Suddenly, The Canucks Nightmare Is Very Real

Oh boy.

At this time last week, the Vancouver Canucks were sitting very pretty, seemingly having vanquished all the demons of their past playoff failings, on the verge of sweeping the defending Stanley Cup champion Chicago Blackhawks. Goaltender Roberto Luongo had silenced those who doubted his playoff pedigree. The team’s offense was rolling. Everything had fallen into place for the team who finished atop the NHL standings to make a deep playoff run.

But then 7-2 happened. Just one game, they figured, nothing to worry too much about. Then 5-0. Suddenly, their dominant goaltending had disappeared, and they were heading back to Chicago with a very tenuous hold on the series lead.

And it only got worse.

Sunday night’s 4-3 overtime loss capped off the Canuck’s week from hell with possibly the most devastating blow yet, not only forcing a do-or-die Game 7, but reawakening every fear, every worry and every nightmare the team was fighting as they entered the playoffs.

A look at the NHL scores doesn’t tell the whole story. Sure, it was only a one-goal OT loss on the road against a defending Cup champion, but really, it was so much worse.

First on everyone’s mind was Canucks’ coach Alain Vigneault game-time decision to bench Vezina candidate Luongo in favour of rookie Cory Schneider, a move that reeked of panic and a lack of confidence in equal measure. Schneider had an excellent season, and Louie is a classy, mature player, but benching a guy whose self-confidence has flagged from time-to-time is hardly the best way to manage your stars’ psyches.

In Vigneault’s defense, Schneider did look sharp – aside from one mishandling of the puck that cost Vancouver a goal.

Still, the puzzling decision became even stranger when Schneider’s right leg cramped violently on an attempted save of Michael Frolik’s penalty shot. The puck snuck over his pad, and he fell back in visible pain. And so the WWE-style tag team in the Canucks’ net switched places again, with Luongo entering the hostile United Center ice cold.

The early reports on Schneider’s injury suggest he could be available for Game 7 on Tuesday night, but Vigneault wouldn’t comment on who will get the call. Whoever it is, they’ll find themselves tossed into a pressure cooker of a game.

The Blackhawks will step onto the ice at Rogers Arena all the momentum and nothing to lose. They backed their way into the playoffs, and after dropping three quick games to the powerful Canucks, their eulogy had already been written.

The Canucks, on the other hand, have everything to lose. They’re on the cusp of becoming only the fourth team in NHL history to lose a playoff series after going up 3-0. They’re one loss away from being eliminated by the Blackhawks for the third straight season. They’re one bad game away from wasting the best season in franchise history.

How’s that for pressure?