Sports

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By Josh Martin, Sports Editor

oberto Luongo; a superhero
Re day and a villain at
night.

It has been a constant
rollercoaster ride for the
goaltender in the world of media
upon his arrival several years
ago here in Vancouver. One day
he is our “saviour,” the next day
he is the reason why we lost the
Stanley Cup.

A love-hate relationship
has developed over the years
between the Olympic medalist
and the Vancouver Canucks fans
which makes it that much easier
to blame everything on him
whenever something seems to go
awry. But lately, it hasn’t been that
Way.

He saved the day once again
this past weekend in an afternoon
game against the Colorado
Avalanche where the Canucks
simply didn’t deserve to win—a
pattern which has manifested and
become quite evident in the last
couple of outings the Canucks
have been a part of. They were
sloppy, they gave up quality

=

scoring chances, and they were
outshot 46-29.

A defensive nightmare.

However, from an outsider’s
point of view it might not seem
like a big issue with the fact that
the Canucks are still somehow
managing to stay in games while
getting some quality points. But
how much longer will Luongo
and Cory Schneider be able to bail
the entire team out? How much
longer can they handle the heat?

 

Now, this raises a few
questions.

Should the city of Vancouver
really be worried about sucha
pattern? Or is it just a little bit of
a slip up ina long and gruelling
82-game schedule where there
are bound to be some bumps and
bruises along the way? And how
can anyone complain when the
Canucks are still finding ways to
win games?

As of right now it isn’t much

“In the span of those three games the Canucks were outshot 128-87 and

Something’s got to give.

Luongo made 44 saves on
Saturday afternoon, 40 saves
against the Detroit Red Wings last
Thursday while backup Schneider
made 37 saves on 39 shots against
the Chicago Blackhawks last
Tuesday night. In the span of those
three games the Canucks were
outshot 128-87 and yet still won
two of them, scoring a total of nine
goals while giving up eight.

yet still won two of them, scoring a total of nine goals while giving up eight.’

of a worry, considering that it’s
only been three games and a
win is a win. Any team will take
a sloppy two points over a loss
despite giving up 46 shots on goal
against the Avalanche. But it does
raise a little bit of concern should
this three-game bump turn into
an ongoing formality nearing the
end of the regular season.

So, what's missing? Is it the
absence of the solid top four

SAMUCKS SON MCT Defensive doubts

defenseman that the Canucks
need—a position which Christian
Ehrhoff filled in so valiantly the
last couple of seasons which
earned him a huge contract with
the Buffalo Sabres this year.
Perhaps.

Having such solid
goaltending, the Canucks have
options if they were to seek out a
top four defenseman before the
trade deadline on February 27,
which seems to be the small gap
that is missing to their puzzle.
That option unfortunately
includes backup goalie Schneider
on the market for the best possible
deal... That’s exactly what it
would have to take for GM Mike
Gillis to pull the trigger and make
a move.

But then that would leave
us with just Luongo as the only
choice heading into the post-
season... [he unmasked hero/
villain who's sticking around
for another 11 years, according
to his contract agreement. Will
the Canucks then have the best
possible team for a run at the cup?
Or do they already have it?

‘