Canucks: Adam Gaudette could bring energy to the lineup

After dropping back-to-back games versus the St. Louis Blues, it’s time for the Vancouver Canucks to insert Adam Gaudette back into the lineup. Here’s why.

To put it simply, Adam Gaudette packs a toolbelt with a lot more to offer than some of the current players within the Vancouver Canucks lineup. He’s been scratched from the starting roster since Brandon Sutter reclaimed his rightful spot as the third line center, but that doesn’t mean Gaudette can’t sub in for somebody else, say Jake Virtanen?

The birthday boy turned 24-years-old on the same day Vancouver dropped a 3-1 contest that allowed the Blues to tie up the series at two apiece. You’d think that after being pointless through seven games, Virtanen would be eager to make a difference, but it was quite the opposite performance from No. 18. Unfortunately, no shotguns were had for Jake, and he played quite poorly.

With 11:24 of ice time, Virtanen registered zero shots on goal, put up two hits, and was for the most part, invisible out there to the human eye. When will Travis Green put his foot down and make some serious changes? Because enough is enough. He’s been given every opportunity to play the game expected of him, and time after time he’s disappointed tremendously.

For a player who’s fighting for his next contract, he sure doesn’t seem too worried about his lack of point production. It’s time to give him one last wake up call and send him to the press box. Give him the boot and make way for someone more hungry, someone more deserving. That’s where Gaudette slots in.

He might not be the power forward that Virtanen was supposed to become, but the Canucks aren’t getting hard hits from Virtanen anyway, so why not give Gaudette a chance? He brings speed, intensity on the puck, and he loves nothing more than scoring goals. He carries assets in his game that play to Vancouver’s strengths and that’s what this club needs to start doing if they want to turn this series around.

No more trying to match the Blues step for step physically because it’s not working. Vancouver is being overpowered, outplayed, and brutally outshot. It’s time to counterattack St. Louis with speed and skill. Gaudette brings that on a night to night basis, and maybe he can refuel the Canucks’ second unit power play along the way.

This team relies heavily on special teams to get Vancouver the win and going 0 for 7 in a pivotal Game 4 won’t cut it. The second unit looks lost with Sutter running things, and we all know that when Gaudette is on his game, he has an absolute howitzer of a one-timer. His goal celebrations alone are enough to fire up the Vancouver bench and the entirety of Canucks Nation.

Now I can’t say for sure if Green will make the necessary swap ahead of Game 5 but after two straight losses, any smart coach would find a way to get his goalscorers back into the lineup. The puck drops on Wednesday night at 7:30 PM Pacific.