The goaltending duo in Vancouver was awarded with the Williams M. Jennings Trophy to have the fewest goals scored against between the both of them. The Canucks also won the President's Trophy this year and I don't think it was any accident. The team has played just as such - a team. There have been contributions from every line, the defense has been figuring into the scoring and even though there were plenty of injuries to have happened during the season, the team played well. It helps that both Schneider and Luongo had nearly an even number of games to play so that not one goaltender was hit by fatigue. It makes you wonder if this is the key to success for a hockey team.
Now not every goaltending duo is on it's game like these two are. Not every year are you going to find a lot of teams that can play both goalies every night and have much success. The thing is, many backups tend to play better as they play more often. Let's use Patrick Lalime as the case in point. When he went down to condition in Portland last season, he came back up and won a stellar game versus Chicago. He went on to win a few more last season. When Lindy played him more frequently, he became better as time went on. Only a few goaltenders are still excellent when they sit for a long time. Nearly every other game, Schneider and Luongo switched roles to lead the team to an impressive 54-19-9 record. I really think that Canucks have a great chance to take it all this year, and I would see the even time between the two goalies to be a huge factor in that. When they're both on their game, they are on. The only case where I would hope they're not is if the Sabres make it to the Stanley Cup Finals along with the Canucks - then I hope both goaltenders are fatigued.
The hunt starts tonight as the Canucks take on the Blackhawks with a 10 PM ET puckdrop. I'm hoping the result this year is different from the past two seasons. Go Canucks, go!
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