The Forgotten Man
by Jeff Paterson / Vancouver Canucks It doesn’t happen often, but it looks like Roberto Luongo has become the forgotten man – or at least the overshadowed man -- when it comes to the Vancouver Canucks’ recent shootout success.
Certainly, it’s great that Alex Edler has stepped to the fore and risen to the challenge to score in recent shootouts in St. Louis and against the New York Islanders -- is there anything the kid can’t do? And is there any way he won’t be among the Young Stars asked to strut their stuff at the All Star Weekend in Atlanta? But while Edler has been busy adding shootout sniper to his already lengthy list of accomplishments and joining Trevor Linden as one of the few go-to-guys on the hockey club, success in the NHL’s tie-breaking showdown requires strong performances at both ends of the ice. And very quietly, Roberto Luongo has upped his performance in the one-on-one situations.
Tkachuk managed to beat Luongo on one of two second period breakaways and would have been the fourth Blue to get a crack in the shootout, but Luongo made sure the tie-breaker didn’t get that far. Both of Edler’s recent shootout goals have put the Canucks ahead, but he hasn’t been in a position to end those hockey games. That responsibility has fallen on the broad shoulders of Luongo who’s been given the chance to make game-winning stops. And both times he’s answered the challenge and done just that – forcing the Islanders’ Trent Hunter to misfire last Tuesday and staring down the Blues’ Andy MacDonald on Sunday. ![]() In that time, he’s stymied a few guys you may have heard of – Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Shane Doan, Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie and Paul Kariya just to name a few. Luongo – and the Canucks – have now won three straight shootouts. And Luongo has evened his record in shootouts on the season at three and three after being beaten on four of the first nine attempts he faced this year in dropping games to the Oilers twice and the Penguins. (Curtis Sanford was in goal for the Canucks other shootout this season – (a 2-1 loss in Edmonton on December 15th). ![]() It’s a calculated risk to leave Trevor Linden out of the line-up (as happened Sunday in St. Louis) since he’s four for five in shootouts this season and six for eight lifetime. But with Alex Edler stepping up to play hero at one end of the ice and Roberto Luongo clearly making life difficult on opposing shooters at the other, it looks like the Canucks are poised to grab their share of the bonus points that will be up for grabs in shootout games down the stretch. And in the end, one of those shootout points could very well be the difference in winning the division or gaining home ice in the first round of the playoffs. And recently it has looked like that point is getting through to the Vancouver Canucks. |