October 8, 2011
Up Inside The Head of Roberto Luongo

There are some things that are undeniable.  On paper, Roberto Luongo is among the greatest goalies of his generation - with three Vezina Trophy nominations, a Jennings Trophy and an Olympic gold medal.  And he is easily the best regular season goalie in the history of the Vancouver Canuck franchise.  And just as he is seemingly not Mr. June (as his on again off again Stanley Cup performance would indicate), he is neither Mr. October (Thursday night’s all around poor performance was only another ding on his notoriously mediocre early season resume).

With this latest early season blunder (which should be completely acceptable in the context of his career work) coming on the heels of his Stanley Cup Final meltdown, the jittery masses are reaching for the panic button.

But as impressive as his long list of accomplishments is, there should be a growing concern about his mental state when it comes to high pressure situations.

In a recent post, we highlighted the Canucks’ poor performance in playoff elimination games.  During his career with the Canucks, Luongo has posted an unacceptable 7 wins and 11 losses in 18 post season elimination games.  His stats in those games (2.82 GAA and .908 Save %) are in stunning contrast to his record in non-elimination playoff games (2.37 GAA and .921 Save %) and regular season games (2.34 GAA and .920 Save %). 

Perhaps even more startling and more telling with respect to his volatile temperament when the heat is on is his record in the 7 elimination game wins (a sublime 1.13 GAA and .959 Save %) versus his numbers in the 11 elimination game losses (a horrific 5.09 GAA and .864 Save %).  So it’s not as simple as “he chokes in big games”.  He could stand on his head and win the game outright or, more than likely, he will crap the bed in a fashion that would make a toilet training toddler blush.

Another further oddity confirming Bobby Lou and his case of the yips, is his near perfect record on penalty shots contrasted against his remarkably poor record in the shootout.  Both feature uncontested breakaways on a seemingly helpless keeper.  But in a game situation (without the do or die pressure), Roberto proves his elite talent level, having stopped 88% of all such shots.  Faced with the same breakaway scenario but with the game instead hanging in the balance, he literally and figuratively collapses, struggling to stop the puck only 68% of the time.  And while the sample sizes are small (18 penalty shots) and large (183 shootout shots), the contrasting results are nonetheless striking.

At CC, we’ve mostly had Roberto’s back.  At the height of his powers, he has put up the best goaltending we’ve seen.  Though the best goaltending we’ve seen has often been limited to Kirk McLean, Richard Brodeur and Glen Hanlon.  But beyond that, Roberto seems likable.  By his teammates.  By the fans.  Who doesn’t like to holler “Loooooooooo” as loud as they can?  And he seems so well intentioned.  You know he burns for this as much as anyone.  But lights out goaltending from game 12 to game 80 isn’t enough anymore.  Not with the glory so close.  And with a goalie waiting in the wings possibly capable of what Roberto hasn’t been.

The evidence is clearly mounting that Bobby Lou may never develop the mental state to be a consistent cool cucumber.  And maybe he might, but how much longer shall we wait to see?  What with our window of opportunity only shrinking.

We are not proposing anything rash.  Other than the very simple notion that we give both goalies equal opportunity this time around.  Does Cory Schneider have the game to compete at anything more than the spot duty he has been presented with thus far?  Is he perhaps the key to the future of goaltending in this market, and not the anointed one, Roberto Luongo?

Two seasons ago, Boston asked the same thing about Tim Thomas and Tuukka Rask.  And they found that Rask was indeed a top flight NHL goalie.  They also found the competition propelled Thomas to one of the greatest goalie performances of all time.  Heck, it’s even happened in this market before.  When Bob McCammon found out that Troy Gamble wasn’t really a better option than Kirk McLean.  Or Rick Ley discovered the same thing with Corey Hirsch again over the often equally mercurial McLean.

Over the course of the last season, the Canucks have moved away from the constant coddling of Roberto Luongo.  We think that should continue.  It is nothing personal, but something that simply needs to be done at this time.

2:07pm
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(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: Roberto Luongo Vancouver Canucks Kirk McLean Richard Brodeur Glen Hanlon Tim Thomas Tuukka Rask 
April 23, 2011
Game 6 Preparations

And no, we are not talking about an order of Depends adult size diapers for the lucky 20 who get to defend the honour of this frantic city heading into the next possible elimination game against the hated Hawks.

After two knock-out losses, clearly something is broken, so here are some suggested fixes:

  • Start Cory Schneider in net.  And while it will not happen (Coach Vigneault tabbed Luongo as his starter within minutes of Thursday’s disaster), it seems like a win-win for all concerned.  His teammates have clearly thrown Roberto under the bus.  Starting Schneider would be a signal from the coaching staff that such mutiny will not be tolerated any longer.  If he manages a win, all is forgiven and we can move onto the next round with Lou rightfully retaining his spot at the front of the bus.  If he loses, the franchise icon (and his beleaguered mates) get one last shot at redemption at home in Game 7 with Alain Vigneault having seemingly exhausted all of his options. 
  • Send Raffi Torres to the press box.  Remember the first two games of this series when everyone was marveling at the Canucks’ depth and the Hawks lack of it?  When Torres was serving the final two games of his suspension?  Yes, we won those games.  Torres is the proverbial red cape to the Hawks’ rampaging bulls.  Every time he does something, it gives them just a little bit extra.  We don’t need that. 
  • Get Cody Hodgson more ice.  The sheltered one, likely tiring of the kid glove treatment he’s been getting from team brass all season, was the Canucks’ most dangerous forward last game with limited minutes.  And while that might not say much, it’s clear that he’s not been here long enough to be conditioned to pant pooping every time the going gets tough.
  • Ryan Kesler and Alex Burrows are missing in action so why not put them back together.  At worst, only one line is neutralized this way.  At best, they can yap at each other to the point of turning their collective games around.
  • There is precious little good playoff history for us to celebrate in Vancouver.  But some of the best of it happened against these damn Hawks.  Forget about analyzing video from the two nightmarish losses.  How about cuing up footage from the famed ‘82 series against Chicago?  Ron Delorme’s pummeling of Grant Mulvey.  Roger Neilson and the white towels.  Jim Nill’s overtime winner.  Heroic net-minding from King Richard.  That team couldn’t carry this team’s collective jock-straps talent wise, but they cared about each other.

And while we don’t expect many (if any) of these things to happen, the simple fact that they don’t might tell you all you need to know about those running the show.

Enjoy Game 6 where we can only hope that this Easter Sunday won”t be remembered as another massacre at the madhouse on Madison.

9:54am
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(Notes: 2)
  
Filed under: Vancouver Canucks Chicago Black Hawks Cory Schneider Roberto Luongo Alain Vigneault Raffi Torres Cody Hodgson Ryan Kesler Alex Burrows Roger Neilson Ron Delorme Jim Nill Richard Brodeur