Fan In Van

Opposing Coaches Help Canucks

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I get the feeling the Canucks have been getting a little help from their opponents’ coaches.

During the Canucks’ current three-game win streak against the Stars, Coyotes and Oilers the Vancouver Canucks have been getting some “favourable” goaltenders to start in net, and it all comes from their opponents’ coaches making these decisions.

Let’s be honest here; had Dallas head coach Dave Tippett started Marty Turco instead of Johan Holmqvist (Who made his Stars debut a month after being traded, and at home, in fact), the result would’ve been different. Holmqvist let in two soft goals to spot the Canucks a three-goal lead that they squandered in the second period. Turco essentially shut the door in the third period and might’ve won the game had Stephane Robidas’ face not muddled things up.

And more recently last night, Craig MacTavish made another questionable coaching decision to start veteran Dwayne Roloson in favour of Mathieu Garon, with the Oilers’ hopes of catching the Canucks on the line. While Garon’s 3-2 record versus the Canucks this year is by no means spectacular, it is certainly a better feat than Roloson’s 0-2 record against Vancouver. I can say that I might endorse MacT’s decision to start Roloson to some extent simply because Roloson had been playing better more recently than Garon, but when your team’s playoff hopes are on the line, you’ve got to use the goaltender who has been lights out against your opponent all year.

Now, unlike the Dallas game, there’s no saying for certain that had Garon been in net for the Oilers they would’ve won the game. But you look at the Matt Pettinger goal and Roloson challenged Pettinger by coming way out of the crease and he left the top corner wide open. Garon, who has been absolutely deadly in shootouts, may have also stopped Linden’s snap shot which sealed the Oilers’ fate. But, hindsight is 20/20.

The point I’m making is that while the Canucks look like they’re finding a little more consistency, that isn’t to say they’ve somehow got some help from Dave Tippett and Craig MacTavish’s brutal decisions to start their backup goaltenders against a hungry Vancouver squad.