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Does Luongo really meltdown in the playoffs?


rkoshack

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Anyone who watched last seasons cup final knows that he absolutely melts down. its a snowball effect once one goes in early. not every game obviously but way more than an elite goalie should especially at that time of the year. he needs to see a sports psychologist if he isnt already. great goalie but cant seem to shake off an early or bad goal.

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I agree with what the article is trying to prove. But the thing that killed the Canucks and Luongo is the type of goals that Luongo lets in. A team can come back if it is a good goal that gets by your goalie, but when it is a saveable goal and it goes in. It just kills all momentum that team had. I am a Luongo fan but come playoff time you don't know which goalie you will get. First round is a prefect example games 1-3 was great Luongo was on top of his game then game 4-5 and yea the defense didn't help him out much but there were some goals where Luongo could have saved.

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The fact is that no one is talking about Thomas choking, while everyone, including the Canucks fans, are talking about Luongo choking.

You can try and twist the numbers to prove how he is not a choker, but the fact remains that he was pulled a LOT of times throughout the playoffs and didn't even get to start in Game 6 against Chicago. That tells you something. Roberto is a good goalie but I think we all can agree that he sometimes struggles in important games, and sometimes unfairly gets all the blame for the losses.

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Love how the article puts "big games" and "meltdowns" in quotes as if they weren't meltdowns and they weren't in big games. Both elimination games against Chicago before this year were true meltdowns and they were indeed big games, just like games 6 and 7 of this past year's finals, both of which were also meltdowns and both of which were truly big games. I guess the writer believes that you can prove anything with numbers. Luongo is arguably the worst "big game" goalie in history.

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Yes, the team couldn't score.

That doesn't mean Luongo didn't ALSO melt down.

He did, for several games.

The fact that his team didn't score at all doesn't mean he didn't melt down.

For stretches of the playoffs, he played poorly and so did the team in front of him. They both deserve criticism in these instances.

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You Luongo haters are pathetic. Vancouver, after all those years with guys like Snow, Cloutier, Weekes, Potvin, etc, finally has a true superstar goaltender and you're still not happy. You so called "Canucks fans" are the reason Vancouver has been considered a goalie graveyard for so many years. How can you honestly not be happy knowing the team has an elite top 5 goalie locked up for the rest of his career?

The first year Luo was here, everyone and there dogs jumped on the bandwagon and supported him more than any other player in franchise history and he had a tremendous year. Now, he has an even better year, leads the team to their first ever presidents trophy and within one win of the Stanley Cup, yet thousands of people are complaining he needs to be replaced with an inexperienced kid. Give it up already! I realize you may think that the grass is always greener on the other side but really, even Ryan Miller and Pekka Rinne have bad games.

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The team lost the cup last year it wasn't on one person. The media and 90% of the fans always need to put a face to the blame. In that locker room it's a team mentality which got them that far. Quit trying to blame game. They will learn from last year as a team and improve as a team. Just like the Penguins did after losing to the Wings. Good teams do that, disagree with me if you want but I believe we got a good team. We're not Calgary, Ottawa, and Edmonton who just snuck in, we're a legit team and we'll be back.

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Roberto Luongo was his own worst enemy in the Stanley Cup Final. He made himself unlikeable and even despicable to his own team mates and Canucks fans, alienating himself from them in so many ways:1. No playoff beard: To snub hockey's proudest and noblest tradition by not sporting a playoff beard is to say that you are better than the game. It also ticks off the hockey gods. Sure, Luongo would have looked like he was missing a turban, or like a no-fly list terrorist, but so what? Thomas didn't care that his beard made him resemble Zack Galafanakis. Unlike Luongo, Thomas felt it important to show commitment to team chemistry and team culture rather than let his ego prevail.2. To not agree to be pulled early in game 3: Clearly, Luongo was far more concerned with his "number of times pulled" playoffs stat than he was with team success. By staying in that game, he demotivated his team and energized the Bruins by allowing them to make a bold statement and not just get back in the series, but get into the Canucks' heads and strip them of their confidence with the rout. Truly the TSN turning point of the series, all because Luongo was too proud to be pulled.3. Having his brother appear with him on CBC's After Hours following game 5: He credited his brother (a so-called "Quebec League goaltending coach") with giving him the necessary advice to come up with the win. This action must have discredited and embarrassed the Canucks' goaltending coach. The Luongo brothers appeared to be as giddy as school girls, as though the cup was now "theirs for the taking." Their naive optimism surely served as bulletin board motivation for the Bruins' comeback.4. Luongo's thoughtless comments: "That would have been an easy save for me"..."I haven't heard him say one nice thing about me all series." These boneheaded comments not only "emboldened the enemy", but revealed the depth and breadth of Luongo's insecurities and fragile mental state, and how needy his ego is. The Bruins made hay with this new ammunition. Luongo didn't need the added pressure on his shoulders and his mind, but there it was, like a new 500 pound gorilla now piggybacking on him entering the most crucial and pivotal game of the final (game 6 in Boston). He couldn't "walk the walk", making him look even more ridiculous after getting shell shocked. Again. Heading to Vancouver for game 7 with Boston's new team mate: Mo Mentum.5. Luongo's constant, first person singular speech: "I'm only one win away from winning the Stanley Cup, and that's all I care about"! The only time I heard him utter a team reference was in his post game 7 interview, during which he said "It's a team game - you win as a team, and you lose as a team. we all need to be better". Contrast that with Thomas' phrasing: "I need to do whatever I can to help my team win".6. Luongo's sense that he and their team were "bulletproof" on home ice, and therefore none of the losses in Boston mattered. To keep up the "we have home ice advantage" battle cry following humiliating road losses in Boston, until the series boiled down to a single "winner take all" affair, was misguided and sad. All of Luongo's selfish actions served to alienate him from his team mates and Canucks fans. The sad thing is, I don't think Luongo is smart enough to realize the damage he was doing. And he still hasn't learned from his harsh life lessons. Now, when asked to reflect on last seaqson, he says things like "The playoffs were fun whether we won or lost". "They were exciting when you think about it." Denial? Defiance? Mental illness? Who knows. It must be painful being saddled with him as a team mate.

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People forget his biggest gaffe in a "big game" because the game was eventually won by a true "Big game player"

Letting Parise score with 25 seconds left in the Olympics.

He was forgiven because Crosby bailed him out.

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Roberto Luongo was his own worst enemy in the Stanley Cup Final. He made himself unlikeable and even despicable to his own team mates and Canucks fans, alienating himself from them in so many ways:1. No playoff beard: To snub hockey's proudest and noblest tradition by not sporting a playoff beard is to say that you are better than the game. It also ticks off the hockey gods. Sure, Luongo would have looked like he was missing a turban, or like a no-fly list terrorist, but so what? Thomas didn't care that his beard made him resemble Zack Galafanakis. Unlike Luongo, Thomas felt it important to show commitment to team chemistry and team culture rather than let his ego prevail.2. To not agree to be pulled early in game 3: Clearly, Luongo was far more concerned with his "number of times pulled" playoffs stat than he was with team success. By staying in that game, he demotivated his team and energized the Bruins by allowing them to make a bold statement and not just get back in the series, but get into the Canucks' heads and strip them of their confidence with the rout. Truly the TSN turning point of the series, all because Luongo was too proud to be pulled.3. Having his brother appear with him on CBC's After Hours following game 5: He credited his brother (a so-called "Quebec League goaltending coach") with giving him the necessary advice to come up with the win. This action must have discredited and embarrassed the Canucks' goaltending coach. The Luongo brothers appeared to be as giddy as school girls, as though the cup was now "theirs for the taking." Their naive optimism surely served as bulletin board motivation for the Bruins' comeback.4. Luongo's thoughtless comments: "That would have been an easy save for me"..."I haven't heard him say one nice thing about me all series." These boneheaded comments not only "emboldened the enemy", but revealed the depth and breadth of Luongo's insecurities and fragile mental state, and how needy his ego is. The Bruins made hay with this new ammunition. Luongo didn't need the added pressure on his shoulders and his mind, but there it was, like a new 500 pound gorilla now piggybacking on him entering the most crucial and pivotal game of the final (game 6 in Boston). He couldn't "walk the walk", making him look even more ridiculous after getting shell shocked. Again. Heading to Vancouver for game 7 with Boston's new team mate: Mo Mentum.5. Luongo's constant, first person singular speech: "I'm only one win away from winning the Stanley Cup, and that's all I care about"! The only time I heard him utter a team reference was in his post game 7 interview, during which he said "It's a team game - you win as a team, and you lose as a team. we all need to be better". Contrast that with Thomas' phrasing: "I need to do whatever I can to help my team win".6. Luongo's sense that he and their team were "bulletproof" on home ice, and therefore none of the losses in Boston mattered. To keep up the "we have home ice advantage" battle cry following humiliating road losses in Boston, until the series boiled down to a single "winner take all" affair, was misguided and sad. All of Luongo's selfish actions served to alienate him from his team mates and Canucks fans. The sad thing is, I don't think Luongo is smart enough to realize the damage he was doing. And he still hasn't learned from his harsh life lessons. Now, when asked to reflect on last seaqson, he says things like "The playoffs were fun whether we won or lost". "They were exciting when you think about it." Denial? Defiance? Mental illness? Who knows. It must be painful being saddled with him as a team mate.

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Roberto Luongo was his own worst enemy in the Stanley Cup Final. He made himself unlikeable and even despicable to his own team mates and Canucks fans, alienating himself from them in so many ways:1. No playoff beard: To snub hockey's proudest and noblest tradition by not sporting a playoff beard is to say that you are better than the game. It also ticks off the hockey gods. Sure, Luongo would have looked like he was missing a turban, or like a no-fly list terrorist, but so what? Thomas didn't care that his beard made him resemble Zack Galafanakis. Unlike Luongo, Thomas felt it important to show commitment to team chemistry and team culture rather than let his ego prevail.2. To not agree to be pulled early in game 3: Clearly, Luongo was far more concerned with his "number of times pulled" playoffs stat than he was with team success. By staying in that game, he demotivated his team and energized the Bruins by allowing them to make a bold statement and not just get back in the series, but get into the Canucks' heads and strip them of their confidence with the rout. Truly the TSN turning point of the series, all because Luongo was too proud to be pulled.3. Having his brother appear with him on CBC's After Hours following game 5: He credited his brother (a so-called "Quebec League goaltending coach") with giving him the necessary advice to come up with the win. This action must have discredited and embarrassed the Canucks' goaltending coach. The Luongo brothers appeared to be as giddy as school girls, as though the cup was now "theirs for the taking."

..............................................Paragraphs are your friend.....................................................

Their naive optimism surely served as bulletin board motivation for the Bruins' comeback.4. Luongo's thoughtless comments: "That would have been an easy save for me"..."I haven't heard him say one nice thing about me all series." These boneheaded comments not only "emboldened the enemy", but revealed the depth and breadth of Luongo's insecurities and fragile mental state, and how needy his ego is. The Bruins made hay with this new ammunition. Luongo didn't need the added pressure on his shoulders and his mind, but there it was, like a new 500 pound gorilla now piggybacking on him entering the most crucial and pivotal game of the final (game 6 in Boston). He couldn't "walk the walk", making him look even more ridiculous after getting shell shocked. Again. Heading to Vancouver for game 7 with Boston's new team mate: Mo Mentum.5. Luongo's constant, first person singular speech: "I'm only one win away from winning the Stanley Cup, and that's all I care about"! The only time I heard him utter a team reference was in his post game 7 interview, during which he said "It's a team game - you win as a team, and you lose as a team. we all need to be better". Contrast that with Thomas' phrasing: "I need to do whatever I can to help my team win".6. Luongo's sense that he and their team were "bulletproof" on home ice, and therefore none of the losses in Boston mattered. To keep up the "we have home ice advantage" battle cry following humiliating road losses in Boston, until the series boiled down to a single "winner take all" affair, was misguided and sad. All of Luongo's selfish actions served to alienate him from his team mates and Canucks fans. The sad thing is, I don't think Luongo is smart enough to realize the damage he was doing. And he still hasn't learned from his harsh life lessons. Now, when asked to reflect on last seaqson, he says things like "The playoffs were fun whether we won or lost". "They were exciting when you think about it." Denial? Defiance? Mental illness? Who knows. It must be painful being saddled with him as a team mate.

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