Canucks and Beyond

Dallas v Vancouver: A Goalie Tale

02/25/2007 at 3:26pm EST
Is Canucks' netminder Roberto Luongo under seige when he does his job? Yes, and Jason Botchford atThe Province says he likes it that way:
That's due, in part, to the fact Luongo is uniquely particular in the way he wants his defencemen to play in front of him.When an opposing forward gets position right in front of his crease, virtually on top of him, Luongo has what could be considered an odd instruction for his D-men -- leave the player alone."He's very different from other goalies I've played with," Willie Mitchell said. "When there are guys in front of the net, especially in the new NHL, you can't go in and cross-check them out of the way. So you go in, get beside him and pick his stick. With [Luongo], he thinks of that as an extra body in front."He'd rather just have the one guy in front of him, and he'd like us to leave that guy alone."The results can be unnerving for Canucks fans.
Yeah, "unnerving" is the word. Gotta love those moments when you see his knee turn at odd angles as he gets crushed under the occasional 220 lb defenseman.Anyway, Luongo is playing well, traffic or not, so 'if it ain't broke, don't fix it'. Otherwise, Vancouver doesn't seem to have much going on, as everyone waits to see if GM Dave Nonis finds a way to pick up an extra body or two before the Tuesday deadline. Meanwhile in Dallas, changes have been afoot. From the NHL Game Notes:
STARS INJURY REPORT * C Eric Lindros is day-to-day with a lower body injury. * RW Matthew Barnaby is day-to-day with a concussion. * C Steve Ott is week-to-week with an ankle injury. * LW Brenden Morrow is out indefinitely with a wrist injury. * C Patrik Stefan is out indefinitely with a hip injury. Total Man-Games Lost: 173STARS RECENT TRANSACTIONS * Claimed D Nolan Baumgartner off waivers from Philadelphia on Feb. 24. * Placed C Patrik Stefan on injured reserve on Feb. 24. * Acquired C Shane Endicott from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for future considerations on Feb. 23. * Acquired LW Ladislav Nagy from the Phoenix Coyotes in exchange for LW Mathias Tjarnqvist and a first round pick in 2007 on Feb. 12.
For a compare-and-contrast between Vancouver and Dallas, check out the image below. (*click it to enlarge)
image
On the subject of goalies, Marty Turco may be impressive, but he's no Luongo. And if all else fails, the Dallas Stars' goalie coach has a backup plan.Innovative, right?

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