Quick Hits

Welcome to the radar: Brent Burns

An interesting twitter post from everyone's favorite SportsCentre anchor, Jay Onrait, I saw this morning on my computer monitor.

"I don’t think there’s five defensemen like him in the league, not even close." Ken Hitchcock on Brent Burns of the Wild.

Not saying I put him on the team, but that's a strong endorsement from one of the coaches of our beloved hockey team in Vancouver.

Luongo struggling

Roberto Luongo allowed 4 goals on 12 shots last night in what became a 5 - 3 for the Canucks at the hands of the mighty Columbus Blue Jackets. This drops Luongo's record to 0 - 3 this year, in 3 games started. His save percentage is .820, with a GAA of 4.55. It may be his defence, it may be the team, but they were nearly perfect in the preseason so I'm having trouble saying there would be THAT much of a fall off.

Hey Bobbo, I know it's early, but you haven't been announced as a member of Team Canada although most figure you to be a lock. You've gotta be the best to be on this team... if we wanted a guy who doesn't win and has a terrible GAA and SV% we could have gone out and easily picked up Chris Osgood (zing!!)

Staal is tough

I have to say I let out a small expletive on Saturday night watching the Bruins - Canes game... not because I had to listen to Matty boast about "his Bruins" incessantly, but because a guy who I figure to be in Vancouver, Eric Staal, took a slapshot to the head during the game.

Thankfully, Staal returned in the 3rd and even notched a goal in a 7-2 loss to the Bruins, all but eliminating Ryan "No one can stand in front of the net like me" Smyth from Twentyten consideration. Also helping to eliminate his chances, his enrollment into the witness protection program... Oh wait, I guess he's in LA, whatever, same difference...

Women are winners

The Canadian Women's hockey team beat the US yesterday, their first win after three consecutive losses to the yanks...

... so yeah... Go Canada!

What About Bob?

Bob here, of course, meaning "Robert", and Robert, of course, meaning the hopes and man-crush of every Canucks fan in Roberto Luongo.

Luongo played in arguably the biggest game of his career on Monday night with the Canucks, laying a giant egg in a 4 goal, 9 shot third period.

Now I'm just sayin' here that Luongo has never been part of a team that has really wowed anyone. Partly because he played most of his years in Florida with a team that was, well, awful. However, he's now had his shot in the playoffs.

When he was traded to the Canucks he was supposed to be the missing link that would get them over that hump, also affectionately known as "Dan Cloutier", that would bring them to the promised land. Of course, this hasn't happened yet, and really, I don't think much more of the current Vancouver team than I do the Florida team he played with. I figured it was the same situation, he's a good goalie on a terrible team.

Now what I'm just sayin' is that he was supposed to be the star of this team. I'm not saying he's not a great goalie, because his stats are impressive, but he doesn't seem to have the mental makeup of a big game goalie. Of course there will be no bigger games than those coming in February 2010 in the city in which he currently plays.

If you'd asked me before this season who the goalies for 2010 would be, I would have said, without even having to think about it: Luongo, Brodeur, Price. But as it stands now, Marty spent a big chunk of the season injured, and at 37 he's no spring chicken anymore, there's no guarantee that he can stand up to the toll of as many games as he plays over the course of a season. He didn't seem himself in the first round although losing to a firey Carolina team who last night disposed of the number one seeded Bruins of Boston is nothing to be to concerned about. Roberto, as I say, doesn't seem to have that big game mentality, and apparently Price forgot how to play goalie in the NHL (we'll get to him another time) so right now this goaltending situation is way up in the air.

Who starts? Just sayin' Cam Ward has been more than impressive in these first two rounds, and he's won a cup, a cup he won in a game 7, so you know he can play in big games. Has he usurped Luongo's spot on the team? Does it make sense?

So if you were, today, to ask me "What about Bob?", I would simply have no answer.