NHL Playoffs: Cory Schneider or Roberto Luongo for Vancouver Canucks in Game 7?

The gasp heard around the hockey world on Sunday night didn't come when the Blackhawks scored in overtime to tie up the series with the Vancouver Canucks.  Instead, it occurred a few hours earlier when they saw rookie netminder Cory Schneider suit up to start his first postseason game.

On one hand, this move could be rationalized for a few different reasons. First, Roberto Luongo had let in a whopping 10 goals on his last 40 shots and regardless of his Vezina Trophy nomination. That kind of goaltending isn't going to get it done at this time of the year. 

Second, it went against what coach Alain Vigneualt said to the media just a couple days prior. If this move didn't serve as a significant wake up call to the entire lineup, what would?

Third, this wasn't an elimination game for the Canucks. If Cory Schneider would have lost this game on his own, they could always go back to Luongo and hope for a rebound performance at home. 

On the other side of the coin, this move could have proved disastrous for the Vancouver faithful.  What message does it send to Luongo and the rest of the team if their all-world goaltender is sitting on the bench for the most important game in recent history? Beyond the contract factor, this could have come across as a panic move and an act of desperation. 

If Schneider came out and flopped, and the Canucks went on to lose this series, it could have cost Vigneault his job. This decision could have also sparked a split in the locker room. Is it possible that one faction of the team wants one goalie, and another group want the other? What does this do for Luongo's confidence? Is he going to have a meeting with upper management after the playoffs are over?

The can of worms that Vigneault opened tonight is equivalent to a quarterback controversy in the NFL. Players and fans want to know who is "the guy." Going back and forth in the middle of the season is one thing, but in the playoffs it can become a living nightmare.

The good news for Canucks fans is that Schneider didn't flop on his face. He played pretty well considering the circumstances, but he wasn't great either. A couple of his miscues cost the team in a game where every mistake is hyper-magnified. 

In another sense, this was a bit unfair to Cory Schneider. He battled with confidence issues all throughout his young career and finally got it all together to put together a great rookie season. Throwing him into a critical Game 6 against their arch rivals in a hostile environment could have crippled his confidence if things went bad.

Yet, the twist in all of this is the dramatic injury during the penalty shot. In a way, it let everybody off the hook and things went back to the status quo. Schneider got his shot and gave his team a chance to win, but Luongo also got his chance to come in and prove that he wasn't daunted by the situation. 

Luongo made some timely saves in the third period and overtime and the goal he did let in was no fault of his own. 

So what does this all mean going forward? If you aren't in the Vancouver market and have some free time, log on to one of the local radio outlet websites and tune into the local stations to hear what should be one of the most polarizing issues in quite some time. 

The Schneider vs Luongo debate began to simmer early in the season when Schneider went on his incredible run to start the year, but things quieted down after Luongo responded with a Vezina-worthy season of his own.

Nevertheless, the debate never completely went away. Even heading into this series there were fan rumblings about starting Schneider over Luongo, or at the very least have Luongo on a short leash.

In the end it took two subpar games before the move was made and now we have a full-blown problem to settle.

Who should start Game 7? 

Did Schneider show enough to go back to him in Game 7? Or are the reins given back to the franchise goalie who's paid to win these types of games?

Living in Vancouver, I can tell you anecdotally that the majority of fans love Roberto Luongo for what he's done for this team and city, but to a man (and woman) they want Schneider in between the pipes.

From all the latest reports, Schneider was ready to come back into game 6 if he was needed so his health shouldn't be an issue, but in a way it would have let Vigneault off the hook if he was indeed injured.

Instead, he's faced with a difficult decision.

The only remaining question is, what would you do?