Cory Schneider Helps Get Vancouver Canucks Back On Track

A week ago, the Vancouver Canucks had hit a bit of a rough patch losing two straight games. Roberto Luongo gave up eight goals in those two games, so the Canuck turned back to Cory Schneider for Tuesday’s game against the St. Louis Blues. Schneider came up big, making 32 saves to record his seventh win of the season. He hasn’t looked back since then, helping the Canucks to two more wins and a jump to (for the moment) fourth place in the Western Conference standings.

Schneider recorded his second shutout of the season on Saturday, making 20 saves against the defending Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. He was strong on Thursday as well, making 33 saves to record a big win against the Phoenix Coyotes. In that stretch of games, he has allowed only three goals, which for the time being makes him the hotter goaltender on the Canucks roster. Luongo and Schneider have each had flashes of brilliance this season, and the Canucks may reap a huge benefit this season from having two skilled nemtinders they can turn to.

While offensive support is still an occasional concern, if Schneider can keep up his strong play the Canucks may even make a run at the division lead. Vancouver has now won six of 12 games in March, and has at least a point in eight of those contests. The Canucks face a very favorable schedule in the next three weeks, facing the three bottom teams in the conference (Calgary Flames, Colorado Avalanche and Edmonton Oilers) in six of their next nine games.

Jonathan Katje is an NHL blogger for Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @JKatje or add him to you network on Google.