That loss to Edmonton was simply heartbreaking, wasn’t it? All my optimism for this season was shattered in one crushing blow. The Edmonton Oilers beat us. Why, what if we were facing a good team with a real goalie?? WHAT CHANCE WOULD WE HAVE??

…Oh. Edmonton leads the West, the Kids & the Hall Line is one of the highest scoring combos in the NHL right now, and Roberto Luongo isn’t actually a good goalie. Panic over!

Vokoun is starting yet again, and according to Mike Vogel he is the first goalie to start 8 consecutive regular season games since Olie Kolzig. Now this is just a little flavor stat and means absolutely nothing whatsoever (except that we still don’t think Neuvy is 100% and Boudreau is just way into riding hot goalies), but I am totally in favor of any comparisons of our current netminders to Olie the goalie.

In net for the Canucks is Roberto Luongo, one of my least favourite players in the whole league. Admittedly my distaste for him originally stemmed from “I don’t think he ever washes his hair” but has since matured into “collapses under pressure” “is a total drama queen” “beat the US in the Olypmics” and honestly, “never washes his hair.” Doesn’t he just look the greasiest? He’s not a bad weatherman though.

Mike Green is out, which is near-unanimously agreed to be a bad thing. Now, I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but I’m a pretty big goalie fan. I even play goalie in a floor hockey rec league at my school (I’m the only person not afraid to get hit in the face with a puck). Our team is pretty damn good, which is less work for me, but I’m no slacker between the pipes either. And when we’ve run up the score 9-1, I don’t have a lot of room to complain. But I still don’t enjoy a two-on-zero resulting from my defenceman deciding he would rather score goals than play defence. It’s a terrifying feeling of helplessness and inevitability, and it made me want to slap Mike Green upside the head and tell him never ever ever EVER hang your goalie out to dry just because you’re some aggressive scoring-obsessed glory hog sucktard.

For the Nucks Mason Raymond is out. He is probably most notable for having been mentioned on Germany’s favourite TV show How I Met Your Mother as the opposite of name-dropping.

The game is at 10:00, which is horrific, because it means east coast fans have to choose between going to a Hallowe’en party and watching the game. What kind of antisocial introvert would choose hockey over partying?

See you there!