Sochi 2014: Team Canada’s Carey Price Favored vs. Roberto Luongo

When the slumping Vancouver Canucks visit the Montreal Canadiens Thursday, it will be a showcase of Team Canada’s top two goaltenders, Carey Price and Roberto Luongo, ahead of the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics.

If it weren’t for the news that Martin St. Louis is replacing Steven Stamkos on the Team Canada roster, this matchup between Price and Luongo would be the biggest sports story in the nation today. Down the road, Team Canada is going to have to make a decision on who is going to be the top dog in the crease. This game could be the game that decides who starts Canada’s game on Feb. 6 in Sochi that has Canada as -10870 favorites over Norway.

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“That’s two of the best [goalies] in the world not just Canada,” Dale Wiese, who was just traded from Vancouver to Montreal earlier this week, told reporters. “I’ve had a chance to play with Lou now for three years. It’s going to be an exciting night.”

The Canucks are in a tough spot right now. Vancouver has lost five straight games and has managed just eight goals over that span. John Tortorella is just back from his suspension and has already voiced his displeasure that Henrik Sedin won’t play before the Olympic break, but may still play for Sweden at Sochi. He’s just one of the guys Vancouver will be without tonight, too. Kevin Bieksa won’t return until after the break, while Dan Hamhuis and Chris Higgins are questionable.

All this mess certainly hasn’t helped Luongo, who has allowed at least three goals in each of his last four starts.

“I think this one’s 100 percent on me,” Luongo told reporters after dropping a 3-1 decision to the Bruins. “I wasn’t too good out there tonight. Wasn’t tracking well, my reads were off. … I didn’t skate this morning and I just didn’t feel like myself out there, so disappointing performance for me here. I thought the guys deserved better.”

Meanwhile, Carey Price has two shutouts in his last four starts, the most recent of which was a 2-0 blanking of the Calgary Flames on Tuesday.

“He’s just a guy that comes to work every day and he’s getting better,” Habs winger Brendan Gallagher said of Price. “It’s hard for me to imagine him being any better.”

The Canadiens are set as a -155 favorite tonight at home to Vancouver.