Gotta See It: Remind us, please, who’s the backup and who’s the Number 1?
Not that Roberto Luongo needs to be showcased as a worthwhile addition to your favourite goaltending-deficient club, but Lu only increased his worth to the Vancouver Canucks with his 24-save-shutout performance at home against the Colorado Avalanche Wednesday night.
You gotta be good to be lucky and lucky to be good, the cliché goes.
Luongo was both Wednesday, as his positioning and poise was vintage, stoning sniper Matt Duchene on a clear breakaway and besting John Mitchell at close range in the slot.
But the highlight came early, as Luongo — who admitted he was “a little bit” surprised to get his second straight start — got a piece of a Jan Hejda shot but the puck trickled behind the goaltender.
Turning and falling, Lu knocked the puck out of the crease with the taped-up knob of his goal-stick, spawning a slew of easy “Luongo’s knob” puns on Twitter.
Maybe GM Mike Gillis is too far down the rabbit hole, but here’s an idea: Why not take Luongo by the arm and help him step down from the trading block for this short season?
Chicago has likely lost interest; Corey Crawford is playing out of his mind. Toronto can’t blame its so-so start on its young goaltending duo. And last-place Florida is doing a good job of becoming a seller and not a buyer.
The Canucks’ championship window is still open. Is it too crazy to believe Luongo and Cory Schneider – good friends, who have been professional throughout this circus — can share the crease à la Jaroslav Halak and Brian Elliott in St. Louis until summer hits?
Luongo, who has yet to take a regulation loss, is now 1-0-2 on the season with a GAA of 1.61 and .938 save percentage.
The Canucks face a beauty of a test Friday as they host the Chicago Blackhawks. The teams, of course, hate each other. With the Canucks finding their game and the Blackhawks yet to lose a game in regulation or overtime, the match is shaping up to be must-see television.
Will the Canucks give their trade-bait star a third consecutive start?