Captain steals Win and maybe division crown?

In last night’s pivotal tilt between the Vancouver Canucks and the Calgary Flames, Vancouver captain Roberto Luongo stole the show. Luongo ended up making 46 saves as his Canucks beat the Flames 4-1 at the garage Tuesday evening. Calgary dominated every aspect of the game, but they just could not beat the Canuck goaltender.

The win boosted the Canucks back into a tie with the Flames for first place in the Northwest, with 2 games remaining.

Despite the victory, Vancouver fans should be concerned, as they have seen their Canucks outplayed over the last 3 to 4 games.

No doubt, they are playing with heavy hearts. The loss of Taylor Pyatt’s fiancée Carly Bragnalo, who was killed last Thursday in a tragic car accident while vacationing in Jamaica, was clearly still fresh on their minds.

As tragic as the situation is, unfortunately as they say “the show must go on”, and the Canucks, if they want to go far in the playoffs, are going to have to refocus.

“We need to tighten up all over the ice…” said forward Ryan Kessler. “… You never like to criticize a win, but if Louie didn’t play the way he did, we might have lost 8-0 or 9-0…There’s lots we have to tighten up before the playoffs or we’re going to be four and out”.

Vancouver has demonstrated the ability to snap out of it in a hurry and get their groove back so to speak, rather quickly. They will get their chance in game 81 of the regular season, Thursday against the LA Kings, who are coming off a 2-1 victory in Edmonton against the Oilers, a loss that eliminated the Oilers from playoff contention.

Vancouver will conclude their regular season on Saturday in Colorado against the Avalanche.