Debunking The Roberto Luongo Myths

[Quoted]

No amount of logic, analysis or stats will undo the emotional attachment many fans have to the playoff losses.

[Riviera82]

Fact: Of the 10 playoff series' Luongo has started and finished he has posted poor stats in 5 of them. (Chi 2009, LA 2010, Chi 2010, Chi 2011, Bos 2011)

Fact: The first 3 playoff series of his career he finished with sparkling numbers (Dal 2007, Ana 2007, Stl 2009). The following 7 series he only finished with good numbers in 2. (Nsh 2011, SJ 2011)

Fact: Of the 5 series' in which Luongo was shaky, the team still managed to win 2 of those series. (LA 2010, Chi 2011)

Fact: In the 5 series' in which Luongo was strong he finished with GAAs that were sub-2.00 and no higher than about 2.30. Save percentages were .930 or higher.

In the 5 series in which Luongo was weak/inconsistent he finished with GAAs from 2.92 to 3.52. Save percentages were as low as .879 and no higher than .902.

Fact: Luongo's weakest series all came between 2009 and 2011 when he was in his prime and the Canucks were on the rise.

By my math, 5 good series' added to 5 poor/inconsistent series' makes Luongo an average overall playoff goaltender.

My worry now is that the team is likely on the decline. Luongo may very well be out of his prime and has also seemingly lost interest in playing for the Canucks. And finally, it would now appear that we wont have a free pass to a high playoff position. How will Luongo, and by extension the team fare now? My guess would be no better than before, but I hope to be wrong.

[Quoted]

Fact: Of the 10 playoff series' Luongo has started and finished he has posted poor stats in 5 of them. (Chi 2009, LA 2010, Chi 2010, Chi 2011, Bos 2011)

Fact: The first 3 playoff series of his career he finished with sparkling numbers (Dal 2007, Ana 2007, Stl 2009). The following 7 series he only finished with good numbers in 2. (Nsh 2011, SJ 2011)

Fact: Of the 5 series' in which Luongo was shaky, the team still managed to win 2 of those series. (LA 2010, Chi 2011)

Fact: In the 5 series' in which Luongo was strong he finished with GAAs that were sub-2.00 and no higher than about 2.30. Save percentages were .930 or higher.

In the 5 series in which Luongo was weak/inconsistent he finished with GAAs from 2.92 to 3.52. Save percentages were as low as .879 and no higher than .902.

Fact: Luongo's weakest series all came between 2009 and 2011 when he was in his prime and the Canucks were on the rise.

By my math, 5 good series' added to 5 poor/inconsistent series' makes Luongo an average overall playoff goaltender.

My worry now is that the team is likely on the decline. Luongo may very well be out of his prime and has also seemingly lost interest in playing for the Canucks. And finally, it would now appear that we wont have a free pass to a high playoff position. How will Luongo, and by extension the team fare now? My guess would be no better than before, but I hope to be wrong.

[Riviera82]

That all assumes that how the goalie plays is the only determinant of a series' result. I suspect that the other players also have something to do with it.

[Quoted]

Yes they do and they have, that's why the team was able to win 2 of the 5 series' that Luongo wasn't strong in.

The trouble for Luongo is that he is a marquee player and he plays the game's most important position. The team winning games and series largely depends on how he performs.

[ForsbergTheGreat]

That all assumes that how the goalie plays is the only determinant of a series' result. I suspect that the other players also have something to do with it.

[Quoted]

Same could be said about the win’s Luongo some people want to only praise Luongo for. How about game 1 and 2 in the Boston series. Canucks played strong outshot bruins in game 2. In both games it could be easily argued that the canucks were the better team but yet somehow people like to praise Luongo like he was the only one that showed up on our team. Statements like “It would have been a 4-0 sweep for the bruins had it not been for Luongo”. Did Luongo play good? Yes, but then again he was the highest paid goalie in the league that year. Did he play god like? No. Was he the only reason we won those games? Not at all.

Not to put down his performance in those games, he did exactly what was asked of him, but the only game he stole for us was in the series was game 5.

Luongo is a good goalie but to compare him to the likes of Roy is laughable (not that you are, others like to think so). Luongo as of today isn't even a HOF goalie and people want to say he's at the same level as the greatest goalie of all time. The goalie who the majority of today's NHL goalies grew up idolizing.

Comparing Luongo to Roy is like comparing Mats Sundin to Gretzky

[poetica]

Yes they do and they have, that's why the team was able to win 2 of the 5 series' that Luongo wasn't strong in.

The trouble for Luongo is that he is a marquee player and he plays the game's most important position. The team winning games and series largely depends on how he performs.

[Westcoasting]

In 08/09 Luo might not have been good with his .879 SV%, but the team still lost to Chicago despite Khabibulin's .873 series SV%. He wasn't good, but if he was the better of the 2 goalies you can't exactly blame the loss on him!

[poetica]

With the series on the line in game 6 Lui served up a stinker facing 30 shots and letting in 7 goals for a .769 save percentage. The Bulin wall didn't play great but it was good enough to win, he faced 38 shots and had a save percentage of .868. Luongo was not the better goalie that series, neither was very good but Bulin was better.

[smurf47]

So because of that one game and despite the fact that Luo had the better SV%, faced 31 more shots and made 28 more saves over the course of the series he was the worse goalie? Good to know! I'll remember that rule change when people are using stats to try to prove how much Luo sucks.

And if you want to blame Luo for Game 6, what about Game 4, which we lost in OT? Luo faced 28 shots and made 26 saves while Khabibulin only faced 15 shots, making 14 saves? Was that loss Luo's fault too?

[Westcoasting]

So because of that one game and despite the fact that Luo had the better SV%, faced 31 more shots and made 28 more saves over the course of the series he was the worse goalie? Good to know! I'll remember that rule change when people are using stats to try to prove how much Luo sucks.

And if you want to blame Luo for Game 6, what about Game 4, which we lost in OT? Luo faced 28 shots and made 26 saves while Khabibulin only faced 15 shots, making 14 saves? Was that loss Luo's fault too?

[VanNuck]

I would add another myth:

Giving Luongo the captaincy was a bad idea

Yes and no. As someone pointed out, the injured groin would prove to be the iceberg in Luongo's Titanic - before, he was dominant and able to lead his team, give them a chance to win. After, his reaction time was slower, his technique off, and he couldn't fight like he used to, which in turn hurt his ability to play like he could, and ultimately lead his team to win. Inevitably, he crumbled, and the weight of being captain (critical fans, media, etc.) came crashing down on his shoulders.

Picture this: the world's strongest weightlifter squatting a massive weight on his shoulders, and then somehow, his foot slips. He would surely fall over, there is no way he could catch the barbell mid-air and go on lifting in this position.

It also didn't help that the team began playing offensive hockey in front of him - it doesn't make sense to have your leader not embody your team's primary identity. It's almost like having an air force pilot commanding a naval attack by sea.

But Luongo, AV, and even MG handled it poorly. They knew he was struggling after the first season, at which point, he should have been challenged and held accountable to shape up, toughen up mentally, and carry on - whether or not he kept the C.

Barring all of these misfortunes, Luongo with his level of leadership, professionalism, and competitive drive, is as much captain material as anyone in the league.

[ThaBestPlaceOnEarth]

I confess that I've always been baffled by the negativity towards Luongo. It's been the media fishing for a scapegoat, in my opinion, that's what it's always been about here. The media themselves are the real culprits, and a vocal minority of negative fans. Without the doom squad constantly calling down negativity on the team in the pursuit of a story, the Canucks and Luongo could have that little edge that makes all the difference.

I will always remember how certain local columnists stabbed the team in the back during the Finals against Boston, betraying the Canucks and us fans when support and solidarity were most needed. If you need a scapegoat, there is your scapegoat. Luongo has always been a huge boon to this franchise, I've never stopped rooting for him and I am glad he is back!

[poetica]

I was pointing out that game because when the series is on the line, Lui didn't get it done. I would say both goalies played evenly that series until that game, then Lui didn't play well at all. Bulin didn't play that well but Lui played worse. Big time goalies you are counting on them to play superior in big time games. Next year was the same result, Lui played lights out to start the series, but ended badly.

[Westcoasting]

I'm not disagreeing that the goalie needs to play strong. I was just pointing out that you also need the team to play well in every game and take advantage of every opportunity their goalie gives them. That game wouldn't have been an elimination game if the team had won that earlier game in which Luo faced almost twice as many shots as Khabibulin but only allowed one more goal (which came in OT.) So, if he gets blame for not playing better in Game 6, the team gets blame for not playing better in Game 4 as both loses were necessary to knock them out of the playoffs.

Yes, we need our goalie to come up big and Luo needs to work on his consistency, especially in the playoffs. But, his responsibility as the goalie is not greater than the entire rest of the team combined. It's a team sport and a team effort is needed every game.

[poetica]

You were talking about Luongo playing better than Bulin which wasn't the case.

[Riviera82]

Only if you don't count that Luo had a higher series SV%, faced more shots and made more saves...

[poetica]

Yes, for the series overall Khabibulin sucked a little more than Luongo. The difference being that Khabibulin sucked a little less in what turned out to be the decisive 6th game.

[Westcoasting]

Only if you don't count that Luo had a higher series SV%, faced more shots and made more saves...