Speculation on a time of madness

Now don't get upset, I'm not predicting this will or even might happen, but what if...

What if the Canucks, having been blown out three games in a row in Boston, actually drop game seven and lose the cup at home? I grant you, it's a big what if.

Hard to say what the real issue would be. One could argue that Zdeno Chara cross checking Henrik Sedin to the ice, waiting until he got up, and then hitting him in the chest was one root problem. Why is that a problem? Well, normally it wouldn't be, except that the net result of that particular play was four-on-four hockey as the refs correctly called Chara for interference, but then evened it out by calling Henrik for the dive. Hard to play skill hockey when you are lying on your back or in the sin bin for a BS call like that.

One might also argue that Roberto Luongo is the root cause of the problem. I was a staunch defender after games three and four. The team played like crap in front of him. So he gave up a couple soft goals. When you lose eight to one, a couple soft goals don't really matter in the overall scheme of things.

That brings us to tonight. I am currently not watching hockey. It is game six of the Stanley Cup Finals. I have been waiting thirty five years for the Canucks to even look like they have the remotest possibility of actually being good enough to win the cup. Bobby Lou gives up not one, not two, but three soft goals in the space of about two minutes. I shut off the game. I can't stand the stress. I love sports, I love hockey, and I love the Canucks, but I couldn't stand it. I will check the score in a while to see if I should turn it back on again.

So, why the blog post to admit to the world that I am not watching my Canucks in the Cup finals? My question is, should the unthinkable happen, should the Canucks somehow lose in seven, and should Luongo not play unbelievably well in game seven (ie win the game for them) what do you do as an organization? Luongo has a giant contract. If he loses game seven for them by giving up soft goals, he will also have proven that he is not a world class goaltender. Do you sit a guy making millions and start Schneider next year, an up and coming goaltender who has already demonstrated that he has the talent to be a number one goalie anywhere other than on a team with Roberto Luongo? Do you go to the well one more time and hope that, like he finally conquered the Blackhawks after three years, that he will finally conquer the Cup finals in another couple years?

Hey, I'm just asking? I hope they win the cup in seven (or six although I'll be sitting here pointedly ignoring the TV downstairs) and he proves once and for all that he is one of the best goal tenders in the league. In the meantime, he has given up sixteen goals in three games in Boston and sure doesn't look like world class from the cheap seats.