Much Ado about Nuxing: The Coov Edges Lu's Dudes

Published on 16-Mar-2014 by J Square Humboldt

NHL    NHL Daily Update

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Much Ado about Nuxing: The Coov Edges Lu's Dudes

Unless the Vancouver Canucks stage a miracle sprint to the finish in the regular season, their karmic crossing with the Florida Panthers in Sunrise today was merely a soap opera sidebar.

Roberto Luongo had wanted to go 'home' to South Beach for two years. Vancouver granted his wish, more to be done with him than to improve itself. And this afternoon, the Canucks paid him a visit.

Frankly, the gold medal-winning goalie for Canada in the 2010 Olympics could have handled his exit from Lotusland better, going all tweet-zilla on his former team during their loss in Dallas a couple of days after the trade.

So the stage was set, but when the curtain rose, Luongo and new Nux No 1 netminder Eddie Läck were afterthoughts through the first three acts and a five-minute encore. They each did yeomanlike jobs but were betrayed by horrendous turnovers and brain-dead defense. They even performed decently during the shootout:

Between winces, there was little else to keep the mind from wandering:

  • Scott Gomez is still playing hockey. In Florida. Who knew? No wonder his face hasn't been on any milk cartons.
  • The Pink Panther is a poignant touch on Luongo's helmet. The color aligns with South Beach décor, and the subliminal allusion to Inspector Clouseau is so Québécois.
  • Vancouver and Florida could be each other's evil twins, what with the number of players who have suited up for both teams, including the JovoCop and this game's second star, Chris Higgins.
  • Isn't that the same Shawn Matthias who helped beat the Nux with a game-tying goal on Luongo earlier this season and who's now putting a few good ones on net for them ... against Luongo? Oh, that's right. He was one of the guys named Moe whom Florida sent to BC for Luongo.
  • And why is it not surprising the Panthers would have both skate dancers and cheerleaders on the side? That's what happens when there aren't enough comely snowbirds in the area. Vinnie Viola has his work cut out for him.

So do both of these teams. At least both goalies are happy now. And on this day, inconsequential.