Unlike some other goalies, Luongo treats a shootout attempt the same as a breakaway. He stays reactive to the shooter and doesn’t make the first move or keep the shooter guessing. While this is probably the best way to play a breakaway, it leaves him prone to shootout attempts when players walk-in with pre-planned moves in mind. A lot of the successful shootout goalies keep the shooter guessing by utilizing the poke check or mixing up their positioning.

Shootout Philosophy

As I have already outlined, I believe the Canucks should identify their top shootout players, and run with them. This should be done with at least 2 of their first 3 shooters. Even though the Canucks don’t have a stud in the shootout like Pavel Datsyuk or Jonathan Toews, they can still identify a specialist or two.

Maybe above all, the Canucks need to treat the shootout seriously. That means practicing it and scouting it. The Canucks ought to be scouting goalie and shooter tendencies. It boggles my mind every time I see Alex Burrows walk-in and score with the same old move on opposing teams. I mean, if I know the move he’s going to do, how is it that NHL teams don’t?

Perhaps the Canucks already do a lot of scouting for the shootout, but it doesn’t appear so.

The good news out of all of this is that there are no shootouts in the playoffs. But the shootout can be the difference between finishing first, second or third in the conference, and that can be the difference in who hoists the Stanley Cup in June.

Whenever there’s less than a month to go before the NHL trade deadline (February 27 this year), there are bound to be lots of wild rumours bouncing off the walls. One such wild rumour had Corey Perry on his way to the Vancouver Canucks for Corey Schneider, Keith Ballard and Mason Raymond. This is of course a ridiculous trade, one that doesn’t meet the Ducks needs at all. Yet, somehow there were a lot of Canucks fans that didn’t want the reasonably priced, highly skilled and gritty Hart Trophy winner from a year ago in exchange for a back-up goalie, sixth defenceman and third line winger. But I digress.

There’s always a lot of names that get tossed around before the trade deadline, but when Bob McKenzie brings up a name, people take notice. Bob McKenzie is reporting that Brenden Morrow may become available before the trade deadline. If Morrow becomes available, Mike Gillis will surely be one of the first people in line to put forth an offer.

McKenzie goes on to note that Brendan Morrow has a no trade clause and that Dallas may not ask him to waive it should they get closer to a playoff spot. But if things go bad in the next three weeks, and if Morrow wants a chance to win a Stanley Cup, maybe something could be done. Morrow makes $4.1 million this year and next.

Morrow is exactly what the Canucks need. He is a great bodychecker and can score. Apart from that, he has loads of leadership and experience.

Now, what it would take to get Morrow could be another story. If Dallas ownership (Tom Gaglardi, arch nemesis of Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini) decides to meddle, then a deal could be quashed before it begins. If not, the asking price would likely be high, despite the fact that Morrow is having a disappointing season and is 33 years old. But Morrow brings more than just stats to the table, as long as he’s healthy.

Hypocrite (noun):

a person who pretends to have virtues, moral or religious beliefs, principles, etc., that he or she does not actually possess, especially a person whose actions belie stated beliefs.

Take it away Jon Stewart!

Two lackluster outings in a row on home ice as the Canucks continue to struggle without the concussed Sami Salo and Alain Vigneault has had enough. The Canucks announced on Wednesday that they would be re-calling defenceman Chris Tanev from the AHL.

Tanev is getting the recall despite the fact that the Canucks have seven other healthy defencemen on their roster. Salo has been out for five games and this move signals to me that Chris Tanev is not getting an audition as a spare part on the Canucks, rather he is getting an audition to be a major part of the team going forward.

The plan all along this season was to bring Chris Tanev along slowly. He looked calm and cool under pressure in 25 regular season and 5 playoff games with the Canucks, but he is still only two years removed from playing with the Rochester Institute of Technology. The Canucks wanted to ensure that he got a lot of ice time and got a chance to play in all situations in the AHL.

Now with the injury to Sami Salo, there is a gaping hole at right defence. Even when Salo returns, there will be a bit of a gap on the right side, as Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo are the only right handed shots with the big club. Chris Tanev, as you might have guessed, also shoots right. Thus far the Canucks have chosen to play with one defenceman playing the ‘wrong side’ on their third pairing.

The Canucks ought to be in the market for a top 4 defenceman (as insurance if and when Sami Salo gets hurt again), but perhaps Chris Tanev can be that guy. Certainly they have big plans for him down the road, but maybe the future is now for the 22 year old. Just like how Ryan Kesler’s injury in October gave Cody Hodgson his chance to prove himself, this injury to Salo may offer the same for Tanev.

Alain Vigneault may choose to give Tanev time on the third pairing and play him sparingly, but I don’t think he will or should. This audition for Tanev should be to see if he can play with Alex Edler on the second pairing. Chris Tanev, your time is now.

From time to time I like to dream up trades involving the Canucks. Sometimes realistic, sometimes not. Today I’d like to take a crack at some realistic ones.

Firstly, a bit of background. Mike Gillis was on the Team 1040 last week and proclaimed that the Canucks were ‘open for business’ on the trade front and that he wanted to change the ‘change the balance’ of the team. By Mike Gillis standards, this is an earth shattering revelation. Some general managers call press conferences sans-tie, Mike Gillis is more subtle. Gillis will drop hints, and this was a hint.

Of course it should come as no surprise that Mike Gillis might be looking to bolster his lineup. This is a team that is poised to make another run for the cup, but it is not without flaws. Last year Gillis added Chris Higgins and Maxim Lapierre at the trade deadline, and both moves proved to be strokes of genius. They were brought in to provide depth on the fourth line and ended up both playing key roles on the 2nd and 3rd lines.

The Canucks’ needs this year are a little different. The recent injury to Sami Salo has highlighted once again how dependent they are on the fragile Finn. A defenceman who would step up into a top four role if needed would be welcomed, as it is becoming more and more clear that Keith Ballard is not fit for that role. The Canucks could also use some grit on their forward lines.

The Canucks don’t have a lot of players on their roster that they would like to deal that also have significant value, but Mason Raymond is one of them. With David Booth, Chris Higgins and Jannik Hansen, the Canucks have a lot of guys that can do what Mason Raymond does. Because of that, I think Raymond is expendable (although I have been saying this for about three years with Raymond).

Of course, any player the Canucks acquire has to fit under the salary cap. The Canucks don’t have a lot of cap space, but you don’t need a lot of cap space if you acquire a player at the end of the year.

So who’s available? I’m not sure, but I can take some educated guesses. Lets take a look:

George Parros

Contract: One year left, $875,000

Doug MacLean from Sportsnet got the ball rolling today on the possibility of George Parros heading to Vancouver today on a Toronto radio station. Parros would give the Canucks something they haven’t had for a couple of seasons now, a heavyweight enforcer. The question with Parros would be, can he play well enough to stay in the lineup? That’s tough to say. Parros has seen limited minutes in every postseason with the Ducks, so he wouldn’t likely see many minutes on the Canucks as well. But if Parros could come cheap enough, he might be worth a look. Having a guy like Parros to throw in the lineup if you need to help turn the momentum of a series could come in handy, if only for a game or two in the playoffs.

Francois Beauchemin

Contract: One year left, $3.8 million

Francois Beauchemin is a name that I haven’t heard yet this season, but given the state of the Ducks (currently 14 points out of a playoff spot) and the pending free agent status of Beauchemin, he could become available. Beauchemin would be the perfect addition to the Canucks defense. He is used to playing big minutes (he is averaging 25 minutes of ice time a night this year) and is steady and gritty. Beauchemin also knows what it takes to win a Stanley Cup, winning with Anaheim in 2007. Beauchemin likely wouldn’t come ridiculously cheap (even though he is a rental), but he would be worth it.

Travis Moen

Contract: One year left, $1.5 million

Travis Moen would be an upgrade to Dale Weise on the Canucks fourth line. He is 6’2″, 217 lbs, has cup winning experience (Anaheim, 2007) and can play hockey pretty well too. He has a respectable 15 points, -1 and averages 15:28 of ice time on a terrible Montreal Canadiens team. Montreal will surely become sellers at the trade deadline and a guy like Travis Moen is a luxury they can’t afford. Moen would provide size, character and leadership. He’s also a guy that can handle himself against Boston’s Shawn Thornton.

Hal Gill

Contract: One year left, $2.25 million

Another member of Montreal’s impending fire sale could be Hal Gill. The hulking 6’7″, 244 lbs defenceman is 36 years old and is slow as molasses. He has also proven himself to be a valuable defenceman come playoff time in the last few seasons. He wouldn’t need to play in a top 4 role in Vancouver, but could likely fill-in should the need arise. He doesn’t fit the Canucks mold per say, but he is an upgrade on Andrew Alberts.

Shane Doan

Contract: One year left, $4.55 million

Ok, I know the Coyotes probably don’t want to get rid of Shane Doan. He is their Trevor Linden. But what if they do? Trevor Linden was traded once upon a time. So was Ryan Smyth out of Edmonton. Doan is a big power forward that is probably best suited to a role on the second line. He has never played beyond the first round of the playoffs, but is likely hungrier than anyone in the league for playoff hockey. He loves life in Phoenix, but he’s also 35 years old. Sooner or later, he’s got to want a chance to win. Getting a guy like Shane Doan won’t be cheap, even though he is a rental. The Canucks would likely have to give up a guy like Mason Raymond, maybe more. As long as it’s not too much more, I would pull the trigger.

After the Canucks thrilling 4-3 win yesterday against the Boston Bruins yesterday, I decided to look for a Boston perspective on the game. What I read was downright frightening.

Say what you want about Vancouver’s media, but they don’t openly bend the truth to any degree that they do in Boston. It seems as though the Bruins can do no wrong with the Beantown scribes, much in the same way that the Republican party can do no wrong on Fox News.

Let me offer a few examples:

Joe Haggerty (CSN):

It was an eventful afternoon for Shawn Thornton facing down a Vancouver Canucks team he’s come to hate over the last year.

Six Canucks players ganged up on him in front of the Canucks bench in a chain gang-style attack more appropriate in a prison laundry room rather than an NHL rink. The order of events was pretty simple: Thornton saw somebody slash at Daniel Paille as he exited the ice for a line change, he went to investigate the situation and then got tangled with the biting Burrows.

Burrows waved his stick blade around Thornton’s neck and it was on like Donkey Kong.

“I see myself as a pretty honest player,” said Thornton. “But, I’m not going to let someone spear me in the throat. I’m also a man so I stand up for myself.”

The six Canucks attackers doesn’t even count the two Canucks players sitting on the bench holding Thornton against the boards as six other Vancouver players attempted to work him over. Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic, Zdeno Chara and David Krejci ended up pulling bodies off the pile, but the image of six players attacking one guy was enough to make any NHL traditionalist’s stomach turn.

Poor Thornton. He must have left in a wheelchair after that kind of attack by eight people! Oh wait, he was totally fine? Probably cause he wasn’t Haggerty completely misrepresented the entire altercation. Check out the video below and skip to the 2:00 mark to see how the melee started.

Want a more accurate recap? Burrows taps Paille on the ankle. Thornton slashes Burrows (the euphemism used by Haggerty was that Thornton “investigated the situation”). Burrows poked his stick in Thornton’s chest (as opposed to Burrows spearing Thornton in the neck as was suggested by some in Boston). Thornton drops the gloves and goes after the much smaller Burrows, so his teammates stepped in (even suggesting that 6 players on the ice attacked Thornton is completely false, Hamhuis doesn’t go near him until the rest of the Bruins players pile in, while Henrik looked to join in but decided smartly to go to the bench because there were six skaters on the ice due to the line change). The players that stepped in immediately were Malhotra and Bieksa, who never threw punches followed by Weise and Lapierre. Lapierre was the only player visibly throwing punches.

From Dan Shaughnessy of the Boston Globe:

Playing the Vancouver Canucks is like playing a collection of A-Rods or a full squad of Bill Laimbeers. The defending NHL Western Conference champions are a virtual conga line of Claude Lemieuxes and Ulf Samuelssons.

“B-R-U… I-N-S, WE ALL KNOW WHO’S THE BEST! BRUINS! BRUINS! YAAAAAAAY BRUINS!”.

More from Shaughnessy:

Here’s something from Stephen Harris of the Boston Herald, recapping the Brad Marchand hit on Sami Salo:

On the play, Marchand had the puck along the boards, looked up to see 6-foot-3, 212-pound Vancover defenseman Sami Salo charging at him and ducked down low to avoid the hit. Salo flipped up over Marchand, hit the ice hard and suffered a concussion.

Please. To mention Salo’s height and weight is to suggest that he is some kind of monster that was planning on delivering a bone crushing hit. Watch the replay, Salo is hardly charging at him. He wasn’t going at him with a lot of speed. Furthermore, how often has Salo ever delivered a big hit? Has he ever injured anyone? I can’t recall one and I have been watching him play hockey for ten years. Also, Brad Marchand has a history of this exact type of hit, and in the past it was done maliciously. Sort of like his hit on Daniel Sedin, after the whistle in last year’s Stanley Cup final. Was Marchand afraid of getting nailed by Daniel Sedin on that hit too? Sorry, I meant to say, was he afraid of getting nailed by 6-foot-1, 187 pound Daniel Sedin when he CHARGED at him? There, that’s better.

I’m not sure how any objective observer could watch the game played yesterday and come to such ridiculous conclusions. I think the rest of the hockey world saw what Canucks fans have known all along. The Bruins are a big, tough team, but they also take cheap shots and complain a whole heck of a lot. When they go after players, it’s honourable, and when players go after them, it’s cowardly. It seems as though they have brainwashed their cheerleaders media members as well.

The final episode of 24/7 Rangers-Flyers is another beauty. The Winter Classic is played during this episode, which featured Ilya Bryzgalov sitting on the bench with his thermos full of tea, and Mike Rupp doing his best Jaromir Jagr impression. Enjoy!

The original video appears to be taken down. I found another link that works right here.

The NHL announced the starters for this year’s All Star Game today. They are Erik Karlsson, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, Milan Michalek, Dion Phaneuf and Tim Thomas. Wait, what?? Obviously, Sens fans stuffed the ballot boxes. Of the four Senators named to the All Star game, only Jason Spezza and Erik Karlsson deserve to be in the game, and only Erik Karlsson deserves to be a starter. The fact that four Sens are not only in the game, but named as starters, is a joke. But that’s not what bothers me most.

What is bothering me the most is the fan voting results. Daniel and Henrik Sedin finished 19th and 21st in voting among forwards! Yes, the reigning Art Ross Trophy winner from last year and the Hart Trophy winner from the year before had fewer votes than players like Jordan Eberle and James Neal. Did I also mention that both players are having yet another remarkable season? Henrik is leading the league in scoring while Daniel is in second. They don’t play in a small market, they had lots of exposure on a team that went to the Stanley Cup Final last season and they just keep on doing it.

I understand that some fans will stuff the ballot box, which is the reason why Milan Michalek received more than double the votes of Henrik and Daniel combined. Leafs fans were also doing a pretty good job of stuffing the ballot box, as evidenced by the votes for Phil Kessel, Joffrey Lupul, Dion Phaneuf and James Reimer. But not every group of fans is stuffing the ballot box. That’s why the only conclusion I can come to is that the Sedins are STILL underrated! Despite three straight amazing seasons, people simply just don’t give them their due.

When you go to a Canucks game at Rogers Arena, take a look around the crowd. How many Sedin jerseys do you see? I think there might be fewer Sedin jerseys in the crowd than Kesler, Burrows or Luongo jerseys. And I just don’t get it. Personally, I own a Trevor Linden jersey, but if I had to buy a new jersey tomorrow, I would get a Henrik jersey. These players are going to end up being the top two all-time leading scorers in franchise history and still people don’t appreciate them enough! Hell, I bet you there are still a few people out there saying “they’re not first line players, they would make a very good second line…”

The Team 1040 was asking callers all day today: who is the MVP of the Canucks to this point in the season? Keep in mind that the Sedins are #1 & 2 in the league in scoring! Instead of hearing 90% Daniel or Henrik responses, the responses were all over the map. The Canucks have other good players, but do you think anyone in Philadelphia is saying their MVP is anyone other than Claude Giroux? Were there a lot of different suggestions for the Canucks MVP when Markus Naslund and Todd Bertuzzi were lighting the league on fire? Of course not

To suggest that the Canucks’ best players this season are anyone other than Daniel and Henrik Sedin is not only lunacy, it’s taking them for granted. They’re remarkable players, and it would be remarkably stupid to forget it.

What a difference one win can make. Since the Canucks last played the Bruins at Rogers Arena on June 15th of last year, the Boston Bruins had the summer of their lives. Parades, parties and accolades went their way, as it should for the Stanley Cup champions. The Canucks, on the other hand, have had just about everything about them questioned (their goaltender, their toughness, their heart, their integrity, etc).

Saturday may just be just one game out of 82 for the Canucks, and in regard to the standings that’s true. But in terms of intangibles (team building, confidence), the game is huge. Winning the game will bring a new sense of pride to the team, losing (especially losing badly) will hurt the team’s psyche. It’s the biggest statement game in the history of the franchise. It’ll be an emotionally charged building, and the Bruins will certainly be motivated to stick it to the Canucks again.

There has been some debate among Canucks fans and media about which goalie will start for Vancouver, which I find surprising. Luongo is on a roll right now, playing well for a long stretch of time, including a shutout in his last game. Hiding him from the pressure does not scream confidence to me, and if he’s your guy, you need to play him in a big game like this. Yes, Cory Schneider is from the Boston area, but he’ll get another chance to start there some day. Luongo has had poor performances in the playoffs in Chicago in previous seasons, only to play remarkably well at the United Center the following regular season.

This is an important game for the Canucks. It reminds me a lot of when the Red Wings and Avalanche played each other the year after their conference final appearance in 1996. That’s the year the Avalanche beat the Red Wings in 6 games, and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Game 6 of that series was when Kris Draper had his face smashed in by Claude Lemieux. When they played each other the following season, the Red Wings had revenge on their mind. The game got ugly and a line brawl ensued. The Wings won the game on the ice and won it in the street as well. They also went on to win the Stanley Cup that season.

The most intriguing question going into this game will be how much the Canucks fight back against the Bruins. There’s no doubt that they will be hitting and giving it their all, but what will they do if challenged to fight by one of the Bruins? Will they do some challenging themselves? Will someone want retribution on Johnny Boychuk for breaking Mason Raymond’s back? Will someone go after Brad Marchand after all of his cheap shots in the finals? Will Aaron Rome play? If he does he will almost certainly need to fight. It goes against the mantra of the Canucks to drop the gloves, but I’m not so sure they will avoid fighting in this game.

Of course, the best way for the Canucks to handle this game is to win the game. They can’t get caught up trying to turn the game into a street fight. If they do, they will lose. They should be physical, but keep it between the whistles as much as possible. Stand up for yourself, but don’t lose your head.

I’m not sure there has ever been a more anticipated Canucks game in early January before, hopefully it’ll be a beauty.

Like it or not, the book on how to beat the Vancouver Canucks is to push them around, to smack them around. The NHL is a copycat league, and when the spotlight was on the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final, the Boston Bruins beat the Canucks on the scoreboard while beating them in the alley. Here’s what Henrik Sedin has to say about that:

You know what? I’m pretty tired of that question. We won the President’s Trophy last year, we went to the seventh game of the Stanley Cup final. We didn’t lose the final because we were pushed around, we lost because we couldn’t score.

While I agree the main reason that the Canucks lost in the Stanley Cup Final (I watched game 7 again a couple of weeks ago) was because they couldn’t score, not that they got pushed around, it certainly contributed to it. The book on beating the Canucks right now is to push them around and beat them up, and that’s probably the most effective way of beating them (if you can do that while staying out of the penalty box). The book on the Canucks used to be to get in Luongo’s face and bump him (something that the Canucks mitigated last season by playing Luongo further back in his net).

The question is, does trying to beat up the Canucks actually result in winning/losing games?

The Canucks are getting hit and smacked around more than ever this year, with limited power play opportunities. The result? They’re 2 points away from being first in the NHL. The players that teams try to push around the most are Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Henrik is the current NHL scoring leader and Daniel is in fourth place. So I’m not sure the strategy is working as much as everyone thinks.

I think a lot of people are forgetting what actually took place in last year’s playoffs. The Canucks got beat up by the Bruins in the Stanley Cup Final, sure. But the Bruins do that to everyone. I think everyone has forgotten how the Canucks absolutely dominated the Chicago Blackhawks with their physical play in round 1. They were not outmatched physically by the Predators in round 2 and in round 3, they outhit the Sharks.

The Canucks could certainly use some more toughness in their lineup, but not much more in my opinion. I think it would be nice to have a warrior like Chris Neil on their fourth line, and maybe a gritty winger like Andrew Ladd on their second line. But this is nitpicking. The Canucks are not a physically imposing team to play against, but they’re not creampuffs either. They’re currently ranked 11th in the league in hits and have a lot of players with underrated grit like Jannik Hansen, Chris Higgins and the Sedin twins.

The Canucks can win the Stanley Cup with their current roster, but they’re not without warts. And that’s a distinction they share with every other elite team in the National Hockey League.