It has been 272 days since the Vancouver Canucks last played hockey on home ice, and what has been learned so far? 1: that a 48 game season is going to be a sprint to the finish in that every win is going to be crucial. And 2: a goalie controversy seems to be the only consistent part about the Canucks game as of late, and it picked up where it left off last year!

PHOTO CREDIT - Canucks.com

Vancouver - January 21, 2013 - It has been 272 days since the Vancouver Canucks last played hockey on home ice, and what has been learned so far? 1: that a 48 game season is going to be a sprint to the finish in that every win is going to be crucial. And 2: a goalie controversy seems to be the only consistent part about the Canucks game as of late, and it picked up where it left off last year!

Firstly, nobody expected a polished Canucks team to come out tonight and lay waste to their opening season opponent the Ducks of Anaheim, which clearly wasn’t the case as they lost handily 7-3. But on the other hand, nobody expected Cory Schneider to struggle as he did midway through the game only to see former no.1 goalie Roberto Luongo replace him between the pipes! Yes, the Canucks fans’ favorite whipping boy was cheered onto the ice with a chorus of Loooo’s as if he were to be the savior of tonight’s game.

As I sat there and watched the Canucks bumble and stumble their way around the ice surface trying desperately to shake off the long lockout cobwebs and hope that the five days of training camp would lead to something productive, the buzz was in the air about the Luongo/Schneider saga. Before the game started there was talk about how Schneider deserved to get the start against the Ducks as he was the newly anointed starter for the Canucks this year. But that opinion seemed to quickly change as Schneider let three pucks past him in the span of just over three minutes midway through the second period to sway the opinion that Luongo should have gotten the start as he is the most experienced!

The game wasn’t nearly as entertaining as watching and listening to the reactions of the hometown faithful ride the teeter-totter of the goalie dilemma, which will only continue to be the hot topic of debate until either Luongo or Schneider is wearing different colors! Yes, both netminders are capable and qualified to lead a team onto the ice, and both rightfully want to be “the guy.” But the question that needs to be answered now, is who “can” be the guy while knowing full well that his backup is chomping at the bit to replace him as the number 1?

It’s a caustic situation that needs to be rectified if the Canucks are to have any hope in this shortened season, and one can only hope that no bridges are burned in the process! With only one game in the books, there is more talk about who is going to be in net for the game against the pesky, young upstart Edmonton Oilers on Sunday than there is about how to start correcting the struggles of the five guys who played in front of the crease last night.

Let the debate begin anew!