麻豆传媒映画

If this was Roberto Luongo鈥檚 last game in Vancouver, it was a fitting final performance. Luongo was remarkable, flashing some vintage glove saves that sparked loud 鈥淟uuuuuu鈥� chants in the crowd.

Then he was let down by the team in front of him failing to provide any goal support and, dejected, gave up a bad goal late when it didn鈥檛 matter any more. Classic.

In some ways, Luongo is more loved now in 麻豆传媒映画than he ever was in his time as a Canuck, when he faced near-constant scrutiny and criticism. Certainly, a large part of the fanbase were big fans of Luongo, but there was plenty of vitriol as well.

Just look at the Canucks fans that blamed Luongo for the end result of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final, despite Luongo posting two 1-0 shutouts during that series and the players in front of him combining for 8 goals in 7 games. Sorry to re-open those old wounds, but it still bothers me how much flak Luongo caught for that series.

There鈥檚 a reason why one of the earliest comics Pass it to Bulis did with Chloe Ezra as part of our 鈥淧ass it to Comics鈥� series was one where Luongo passive-aggressively struck back at his critics.

In the intervening years, however, several things combined to colour past perceptions of Luongo with a rosy hue.

The revelation of his secret Twitter account revealed a cheeky, self-deprecating personality that was a far-cry from previous depictions of him as cocky or a whiner. Looking at Luongo鈥檚 career as a whole suggests he鈥檚 a near-lock for the Hockey Hall of Fame, as he鈥檒l likely catch Ed Belfour for third all-time in wins.

Then there鈥檚 the old adage: absence makes the heart grow fonder. Or, as , 鈥淵ou don't know what you've got 鈥榯il it鈥檚 gone.鈥� Luongo continued to play at an elite level after he left Vancouver, helping some Canucks fans realize that he had, in fact, played at an elite level while in Vancouver.

Now it seems like Luongo鈥檚 career is finally winding down. He鈥檚 had some serious injury issues over the past few seasons and his save percentage this season sunk below .900 for the first time in his career. Could this be his final season?

If so, I鈥檓 definitely glad I saw him one last time in 麻豆传媒映画when I watched this game.

• With Josh Leivo returning to the lineup, Adam Gaudette got shunted back down to the Utica Comets. The same reasoning that 听still holds: he鈥檚 waiver-exempt and will benefit from the extra ice time in all situations with the Comets. Still, it鈥檚 tough to see him sent down right after scoring a goal in his last game.

• Perhaps Jacob Markstrom was sensing the adoration for Luongo in the building, because he played like he was competing for Vancouver鈥檚 love. Every save was like .听鈥淟ove me,鈥� whispered his right toe as it robbed Jared McCann in the opening minutes. 鈥淟ove me,鈥� said his right pad, as it stymied Evgenii Dadonov at the backdoor. 鈥淟ove me!鈥� screamed his glove, as it somehow stretched back to steal a sure goal from Niklas Bjugstad.

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GLVELY

鈥� 麻豆传媒映画Canucks (@Canucks)

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• Despite allowing more goals, it still felt like Luongo out-performed Markstrom. Perhaps it was because Florida鈥檚 puck management in their own zone was atrocious, constantly coughing up the puck to the Canucks for clear cut scoring chances that Luongo stole away. They were giving away the puck like it was candy at a parade. At one point an errant Panthers pass actually hit Luongo in the skate and kicked out to Brock Boeser at the top of the crease, forcing a stunning glove save on the young sniper.

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Roberto Luongo robs Boeser point-blank in front of the net.

鈥� Vanessa Jang (@vanessajang)

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• After a goalless first period, the Canucks finally got to Luongo off yet another defensive zone turnover by the Panthers. Under pressure from Loui Eriksson, Mike Hoffman tried to send a saucer pass across the zone, but Eriksson neatly knocked it out of mid-air. Luongo, expecting a quick shot, came out to challenge, but Eriksson patiently went around him and slipped the puck in from a tight angle.

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Loui Eriksson steals then out-waits Luongo for the first goal of the game

鈥� Vanessa Jang (@vanessajang)

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• Nikolay Goldobin can鈥檛 make a mistake at this point, which has to be tough on his confidence. I thought he was having a decent game up until he got caught flat-footed and took a hooking penalty early in the third period. The Panthers scored on that power play and Goldobin was benched for the rest of the game. He finished with 8:34 in ice time, his lowest total since opening night.

• As , Ben Hutton and Erik Gudbranson were split apart. Hutton paired with Troy Stecher instead and the pair had a fantastic game together. Not only did they combine for a goal, but they controlled play, with the Canucks out-shooting the Panthers 10-4 when they were on the ice at 5-on-5. , and it shows.

• Travis Green kept Hutton and Gudbranson together on the penalty kill, however, and they ended up on the ice for the Panthers鈥� only goal. Gudbranson hasn鈥檛 been entirely at fault for his latest streak 鈥� he鈥檚 been on the ice for eight of the last ten goals against 鈥� but on this one he was far too aggressive on the penalty kill, chasing the puck nearly to the point, leading to Frank Vatrano having a lane to the net through which he could drive a . Instead he just cut to the backhand and roofed it over Markstrom.

• Hutton and Stecher regained the lead a couple minutes later with a bit of a set play off a faceoff won by Jay Beagle. Stecher immediately skated down the right boards with the puck and sent a low shot off Luongo鈥檚 right pad. The rebound went right to Hutton, who had likewise jumped up on the left side, and he fired it into the open net.

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Troy Stecher with the point-shot, and Ben Hutton there to pot the rebound. The have regained the lead, 2-1 over the

鈥� J.D. Burke (@JDylanBurke)

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• It isn鈥檛 surprising that Hutton was wide open: having both defencemen jump up off a faceoff is almost unheard of, and for good reason. If something goes wrong, there could have potentially been a 2-on-1 the other way, with only a forward, Jay Beagle, to defend. In a tie game, that鈥檚 a bold move, but Hutton confirmed in his post-game interview with Dan Murphy that they have the green light from Green to be aggressive. He also said it was all Stecher鈥檚 idea, just in case.

• Loui Eriksson had a great night, with some fantastic defensive plays to go with his goal, but then he made it even better by ending a couple of his teammate鈥檚 goal droughts. With Luongo pulled for the extra attacker, Eriksson set up Brock Boeser (no goals in six games) and Jay Beagle (no goals in 12 games) for empty net goals. Yes, goal droughts are relative when it comes to first and fourth-line forwards, but Eriksson came through for both of them.

• Boeser deserved better in this game. His line with Bo Horvat and Sven Baertschi was dominant, with Boeser and Horvat each firing five shots on goal. Boeser should have had a goal or two earlier, so it felt right when Eriksson picked off a pass at the point and banked the puck to Boeser for the empty net finish. That was actually the first empty net goal of Boeser鈥檚 career.

• Jake Virtanen nearly triggered some Sunday night shotgunned beers with an empty net goal of his own after chasing down an Antoine Roussel clearance. Instead, he rung the post from a tight angle, ensuring a few fewer hangovers tomorrow morning.

• Even Jacob Markstrom tried to get in on the empty net action. At 3-1, a mistake wouldn鈥檛 immediately cost the Canucks the game, so Markstrom gave it a shot, but it was blocked in the Canucks鈥� end. You can鈥檛 blame a guy for trying; the last goalie goal was and goalies only get so many chances to try it. The circumstances were pretty much perfect.

• The issue for Markstrom is that Eriksson didn鈥檛 pass it to him. Would have been a guaranteed goal. It was, at least, for Beagle. Horvat went in on the forecheck and Eriksson picked off the pass up the boards, then set up Beagle with the empty net. Not content to slide it home, Beagle went unnecessarily upstairs .

• To top it all off, Markus Granlund busted a slump of his own. With Luongo back in net and his teammates in front of him evidently uninterested in defending, Tyler Motte burst into the Panthers鈥� zone. It took three Panthers to divest him of the puck, at which point Granlund picked it up and caught Luongo off-guard with a delayed short-side shot. The 5-1 goal made what was a tightly-contested one-goal game look like a blowout.

• I understand that lots of people were looking for some sort of retribution on Mike Matheson in this game, but I wasn鈥檛 one of them. Matheson got suspended and the Canucks won both games, so retribution for something that happened three months ago seems silly. Like Gudbranson said after the game, 鈥淧racticing with [Pettersson] every day, I think that he would much rather we bring home two points like we did tonight.鈥�

• Gudbranson did fight Michael Haley, which was somehow loosely connected to the Matheson situation, I guess. The machinations of the 鈥渃ode鈥� of hockey fighting all seem a little retrograde to me. I used to love hockey fights, a product of years spent watching Rock 鈥楨m, Sock 鈥楨m VHS tapes, but I just don鈥檛 anymore. Gudbranson鈥檚 tilt with Haley was a good one, as hockey fights go, but it didn鈥檛 do a thing for me.

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