Damage Control is a weekly column about the NHL/WCHL. If you can't get enough hockey, it's the column for you. Every Friday we'll take a look at the biggest storylines, games and players in the WCHL. You might think last week was the big one, but it wasn't. Last week was actually the week before the big one. The big one happened last Saturday, November 24. That's when, for the first time ever, WHL teams were involved in a shootout. Calgary Hitmen forward Mark Kastelic scored the only goal in the shootout to eliminate the Vancouver Giants from playoff contention. The Hitmen were the only team in the WHL who scored on every shootout attempt they took. It's just one of many ways they were the only team in the WHL who dominated. Calgary has scored the most goals in the WHL this season, with 223. Their record is also the best in the WHL, at 50-11-1-1. And while that might have been good enough for first place, Calgary won't rest on their laurels. They have a history of making big splashes in the playoffs. In seven seasons in the playoffs, they've lost only one series (the 2006-07 Prince Albert Raiders), and are 3-2 in those seven appearances. The Prince Albert Raiders, who beat them for first place and home ice in the Western Conference finals, still have a chance to make it four straight. They host Calgary on Friday, December 11 in a playoff rematch. The Victoria Royals and Kamloops Blazers are the only other teams with a shot at making it to the WHL final this season. However, even though it's a rare situation, Victoria isn't the only team in the WHL that will likely start off in first place in their conference in a conference championship. A number of teams have earned the No. 2 seed in their conferences, but since the first four teams in the WHL standings are all tied at 88 points with a plus-6 goal differential, all teams but Prince George can technically claim to be No. 2. In fact, it's probably safe to say that only four teams are really focused on trying to finish the season first in their conferences: - Brandon is the only team in the Eastern Conference with a solid chance at playing in the top seed. They have won the last eight games, and are sitting pretty on top of the WHL's best division. The Wheat Kings still have a chance to be No. 1. - Kelowna has a chance to be No. 1, but they're in a dogfight with Kamloops, Red Deer and Prince Albert. They have gone 3-1-1-1 over their last five games, but have only played seven games since the calendar flipped to November, including only one road game. So they're still only 2 points ahead of the Royals. - Swift Current and Moose Jaw have identical records, sitting at 61-7-4-3. Both teams are at the top of the other division, so they could technically be considered the second best team in the WHL. However, if you're looking at a two-way tiebreaker, Swift Current has the head-to-head advantage, with two wins to Moose Jaw's one. So, it's likely that Moose Jaw will be one of the teams watching the playoffs from home. Calgary hasn't had much time to dwell on their playoff failure from last season, as the WHL schedule is so short. Their next regular season game is Friday, when they host Prince Albert. The season concludes with back-to-back games against Kelowna, and the Wheat Kings host the Hitmen on March 7. Even after the most recent loss, I'd expect to see plenty of the Hitmen in the playoffs this season. The Prince Albert Raiders and Kamloops Blazers have had some struggles this season, and it's certainly possible for one of them to grab the top spot in the Eastern Conference. That could come back to haunt the Hitmen if they don't make it. It might not be a coincidence that the top seed is playing the worst hockey in the league. In fact, with a win on Friday, the Hitmen could secure their first home playoff game since 2008. The No. 1 seed is still a major title, as three teams would need to go on a 10-0 tear to catch them. Though the Hitmen's record is actually 5-3-1-1 in their last nine games, and they haven't been much of a factor in recent WHL action, if the playoff spots were decided today, it'd be Calgary. But let's not overreact. These guys are good enough to keep hanging with anyone, and they still have two of the best players in the league on their team. If the Hitmen were to get bumped from the top spot, they'd still be the only team that's ever stayed on top of the standings for the WHL playoffs. I'm no pro, but I know there's a lot more hockey to play, and there's still a whole lot of time left for Calgary to make the playoffs. And if anyone thought we were going to take a look at some of those teams and talk about how great they are? Yeah, that ain't happening. Tuesday, November 25, 2008 This is a short post that contains two things you could consider major spoilers: 1) I don't make nearly as much money off the Vancouver Giants as I do from my regular blog, so I am writing this as a freebie.2) I am no longer writing the weekly Hitmen preview, so while I am trying to give the WHL some love, I'm not going to spend much time on the Giants. I have written about the WHL for the last six years, and while the Vancouver Giants have changed coaches and the Vancouver Canucks have changed owners and coaches and general managers, they have never been the topic of a single article I've written. So when I see, over and over and over, about how much money the Giants have won in a season, I have to shake my head and say "Wow, that's impressive." They've done it four of the last six seasons, but, unfortunately, most people in hockey haven't given it a whole lot of thought. So for people not really paying attention, that's about all you've heard. But it shouldn't be that surprising that a team has won four of six division titles in the four years I've been in Vancouver. But it doesn't matter if you didn't get much of a chance to follow the Giants, because that doesn't mean there's not a story that can be told. It would have been interesting to get some insight into how a WHL team stays on top for so long. But it's hard to go too far down a path like that, and it seems there's a good chance it would have been a lot of effort for little reward. So instead, I'm just going to make some pretty bold claims. I'm going to say that they're just going to have to put together four good lines, and I'm going to say that Vancouver has one of the best goalies in the WHL, and I'm going to say that they're going to have to be the best possession team in the league and there's not one thing in their favor on paper. So what are you waiting for? Sit down and take the ride! - Vancouver will have the best starting goaltender in the WHL. Henrik Haapala is having a decent year, but he is not the type of goaltender that's going to carry a team to the conference finals. He'll probably be good enough to give them a shot, but you've got to have a goalie that can carry the team on his back to win a title. Ryan Smyth won it for the Hitmen, and he was pretty much the only one who did anything. But that was a different time, and that was four years ago. In his last three years in the WHL, Grier has played a total of 40 games, and he was 2-0-1 with a save percentage of .930 and 2.34 GAA. That's pretty much as good as it gets. I'll admit it, I never thought I'd see the day that a guy who was drafted in the fifth round in 2001 would be having the kind of success he's having. But he's earned it. Vancouver has three high-end lines, and one third line. The fourth line is decent, but he isn't the kind of center that can match up against many other teams' top lines. That means Vancouver is depending on their goalie to win their games. And while Haapala is better than I thought he would be, he's still not the kind of guy who can go out and stop a number of goals in a game. Instead, Vancouver is depending on a very good line, one that can find the open man. There's always a great story when a goalie lights the lamp, and there's always a good story when it's an 18-year-old kid lighting the lamp. But if you were a betting man, you'd have to go with Smyth over any goalie that's getting