Fan In Van

The Bitter End

As Roberto Luongo and his wife Gina prepare to welcome “Baby Lu” into this world, the timing couldn’t possibly be worse for the Vancouver Canucks. After all, the Canucks are a mere two points ahead of the Nashville Predators and with their first three-game losing streak weighing down on their shoulders like an anvil in desert heat, things are looking mighty dim for Canuck fans.

But with all that negativity aside, it absolutely sickens me when Canuck fans think it is imperative for Roberto Luongo to rush back to Vancouver any time soon. This is the birth of Luongo’s first child, for crying out loud; to have Luongo put family aside is ludicrous, for anyone, in any job. If I were Canuck management, despite this absolutely crucial period, I’m telling Roberto to take the Minnesota game off, rest, be with family, and clear his head. I’d tell him not to worry about work; don’t worry about fan and media pressure … family comes first.

I’m getting word that Luongo may make it back in time for the Minnesota game so all this may be for naught, but the truth is using Curtis Sanford, as whacky as it sounds, may be a good move for Vancouver. Sanford has already recorded one win against the Wild this season and the Vancouver Canucks have had an uncanny habit of winning when they’re least expected to this year. When the Canucks lost Bieksa and Salo against the Predators back in November, everyone expected the Canucks to get handily destroyed by Colorado the next game, but instead came back with a convincing victory and rattled off three straight wins.

And to anyone else who has a shred of optimism left in their dying Canuck souls, remember the fact that the Canucks play four of their final five games at home, whereas the Nashville Predators play four of their final five on the road. Can home ice be the difference? Or is the Predators’ gimmie games against Chicago, Columbus and St. Louis too much for the Canucks?