Cory Schneider vs. Roberto Loungo as Devils visit Canucks

After answering questions about Roberto Luongo for more than a year, what’s a few more for New Jersey Devils goaltender Cory Schneider? After battling to be the No. 1 goaltender for the Vancouver Canucks for the last few years, Roberto Luongo will be in one net and Cory Schneider in the other when the Devils visit Vancouver Tuesday.

Whether you like it or not, it’s a big story in the hockey world. Thankfully, we’re getting this game out of the way early in the season, but everyone involved knows it’s not just another date on the schedule.

“I’m sure it will be a pretty big deal there with what went on for the last year or two years,” Schneider told reporters. “It really got blown out of proportion. I’m sure they’ll be excited to welcome me back and compare and see what’s going on.”

When Roberto Luongo was shelled in Game 6 and Game 7 of the 2011Stanley Cup Finals, you never could have expected how this Luongo vs. Schneider soap opera played out. Now, after spending last season as the backup and surrounded by constant trade rumors, Luongo is back as the No. 1 guy in Vancouver after Schneider was traded for prospect Bo Horvat. Now the Canucks are set at +18000 to win the Stanley Cup.

“There’s going to be a lot of attention and coverage,” he said. “I felt I had pretty good relationship there with most of the media. I did my best to answer the questions and be accountable and upright. They were pretty fair to me. They judge you and critique you, and that’s fine. That’s part of the job. You have to play well.”

While Schneider is splitting time in the New Jersey goal with future Hall of Famer Martin Brodeur, he will likely take over starting duties sooner rather than later. This is a team that needed to shift gears after Ilya Kovalchuk retired and David Clarkson signed with Toronto in the offseason. New Jersey did bring in a few interesting pieces like Ryane Clowe, Jaromir Jagr and Michael Ryder, but this franchise is in the process of turning over a new leaf. Schneider is the face of that new era and he’ll be looking to stick it to the Canucks Tuesday.

“I’m not making a big deal about but I can’t avoid talking about it,” Schneider added. “Sure I want to outplay Roberto … it’s not me vs. him, but generally you want to be better than the other guy.”