GDT - Canucks vs Ducks 7PM PST TSN

[rats19]

What I did like last night....after being pulled and jeered...when we won the Shootout, lou raced out onto the ice with genuine joy congratulated everyone. I am a pitcher and relativity deeply In place. I know the feeling of getting pulled and watching your replacement have success, it is not easy to rise above that most inner feeling of failure/pity (self) . I was proud of lou.

[Farhan Lalji]

At this point I think the only way he does that is to win one more game than last year. For most of us, that's a bit much. If Luongo plays lights out, and the scoring dries up again and we lose, they will call for his head. There are a lot of good teams in the league, and while it's nice to have high hopes and expectations, booing someone in a pretty much meaningless game heading into the playoffs while the team is on a 6-0 run is absurd.

Island Nucklehead,

You need to give your head a shake.

To imply that it's a simple issue of, "If Luongo plays lights out, and the scoring dries up again and we lose, they will call for his head" is complete ignorance and borderline stupidity on your part.

Fans do tend to be irrational at times.......but more times than not, they simply call it like they see it. As unbelievably brilliant as Luongo was last year during the regular season, and many times during the playoffs (including Games 1, 2, and 5 during the finals), Luongo was VERY shaky and downright terrible in most of those losses to Chicago and Boston. The complete 180 did Luongo did from Game 5 to Game 6 was extremely disturbing. Lou's performance in Game 7 was also atrocious.

As much as I personally love Lou, he has been very shaky and inconsistent over the last 3 post-seasons....which is even more disappointing when you consider the fact that in most of those concurrent regular seasons, Luongo was very very good (sans 09/10....where Lou was sub-par in both the regular season and post-season).

Given the above fact - it's not illogical or irrational at all for Canuck fans to be annoyed/disappointed when they see Lou having a bad game at this time of year.

As far as the issue of, "If Luongo plays lights out, and the scoring dries up again and we lose, they will call for his head" goes, history proves that your statement is completely false......and borderline stupid. Back in 2007 after the Canucks defeated Dallas but lost to Anaheim, the fans gave Luongo TONS of love.....despite the fact that Lou gave up a bad series-clinching goal in the last game against Anaheim. Many times during the Dallas series, Lou played absolute lights out and yet lost games due to the teams lack of scoring.......and the fans understood! (gasp!).

So in conclusion - yes - fans can be illogical at times.....but for the most part, they have good reason. To paint a picture of Lou being an "undeserving and innocent scapegoat", given his tumultuous history, is downright ignorant on your part.

[Island Nucklehead]

At this point I think the only way he does that is to win one more game than last year. For most of us, that's a bit much. If Luongo plays lights out, and the scoring dries up again and we lose, they will call for his head. There are a lot of good teams in the league, and while it's nice to have high hopes and expectations, booing someone in a pretty much meaningless game heading into the playoffs while the team is on a 6-0 run is absurd.

Island Nucklehead,

You need to give your head a shake.

To imply that it's a simple issue of, "If Luongo plays lights out, and the scoring dries up again and we lose, they will call for his head" is complete ignorance and borderline stupidity on your part.

As in.. game 7 of the Cup finals where we score 0 goals? Luongo takes 5X the blame he deserves for us failing to win the Cup. And even so, this a different season. Why are you jeering the goalie now? One bad goal, in a game that barely registers a heart-beat in the grand scheme of things? Please.

Fans do tend to be irrational at times.......but more times than not, they simply call it like they see it.

As in... booing your goalie off the ice when it's clearly defensive breakdowns leading to 3/4 goals? Did they see that? No. They saw Luongo getting the hook and they cheered. I guess that's "calling it as they see it" in a strictly literal sense, but it sure doesn't smack of any hockey sense.

Given the above fact - it's not illogical or irrational at all for Canuck fans to be annoyed/disappointed when they see Lou having a bad game at this time of year.

It's not the playoffs yet.

So in conclusion - yes - fans can be illogical at times.....but for the most part, they have good reason. To paint a picture of Lou being an "undeserving and innocent scapegoat", given his tumultuous history, is downright ignorant on your part.

No. They don't. There was no rational reason to boo Luongo. If we're going to jeer our goalie after one soft goal, we deserve to have reject second-tier goalies in net for eternity, letting in goal after goal. As others have said in this thread, that was an embarrassment.

Not sure where I said "undeserving and innocent scapegoat", but he was certainly undeserving of his treatment by our fans last night.

“It’s getting old,” Schneider said of the reaction Luongo got as he lurched off the ice.
“I’m glad they like me and support me, but he’s a guy who has done a lot for this team and the city.
“I think he deserves better than that.”

[Farhan Lalji]

As in.. game 7 of the Cup finals where we score 0 goals?

Uhhhhhh........I don't know what fucking game you were watching last spring, but Luongo was not "lights out" in Game 7.

"If Luongo plays lights out, and the scoring dries up again and we lose, they will call for his head."

Any sane and rational human being would tell you that the team AND Luongo was sub-par on that fateful day of June 15th. Even with that in mind - if you look at the stats, you will see that the Canucks out hit AND out shot Boston by an extremely wide margin in that game. 37-21 were the shots, and 47-26 were the hits. These shots were evenly distributed throughout the periods, and was NOT a result of Boston deciding to trap or shut down once they had the lead. The wide margin in hits was also NOT a result of Boston having significant more puck possession......they didn't.

The implication here is that the team in front, despite being sub-par for their standards, actually out-played the team they faced on that day......and yet the team that got outplayed, scored 3 "soft" goals......+1 empty netter. So - what was the difference? What one player in the one position got outplayed by his counter-part?

Luongo takes 5X the blame he deserves for us failing to win the Cup. And even so, this a different season. Why are you jeering the goalie now? One bad goal, in a game that barely registers a heart-beat in the grand scheme of things? Please.

I don't agree with the fans' reactions. All I am saying however, is that it's understandable.......when you consider the fact that for the past 3 seasons, Luongo's game has become terribly inconsistent around this time (and yes - I realize that "it's not the playoffs right now" in case you wanted to use that weak and stupid "defense").

As in... booing your goalie off the ice when it's clearly defensive breakdowns leading to 3/4 goals? Did they see that? No. They saw Luongo getting the hook and they cheered. I guess that's "calling it as they see it" in a strictly literal sense, but it sure doesn't smack of any hockey sense.

Agreed that it was defensive breakdowns that caused those bad goals, but Lou normally would have had those......atleast the regular season version of Lou. Again - I don't agree with the fans' reaction at all, but to say or imply that the fans weren't within their reason (given Lou's history) is absurd.

It's not the playoffs yet.

It's pretty damned close to it.

Not sure where I said "undeserving and innocent scapegoat", but he was certainly undeserving of his treatment by our fans last night.

You never said that but you flat out imply it with your words. Even last year during the playoffs, before the finals, you simply could not understand why the fans had their reservations about Lou. People like you, madcombinepilot, and dr.dork couldn't fathom why people would dare criticize Luongo. I was even criticized for questioning the Sedins'. I can provide the link to those comments if you want. "+1"

Unfortunately, you guys, along with many others, found out as to exactly WHY those criticisms and concerns were extremely valid.

[Nuckertuzzi]

While there were many factors as to why we haven't achieved ultimate success when we've had a team more than capable of it the past several years, one of if not THE biggest reasons has been Lu. That's fact. And it's not just fans but many hockey experts and ex-NHL'ers agree. There's no getting around the fact that he melted down three years in a row which ended up costing us..it's right there for everyone to see.

When he shows signs, even the slightest signs, of repeating the same thing yet again I don't blame anyone for displaying a "here we go again" attitude, especially when our hopes and expectations have never been this high. Albeit it might be a little too premature but we've seen it too many times to not wonder and worry.

Thing is I think he's dealt with it a lot better than a lot of his ultra-sensitive apologists. We failed at winning the Cup for over 40 years, we failed the past three years with our most realistic chance. He was a reason..fingers will be pointed. Happens everywhere in big money sports and totally reasonable in this market to be a little irrational or impatient. He knew what he signed up for. He knew if he doesn't perform he would be a target. Seriously, suck it up and stop whining for the guy. If he or anybody else can't take it, maybe they do need to get the F out of here.

[Hockey Widow]

What gets lost in all of this is that without Luongo we would not be in the position we are in. He is the main reason why we have been consistent and are an annual contender.

I admit I cringe now when he gets a start and I don't have that confidence I used to that he can hold the fort in a close game. But I am far from blaming him for Boston winning the Cup. Yes, Boston won the Cup more than we lost it. The main reason why we lost was injuries. Plain and simple, Boston was the healthier team and therefore the better team over 7 games. If we were relatively healthy as compared to Boston we win and Luongo is a hero.

Thomas had some real shit games in the playoffs last year. They almost never made it to the finals, in fact the only easy series they had was against another injury riddled team in the Flyers.

Take comparable players from the Boston line up and put ours back in and tell me who wins? And that cannot no how any way be blamed on Luongo. Yes, it sure would have been nice if he had one more shut out performance in him, if he had he would have won the MVP and Timmy would be wishing he had a White House invite.

I don't dispute Luongo has had his share of melt downs. It is a fact but to ignore his entire body of work and his entire career to try and paint a one sided picture misses the complete picture. I agree he should have a short leash. I agree Cory looks to be ready to take that next step. But he is still the best goalie this franchise has ever had. He deserves to be recognized as one of the greats for this team.

We could get swept in the 1st round, all 1-0 games and Luongo would be blamed for that too.

[Nuckertuzzi]

3 and a half complete no shows, HW. For an injury riddled team we needed more from him than to play in only half the series.

If that wasn't bad enough, he for no reason at all woke an angry giant with his need to feed his massive ego. I agree Thomas was shaky throughout the playoffs. Was it coincidence that changed when it did? Anyone who thinks it wasn't a factor, think again. AV all but admitted as such on 1040 the other day saying that Luongo/Thomas thing is a reason why coaches are careful not to say much during the playoffs. You have to be a complete idiot to believe a "harmless" thing like that would not get blown up. I don't know what he was thinking. The problem was sometimes he's too selfish to think, at least in that particular moment, and it cost us.

That's another reason I'm not embarrassed about the jeering. He rips into an opponent on the most public platform and we're supposed to feel bad when he gets a bit of it back??

[Hockey Widow]

Ya he can be pretty stupid with his comments. No question. But his comments were also taken out of context. He was trying to make a point that Thomas can make other saves look easy but on that play, you live by the sword you die by the sword. And it was the Rome hit that woke the sleeping giant.

I don't feel one bit sorry for Luongo or any other multi millionaire athlete. I believe every fan has the right to cheer or boo. I just think that fans sometimes have reverse rose coloured glasses on.

Not that long ago we beat the Blues 4 straight. Luongo was great but he didn't get all the glory. Fact is St. Louis was decimated by the flu bug and we took advantage of it. The only series that I remember Luongo getting credit was the Dallas series. Every other series win and it has been other reasons but Luongo. When we lose its all his fault.

I just think the truth lies somewhere in the middle on this one. As it is right now, for the future of the team, I hope we find a way to Keep Cory and get full value by trading Luongo. But I still feel better having Luongo start the playoffs then not.

[Topper]

Watching last nights game I started to think of some of the players ratings.
......

This might keep a few of you screaming and yelling for a while

on some days the sky is blue, other days it is grey

[Farhan Lalji]

We could get swept in the 1st round, all 1-0 games and Luongo would be blamed for that too.

Hockey Widow,

I agree with your entire post except for this last statement. If the scenario in your last statement occurred, then the team in front would, and not Lou, would get grilled to shit by the media and fans.

However - I will admit that if the Canucks lost all four games by 1-0 and at least 2 of those were soft goals, then Lou would be a part of the grilling.

Personally - I think the reactions' from fans and media are a little more "on the money" than we care to admit.....although I also admit that a lot of these fans and media tend to have a "what have you done for me lately?" type mindset.

[Larry Goodenough]

Two thirds of Canuck fans automatically fall within the average or below average intelligence population.

Of the remaining third with above average intelligence, only about 10% have actually ever played hockey on ice to any degree.

Of that remaining 3% , only 2 in 20 have played goal.

That leaves .3% of Canuck fans that actually have a legitimate means to truly judge a goaltender.

I'm not one of that .3%

[donlever]

Two thirds of Canuck fans automatically fall within the average or below average intelligence population.

omfg.

Poor Flames fans.

[herb]

Luongo reminds me of my last motorcycle.

That thing rode great, looked sick, sounded great and performed brilliantly 90% of the time. I loved that bike. It was an absolute blast. It turned heads and the ladies loved it.

But, as Darren Pang would say, holy jumpin! Did that thing have its ghosts or what? When that POS broke down, there went another $1,500. Every year, almost like clockwork, that thing would break down in the middle of summer during our most beautiful riding weather. Poof, there would go a week or two of riding and my wallet would be quite a bit lighter. After three years I hated that thing.

It was an Italian bike too...

Now I ride a Honda; no problems in 5 years (knocks on wood)!

[Meds]

Luongo reminds me of my last motorcycle.

That thing rode great, looked sick, sounded great and performed brilliantly 90% of the time. I loved that bike. It was an absolute blast. It turned heads and the ladies loved it.

But, as Darren Pang would say, holy jumpin! Did that thing have its ghosts or what? When that POS broke down, there went another $1,500. Every year, almost like clockwork, that thing would break down in the middle of summer during our most beautiful riding weather. Poof, there would go a week or two of riding and my wallet would be quite a bit lighter. After three years I hated that thing.

It was an Italian bike too...

Now I ride a Honda; no problems in 5 years (knocks on wood)!

Are you saying we should dump Luongo and go scout Japan for a replacement?

[donlever]

Are you saying we should dump Luongo and go scout Japan for a replacement?

Nope, he's saying going American woud be good enough.