FanHouse TaylorPyatt

Vancouver, which bills itself as "Hollywood North", is a pretentious city where the citizens highly value good looks and the newest fashions.

Is it any surprise, then, that Taylor Pyatt, the metrosexual with the permanent mascara, has become one of the more popular Canucks for merchandise sales?

Pyatt, tall, dark and handsome, has emerged as a playoff star along with Trevor Linden.

But apparently his performance on the ice isn't the real reason he's a star.

"He's a good-looking guy," gushes Danielle. "He's got pretty-boy eyes."

A local sports blog lays it out in block letters.

"TAYLOR PYATT IS THE HOTTEST VANCOUVER CANUCK IN THE HISTORY OF HOTTEST CANUCKS!" according to the pinkseats.com, which also claims that Pyatt is single and rumoured to have a girlfriend

Ugh! Never mind that the guy has the IQ of a block of cheese, or is softer than an oreo dunked in milk for 20 minutes, he's just so ... dreamy!! OMG!!

Dating back to the day of Pavel Bure and Kirk MacLean, Canucks fans seem rather attracted to attractive people.

An average looking bloke like Alexander Mogilny? He wasn't so popular. The babyfaced Sedinbots? They aren't revered as they might be elsewhere. Dan Cloutier? The girls were all over that!

If you wanna be popular in Vancouver, you better be pretty, boy!

The Stars aren't shining brightly in Dallas, but the role players are.

Jan Bulis, Stu Barnes, and Taylor Pyatt were the goal scorers as the Canucks took Game Three by a 2-1 count in overtime. Markus Naslund, the Sedins, Mike Modano? They were nowhere to be found on the score sheet.

The phrase "Fast-paced low-scoring hockey game" might not sound right, but it perfectly describes last night's tilt, which was the complete opposite of a very boring Game Two. The two teams combined for 67 shots, and provided plenty of good offensive chances at both ends of the ice.

Both teams were showing the great speed they are known for, hustling hard, and rushing back and forth up the ice with vigour. I was tired just watching these teams skate back and forth! Both team's Power Plays have been nullified by the superior penalty killing units of both clubs, where both teams use their great speed to play very aggresive penalty killing styles.

The main difference between the two teams is that Vancouver likes to hit, while Dallas prefers to sit back and lull opponents to sleep. The Stars are very much a passive team, and it showed when the Canucks forechecked hard in the 3rd period, and the Stars were on their high heels.

"When we scored, we could tell they looked scared," said Jan Bulis, who scored Vancouver's first goal. "It was like they didn't want to win it in regulation, they wanted to get it into overtime. They never found their rhythm and it was up to us to take it."

For Taylor Pyatt, the OT goal was his first ever playoff goal in 17 games. He was taken off of his usual spot with the Sedins, but found instant chemistry with the hard-working duo of Linden and Smolinski.

Jannik Hansen also continued his Cinderella story, and earned himself another shot in Game Four. With increased ice time (15:27), Hansen fired four shots on goal, one of which led to Jan Bulis' opening tally. Hansen continued to display a great package of speed and enthusiasm, and hardly looked like a 21-year old rookie playing in just his second NHL tilt.

As for the Stars' stars, they have been well neutralized by Willie Mitchell and Roberto Luongo. Mike Modano has just one lone assist in this series, and was hard to notice on the ice last night. Mike Ribeiro, the Stars' regular season scoring leader, has been softer than a duck-down pillow and has just one lone point, himself.

Stu Barnes, of all people, leads the Stars with three points in three games. If the Canucks continue to neutralize the few weapons that pop-gun Stars' offence has, then no amount of Marty Turco heroics is going to help Dallas overcome Vancouver's balanced attack.

After Anson "Tarantula Head" Carter had a boffo welcome-back party after playing with the Sedin twins (33 goals in 81 games) last season, he got greedy and expected a big pay day on the open market.

Unfortunately for Anson, teams weren't buying the fact that he was a bonafide scorer any longer, and balked at his asking price of $3mil/year for 3 years.

Carter had to settle with a 1-year deal from the Columbus Blue Jackets ($2.5million), and has been showing just why teams weren't willing to sign him, as he's struggled to put up meager offensive totals (28 points in 65 games). Nobody was buying that Anson Carter was suddenly one of the league's better goal scorers.

Is the lanky Taylor Pyatt going to possibly make the same mistake?

CKNW in Vancouver is reporting that the Canucks made a two-year, $2.4 million offer to Pyatt, and were subsequently told it would not be enough to retain the services of the 21-goal scorer. The Pyatt camp is apparently looking for a deal in the Matt Cooke range. Cooke, who has just eight goals, makes $1.5 million per season.

According to reports, Pyatt is also looking for a three-year deal.

While Taylor has been a solid citizen for the Canucks this year with 21 goals and 14 assists in 72 games, much of his offensive output can be attributed to playing beside the cycling Sedinbots. Hopefully, Pyatt and his agent won't start being blinded by the dollar signs, and will come to a reasonable agreement with the Canucks.

I, and many other Canucks fans, could easily live with $1.5mil/year for 3 seasons, given how the well-paid Matt Cooke has done very little to justify such a salary.