With fans like this, who needs enemies?

The boo birds came out in force on Tuesday night, raining down their scorn upon an all-too-familiar target, Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo. While Luongo didn’t play anywhere near as well as his counterpart at the other end of the ice, Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers, you couldn’t fault him for three of the four goals he surrendered in the third period.

But when you’re the highest paid player on the team – and the main reason, in many people’s minds – the Canucks lost the Stanley Cup to the Boston Bruins four short months ago, you can’t be surprised when long-suffering Vancouver hockey fans turn on you.

The game started promisingly enough for the Canucks, especially after a classy and moving tribute to fallen ex-Canuck Rick Rypien before the game. The boys wearing the whale came out full of energy and had the Rangers on their heels for the first two periods, outshooting them 28-9 after two.

The strong start should come as no surprise, as Selke Trophy winner – and, in my mind, the most valuable player on the team – Ryan Kesler dressed for his first game of the season. Aside from a golden opportunity he flubbed early on, after being set up by new winger Cody Hodgson from behind the net, Kesler looked like he hadn’t missed a step, hitting every Ranger in sight, and taking his usual spot on the power play effectively parked in front of the opponents’ net.

But yet again, the Canucks got into early penalty trouble – a trend that must be wearing thin on coach Alain Vigneault this season – although they did not surrender an early goal like they’ve done most other games so far this young season.

And while Hodgson, Kesler and Chris Higgins looked good in their first game together as Vancouver’s second line, there were other bright spots of note: Keith Ballard was not only solid defensively, but was an offensive threat as well, pinching in as the Canucks d-men so effectively do, ending up with two great scoring chances in the third period. This game must have done wonders for Ballard’s confidence; here’s hoping it’s a harbinger of better things to come for the oft-benched 4.2 million dollar man.

Mikael Samuelsson, recently demoted to the third line to make room for CoHo, put in his usual Jeckyll-and-Hyde performance. He looked disinterested and abysmal on defense as he gave away two bad passes in his own zone, but was a force on the point on the numerous power plays the Canucks managed to squander throughout the game.

Ah yes, the power play (or lack thereof).

After taking their customary first two minor penalties of the game, the Canucks watched six Rangers in a row march to the penalty box, but could not convert any of the six opportunities. As the cliché goes, to be successful on the PK, your goaltender has to be your best penalty killer. Lundqvist was that and more. All game long, he stood on his head and not only made the spectacular saves, but he also let very few rebounds out, sucking up pucks like a Hoover – or is it a Dyson nowadays?

No matter, the Rangers seemed to feed on the momentum their goalie provided, and Michael Rupp jumped on a juicy rebound all-too-graciously provided by Luongo early in the third, burying the puck, and, as it turns out, the Canucks chances on this night. With Lundqvist doing an impersonation of a brick wall, one goal was all they’d need.

Of course, they did manage to pump three more past the beleaguered Canucks netminder, and with the score 3-0 late in the third, Luongo heard from the ‘fans’ as he fielded an easy clearance that could not have counted as a shot on goal. And if you’re wondering, the answer is yes, Luongo was indeed well aware of the fans’ discontent: “I’ve got ears,” was his response when quizzed about it after the game.

The fact is, those boos and jeers should have been directed at the futile Canucks offense on this night, as it’s hard to blame a loss on a goalie when the skaters in front of him can’t find the net. The problem is, as Luongo well knows, since the infamous meltdowns he’s had in the playoffs the last few years, Canucks fans have no trouble finding their target.