Why Don't Goalies Utilize the Poke Check More During Shootouts?

After watching numerous shootouts this year and not witnessing even one being attempted, I can’t help but wonder, why goalies don’t poke check during shootouts more often.

Whether the shooter comes in with speed or takes his time, it seems like a poke check is the last thing they expect. In fact, it appears as though shooters have all the time in the world, and they know it. In many cases, it’s not rare to see a shooter stickhandle all the way into the blue ice of the crease. It’s ridiculous. Why do goalies insist on giving shooters that much time? Why do goalies give shooters that much space? Are they excessively focused on squaring their shoulders to the puck? Are they negligently fixated on sound positioning?

If I were a goalie, I think I’d attempt a poke check on every shootout, every shooter, like a drunk and angry Ron Hextall (he may not have been drunk, but he did look angry a lot).

Now I’m no professional by any means. I played a lot of hockey but I lacked the size, speed, power, and general skill that it takes to achieve a position in the professional ranks, but to me, a poke check is the perfect element of surprise, and it seems that players never expect it anymore, because it’s never attempted. I realize that if I did it for every shooter in every shootout, the element of surprise would diminish and I may end up the worst and, possibly stupidest goalie out there, but then the mind games would begin. 

Imagine a goalie had a high percentage of poke check attempts in shootouts. In this day and age of increased study and significance of analytics, it would be much harder for opposing players to quickly strategize and mentally prepare in the precious moments before being sent out for the one on one. Is he going to poke check me or isn’t he? Shooters may wait and judge based on instant placement and goalie movement, but the seed of doubt and spontaneity has already been placed deep in their mind, paralyzing them with fear, uncertainty, doubt. Ok, maybe it’s not that profound and confounding, but a successful poke check is a glorious a sight. It should be utilized more often and I think it would lead to desired results. It might also lead to undesired results where the goalie is left looking like an idiot, but at least a variation on the norm would emerge, affecting the shooters to come and maybe making them a little more anxious as the collect the puck at centre.