Canucks & Beyond
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Dear Vancouver: When All is Going Well, Be Sure to Find Something to Whine About
by Alanah McGinley on 03/17/09 at 02:49 PM ET
Comments (5)
The Vancouver media is even glad to set the trend for you. From the Vancouver Sun:
Roberto Luongo, the Vancouver Canucks’ last line of defence, went on the offensive Monday when faced with a series of questions about a recent rash of soft goals and his struggles playing the puck outside his crease. [...]
“Like I said, all the goalies make mistakes behind the net, even the best ones in the league,” Luongo said. “So just because I make mistakes doesn’t mean it has to be amplified and suggested I don’t know how to play the puck.”
Puck Daddy responds to Luongo’s irritation with a wry “Doesn’t change the fact that at times he’s been softer than Vince Vaughn’s midsection in between movies.”
Ah, swell. So, a 2.35 GAA is the new standard for “soft"…
The breakdown of Luongo’s last 17 games—those played since the team turned things around after February 1st—goes as follows.
- 14-2-1 is the record
- Luongo has been scored against 40 times in those 17 games—a 2.35 goals-against-average
Given that Luongo’s average for the season is actually at 2.44 GAA, he’s notably improved in the last 17 games, not worsened.
This isn’t to deny that Luongo has let a few in that you’d expect him to stop. But if you only judge his performance based on those few ‘soft’ goals, you’re ignoring all those he stops that kick ass.
When hockey is played well, it’s a game of averages and when you allow in an average of 2.35 goals per game and your team scores an average of 3.18 goals per game (the Canucks record over the same 17 game period, scoring 54 goals), that, my friends, is what we call a “winning record”. Luongo and everyone else deserves credit for that. Credit they can and should all share.
It’s when hockey is played badly that is comes down to one man. One goalie or one scorer. Of course, those games do happen, and a team does need a player—goalie or scorer—to steal a game once in a while.
But that’s not exactly a desirable state of affairs. That’s desperation hockey, and if it were necessary all the time, that wouldn’t be a sign of a team that’s likely to have much success.
The Canucks current record is a result of excellent play from nearly all parts of their game, and that includes Luongo.
Frankly, I don’t see how it can get much better than that.
Filed in: vancouver canucks | Canucks and Beyond | Permalink
Tags: roberto+luongo, stats,
Comments
It is a valid concern re: Luongo’s puck handling.
He clearly makes a lot of mistakes over the course of each season and does not look very confident when he has to deal with dump-ins. If he simply stopped the puck behind the net, that would be fine, but he tries to overthink situations and ends up hesitating.
That said, he’s clearly no Arturs Irbe…
Posted by JesGolbez from Burnaby, BC on 03/17/09 at 02:06 PM ET
Ah, swell. So, a 2.18 GAA is the new standard for “soft"…
And if that is “soft”, then Osgood is the second coming of the Pillsbury dough boy. We haven’t seen a 2.18 GAA in Detroit all year.
Posted by OlderThanChelios from Grand Rapids on 03/17/09 at 02:37 PM ET
J.J. -- I chose to ignore the month of January. No reason to relive that hell-hole again. 
Jes—It’s a valid concern, sure, if you expect perfection. I don’t. I expect some show stopping saves sometimes, but mostly I’m very happy with wins, in well-rounded, well-played games. I want my whole team to be good enough to win, not just one player who is the difference between life-and-death every single minute of every single game of the season.
Older Than Chelios - Take note - I accidentally stated 2.18 in that top part, but stated it correctly below… 2.35. I’ve fixed it now. But still, the point stands, right?
Posted by Alanah McGinley from British Columbia on 03/17/09 at 02:46 PM ET
Soft goaltending? Talk to me when a goalie’s even strength save percentage is below .900. That’s soft goaltending (actually, it’s pathetic goaltending, but close enough). Luongo’s is .935, fourth in the league among goalies with at least 20 starts.
Posted by Ryan from Toronto on 03/17/09 at 04:05 PM ET
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About Canucks & Beyond
Alanah McGinley has been blogging hockey since 2003, sharing opinions, rants and not-so-deep thoughts with anyone who will listen. In addition to writing Canucks & Beyond and helping manage Kukla’s Korner, Alanah is one of the founders and co-hosts of The Crazy Canucks Podcast, as featured at Canucks.com.
She has contributed pieces to FoxSports.com and the New York Times Slapshot blog, as well as other stray destinations in cyberspace.
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I wrote about this yesterday too. I’m glad I’m not the only one who got annoyed at the negative coverage after Sunday.
If you look at his stats in the 13 games after LaBarbera’s last start, they’re even more impressive - 2.05 GAA and 0.922 save%. If that’s not good goaltending, I don’t know what is.
Posted by J.J. Guerrero from Vancouver on 03/17/09 at 01:54 PM ET