Luongo (Playoffs)

[repenttokyo]

Doesn't change my personal stance on Luongo though.

well, no one is asking you to marry him.

[GoalieGuild]

Interesting to read this thread. Sorry I didn't notice it before I added my thoughts after watching last night's game. Here is what I wrote:

http://www.dobberhockey.com/forums/s...ad.php?t=67981

[GoalieGuild]

I'll just add after reading through all the comments in this thread:

At this point, it is almost unfair to nit-pick at Luongo as a human being and as a goaltender. We all know he's capable of being an elite goalie ... not just during the regular season but in the playoffs.

But a human can only handle so much pressure.

Captaincy of the Canucks, Gold Medal game in Olympics, Workhorse expectations ... then on top of it all, playoff expectations.

Way. Too. Much.

The onus really falls on the organization to make things a little bit easier on him. Why are they playing him so many games. Why are they expecting him to be a workhorse AND a captain?? There's no reason for it. These aren't little kids in the locker room ... they are solid NHL hockey players. Let a skater act as the captain, let the goalie focus on the puck.

Too many things taking away from Luongo's ability to execute EFFICIENTLY.

Energy drain, people. It has nothing to do with Luongo's goaltending ability. Take away every element that doesn't include goaltending and he is as good as any other goalie in the league. It is often the outside factors that make the difference when comparing two goalies and their respective seasons.

I think I dissected and discussed Luongo's season and game more than ANY OTHER GOALIE this year. Why? Because he played so damn much, and because he really just didn't have a good season.

It got worse as things went on, because he was slowly getting more and more tired.

If you want to put a "C" on a goalie, give him a backup goalie that will push him to PROVE WHY HE IS THE CAPTAIN. Andrew Raycroft is not the answer.

In my humble opinion, I put more fault on the organization for overwhelming him with too many responsibilities that aren't directly related to him stopping the puck.

Cory Schneider must play 25 games next year if Luongo is going to retain the C. Which I really hope he doesn't.

I'll leave you all with one final theoretical question.

If Luongo only played 55 games instead of 68 or 69 or whatever ... if Luongo didn't play in the Olympics ... if he wasn't the captain of the Canucks ... if he was just a little more consistent during the regular season... would we be singing a different tune? I'd have to think so, at least to some degree.

Either way, I'd sure like to see the organization make some changes on how they manage his minutes. Otherwise it will be the same song again next spring.

[Excelsior]

I'll just add after reading through all the comments in this thread:

At this point, it is almost unfair to nit-pick at Luongo as a human being and as a goaltender. We all know he's capable of being an elite goalie ... not just during the regular season but in the playoffs.

But a human can only handle so much pressure.

Captaincy of the Canucks, Gold Medal game in Olympics, Workhorse expectations ... then on top of it all, playoff expectations.

Way. Too. Much.

The onus really falls on the organization to make things a little bit easier on him. Why are they playing him so many games. Why are they expecting him to be a workhorse AND a captain?? There's no reason for it. These aren't little kids in the locker room ... they are solid NHL hockey players. Let a skater act as the captain, let the goalie focus on the puck.

Too many things taking away from Luongo's ability to execute EFFICIENTLY.

Energy drain, people. It has nothing to do with Luongo's goaltending ability. Take away every element that doesn't include goaltending and he is as good as any other goalie in the league. It is often the outside factors that make the difference when comparing two goalies and their respective seasons.

I think I dissected and discussed Luongo's season and game more than ANY OTHER GOALIE this year. Why? Because he played so damn much, and because he really just didn't have a good season.

It got worse as things went on, because he was slowly getting more and more tired.

If you want to put a "C" on a goalie, give him a backup goalie that will push him to PROVE WHY HE IS THE CAPTAIN. Andrew Raycroft is not the answer.

In my humble opinion, I put more fault on the organization for overwhelming him with too many responsibilities that aren't directly related to him stopping the puck.

Cory Schneider must play 25 games next year if Luongo is going to retain the C. Which I really hope he doesn't.

I'll leave you all with one final theoretical question.

If Luongo only played 55 games instead of 68 or 69 or whatever ... if Luongo didn't play in the Olympics ... if he wasn't the captain of the Canucks ... if he was just a little more consistent during the regular season... would we be singing a different tune? I'd have to think so, at least to some degree.

Either way, I'd sure like to see the organization make some changes on how they manage his minutes. Otherwise it will be the same song again next spring.

Boo-Hoo.

I know a bit about the types of pressures that goalies are under ( in all sorts of differrent situations ) but Luongo took the big contract, accepted the "C" and volunteered to play in the Olympics. For that salary, I'll take all that on my shoulders. He has to be responsible for his play. If he felt fatigued late in the season, maybe he should have asked for a bit of a rest.

Playoff expectations- what player in the playoffs doesn't have pressure/expectations. Isn't it what they play the 82 games for?

I'm not saying that Luongo is to blame for the Canucks exit but he's not a rookie. Handle it with a little more grace. I doubt his statements get much sympathy from Joe Average who has to spend a week's salary to buy a game ticket.

[C-Lo]

After Chicago scored the final two goals in game 6, making the game an official blow out, I knew a few of these threads would pop up. In my opinion its really unfortunate because I think Luongo played a really good game.

Chicago swarmed the Canucks in the first period and Luo was the difference between a 0-0 game and a run away. People reading the stat lines for the second period will say 3 goals in the second must have meant Luongo fell apart but it seemed clear to me that it wasn't him, but rather the depleted defense in front of him. The first two goals were scored on 2 on 1's and the 3rd was a brutal short handed give away at the line. Sure its nice to think that your superstar goalie can bail you out, and sometimes they will, but really I'm not sure how you can blame the goalie for not being able to single-handedly shut down the opposition; especially one as dynamic as Chicago.

The final two Chicago goals were more of the same. The Canucks tried to open it up but weren't able to score. Sure they could have played tighter D, and if so its likely that neither of the last two goals get scored, but in an elimination game who cares how much you lose by, you have to go for the win.

My opinion is that the Canucks got beat because Chicago did a good job of shutting down the Canucks top scorers and the Canucks were not able to do the same. Chicago has an explosive offense and the warn down defense of the Canucks was not able to contain them. Luongo did look shaky at times in this series but I think he stepped it up when it mattered most. He was rock solid in game 5 and his good play in 6 was camouflaged by the final score.

Now his post game comments are another thing all together. I agree with those of you who have been saying that the captain needs to take responsibility, that is after all what a leader is supposed to do. At the same time, I'm not sure having your goalie beat himself up after each lose is such a good thing either. I was all for having Lou as the captain but now I'm starting to understand why its a rarity for a goalie to have that responsibility.

[Hardyvan123]

The bottom line is that Lou has been an excellent regular season goalie but has done very poorly in the playoffs given his stature, salary and hype.

Fantasy wise I would own him any day but as A Canucks fan, I'm worried that the Canucsk will never win the Cup with him as long as fans here keep telling him he is the best goalie in the world which is stated all too often in this town.

He is 17-17 in the playoffs and aside from his 1st year in the playoffs he hasn't looked much better than any other goalie in the playoffs.

Until he proves it, he is no Halak or Hasek in the playoffs.

Maybe at the end of the day, he just isn't as good as the hype time will tell.