The Vancouver Canucks have major goaltending questions as they host the Boston Bruins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup on Friday night. The series is tied 2-2, with each holding home ice.

The odds have just been released and Vancouver is a -175 home favorite with a total of five goals (over -125).

Roberto Luongo allowed two total goals the first two games, but let up eight in Monday’s 8-1 road loss in Game 3. Coach Alain Vigneault said he left it up to his goalie whether to come out. That’s a poor excuse as a player will always choose to stay in.

The 32-year-old Quebec native wasn’t as bad in Game 4 on Wednesday, but still let up four goals on 20 shots (4-0 loss) and even seemed to blame his teammate for one of them. Rookie Cory Schneider came in during the third period and looked good stopping all nine shots.

Luongo has already bounced back once in these playoffs. He didn’t start Game 6 of the Chicago series, with Schneider getting the call instead. Schneider ended up leaving that game with leg cramps and Luongo played well in relief (overtime loss) before coming up with a great performance in Game 7 to finally beat their rival.

Luongo has been prone to meltdowns in the past and has never been particularly popular with the Vancouver fans. Those watching on television at his home Rogers Arena cheered when he was removed last game, not a good thing for his confidence.

And while criticism of the Canucks goalie is fair game at this point, the same can’t be said about Boston’s Tim Thomas. After his shutout last game, his series GAA is down to a miniscule 1.25. He’s clearly in the head of the Canucks players right now.

Vigneault will almost certainly start Luongo on Friday –which is the right move as they have home ice and he’s the guy who got them there.

However, the coach will also have him on a short leash – also the right move given how he’s played the last two games.

The winner of Game 5 will likely win the series and the goaltending performance of Vancouver should be the biggest factor.