I don't think the 'nucks would tank it against the AVs, or even their last three games. But I think AV did say they were going to try slightly different things, giving other guys more ice time and in different situations, and start Rayzor for one of the three remaining games..

It would definitely be cruel to tank it against the AVs just to spite the flames!

What's so WTF about that? If all you knew was that the score was 2-1 at one point and then you found out it ended 4-3 in OT, seems pretty standard.

It's only WTF if you knew we scored an empty netter before letting in two goals with their goalie pulled that it becomes WTF.

:confused:

It may be possible that if every player was polled that Luongo could emerge as the top choice... but based on the limited sample pool and the fact that he was barely the top choice, I don't believe it's anywhere near enough to conclusively state that it is a precise respresentation of the entire population.

I just want Hanke to get to point 111.

Considering Luongo has a gold medal, Vinny has a stanley cup, and Avery bangs hot celebrity bitches, was the poll brought to you by Haterade??

One side can say he's overrated all they want, and the other side can say he's the best in the league. You all can argue like idots until the cows come home. However, for those that say he's overrated, take a look at this list of goalies, all of which have played for the Canucks. With names like Kevin, Weekes, Dan Cloutier and Corey fucking Schwab, having Luongo traded to the Canucks was a god send!

In sports, justifying how well a player plays based on how much they make doesn't work. In thoery it should, but it just doesn't. Sure, goalies with big contracts have rarely taken their team for a skate with the cup. Any goalie can get streaky late in the playoff rounds and perform in god-mode, but your chances are higher if you have a proven netminder.

Vancouver fans that say Luongo is overrated may have a point at times, but as fans who have followed the team for any period of time, do they forget the shit that has come through here? Corey "kick me I'm a ginger" Hirsh.. like come on!

And if Luongo takes us to the cup final, all these people calling him "overrated" will be rocking Lu t-shirts, calling him the best player ever and riding his cock. Gotta love hockey fans in Vancouver.

^ dont mess with the white man from hong kong who speaks chinese!!!

you guys are stupid. you just don't see skinnypupp's point. i'm not even going to bother explaining it because you're too stupid to understand.

oh and I want canucks to play to win. start luongo each game to get him back into his groove and get henrik as many points as possible.

Play to win.
But I secretly cheer for Brandon Yip.

WELL..its also a possibility that Luongo will tank in one of the series to be replaced by a hot Razor that'll take the canucks far..like how Giguere carried Anaheim...

you never know..

I wonder what Gillis would do if that happened... lol


*I'm just saying this hypothetically and in no way implying this should happen*
Trade Lu and bring up Schneider to share the net with Razor? hahah

When I checked, it was 3 minutes left, score 2-1. Of course, you hope the final score is 2-1, 3-1, or even 3-2 OT. Expect my surprise when it was 4-3 OT!

Lets be fucking honest about Luongo here. This is a player that have shown consistently that he needs to face shots in order to be good. His rise to fame was with the Panthers, constant 40+shots a night with a very good save percentage. That is Florida

Welcome to Vancouver, where its tighter D and he needs to be sharp. Has Luongo done this. YES he has. Dallas series back in 07. The Canucks have been pretty good, letting up on average 30shots a game, he still pulled amazing numbers. Until he went down with that groin injury in Pittsburgh last season. Since then, Mr.Luongo has not been the same netminder we know who PLAYS WITH CONSISTENCY.

In my mind, Luongo is NOT over rated. Luongos weakest link as we found out over the past two seasons is that short side. The big man doesn't hug the posts due to his sheer size. Its a part of his game that is going to be improved, and the man can still improve.

Lets analyze the Canucks this year now. The Mike Gillis/Nonis goal was to develop from Goalie Out. the team is built GOALIE OUT. and look at where we are now. One of the highest scoring teams in the league, and also places a very physical and TECHNICAL blueline that has a balance of speed and size.

The fact is this, Luongo needs to find that zone again, because the Canucks will not be the same team two seasons ago that can somewhat give up 35+shots a night

via sportsnetmurph on twitter

I hope Johnson is going to be ok for the playoffs. That guy is a warrior blocking crazy ass shots some of the hardest shooters in the nhl.

Lady on CDC tatoos Luongo on her arm

:lol

Or... he gets burned and Drew Doughty walks around him and blasts a shot from the point which leads to a goal (which happened the other night against the Kings.)

Pettinger can at least handle the puck - can't say the same for Johnson.

We shouldn't be worried about Johnson, but we should be worried if Erhoff doesn't make it back for Round 1.

I finally agree with something you post.

I can't believe people in Vancouver keep drinking the Luongo kool-aid. Is he a good goalie? Yes. Is he an elite goalie that deserves to tie up $7M and be captain (or better yet, can he handle it?) NO.

A team doesn't need an elite goalie to win a Cup, they just need a decent one on a good streak. All the fanboys in the world isn't going to help when Andrew Alberts or some other 3rd rate D is letting the Hawks, Penguins or Capitals fly by him and go top shelf on Lou.

Im just gonna say this on Luongo. I'm neither a fan nor hater on bobby lou. In fact, my favorite active goaltender who finally got his chance would be Tuukk Rask

Let the end of this season after the playoffs to full judge Luongo.

RTS, you said it right, teams dont need elite goaltenders to win. The Canes did it, and somehow Detroit has been doing it for years. That is if you DONT consider Osgood as "elite"

I think someone just has to go up to bobby lou and tell him to relax.

We need backup bob back!! He's awesome! loved him when he played in the playoffs that 1 year.

^ This. Everyone here thinks that Luongo is such a god...

People need to fuck off with the band wagon comments, they piss me off to no fucking end.

Why should Luongo get a pass when he shits the pot like this? He's supposed to be the captain and he's been pulled what 10 times this season? That's absolute bullshit.

It's not even like some of these goals were unstoppable, he has shown in the last few months that he is seriously losing his game. We absolutely cannot have that risk come playoff time, or we'll have another Game 7 Chicago like last season.

I don't know what Lu's issue is, but you idiots defending him like he's your best friend has to stop. Be realistic, I will admit Lu has had some great games, but overall he has proven to be very unreliable, even last season.

Not sure if he can handle pressure well, and I certainly don't think he should be Captain, it doesn't seem as though he has the personality to connect with the players like a Captain should.

I mean Christ last game he lets those 2 goals in 22 seconds, skates to the bench and SAYS ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to any of the players or to start the OT.

That is something a true Captain does not do. I say give up his C and allow the man to concentrate on getting his mind right, and getting his game back. A goalie as a Captain was a terrible idea in the first place.

Who cares about all this talk, can't we just sit down and enjoy the game for what it is?! There's always going to be busts and gems, that is what makes it exciting and heart breaking.

Go Canucks! 7pm start VS Colorado Avalanche, on Sportsnet!

A true captain doesn't need a C on their jersey or in Luongo's case on their helmet to be considered a leader in the dressing room. Players know who the leaders are on their team.

For myself, I don’t think Luongo’s overrated nor do I think he’s just a decent goalie. Sure I wouldn’t mention him in the same breath as Brodeur. I don’t get too high when he’s in god mode or think he’s shitty when he lets a bad goal or two or three in.

My only thing is, as a Canucks fan, we have suffered with soooo many shitty goalies, and we finally have one locked up that has proved he can be an elite goalie. (The fact that some people who cheer the Canucks still have a debate on him being able to play like an elite goalie surprises me).

Many people have the thinking of spend money elsewhere, and have a decent goalie in net, and yes this may have worked for some teams, but other teams have also failed because of this formula. Look at the Flyers, they’ve had “decent” goalies for years now, and how many times have these goalies gotten “hot” for 4 rounds in the playoffs?? What happened to Washington last season against the Pens? It came down to goaltending.

No Luongo does not get a pass in my books when he plays shitty, but let’s be honest, he’s being judged on what he does in the playoffs, not this regular season, and realistically:

What are RS member’s opinions on what would constitute a good season? For me, nothing short then a conference final.

Dallas series back in 07....i dont rmb Luongo playing well, I remember everyone shitting their pants cos the whole Canucks team blew a 3-1 series lead and was down 1-0 in game 7 before coming back...

as for Luongo, no doubt he is a good goalie, but imo not worth the $7million. The reason why ppl are not happy with his play is he's not playing up to his worth. If he was getting $4 million a year I'm almost positive most here would say he's playing his worth and so be it. BUT as some of you already mentioned the Canucks team has be built around Luongo, which is why if the goalie tanks the whole team tanks.

oh yes..and just for comparison...we've been ripping Brodeur for the whole season on how many times he's been pulled due to his bad play...HOWEVER, since you guys are so much into stats, Brodeur has more minutes on the ice that Luongo and has a better GAA and save percentage than Luongo. And yes the east may be a tad weaker than the west as usual, but at least pittsburgh is in their division which balances it out a little bit i guess.

All in all, I imo like to look at GAA more than save percentage. I'd much rather have Luongo let in a consistent 2 goals a game and give the team a chance to win all 3 games than to let in 1 goal in 2 games and then 4 in the 3rd and basically give up on winning the 3rd game.

Sports Illustrated conducted their own survey of 272 players. Couldn't find the exact link to the survey but the article on it is here

Based on a survey of 272 NHL players, the top five overrated players were:
Dion Phaneuf, Maple Leafs, D........20.6%
Wade Redden, Rangers, D..........6.7%
Scott Gomez, Canadiens, C.........5.8%
Sean Avery, Rangers, L...........5.4%
Shawn Horcoff, Oilers, C...........4.5%

Personally I find these surveys are interesting but people get too caught up in them. Players put 'overrated' and 'overpaid' in the same thought. That's why Wade Redden is second even though everybody knows he sucks. :haha:

Lou is a top 5 goalie in the league and one of the best in the world when he's on his game. He has taken a lot of criticism this season because he been struggling in a Canadian market. Because of that, there is going to be a lot of hype surrounding him and critics scrutinize every aspect and stat of his game. (The Sedins are an exception. I still think they don't get the credit they deserve from the rest of the league). Everybody is pointing out that his stats are lower this season but the change into a more offensive style of play gets no mention.

That being said, Luongo has been shitting the bed recently and if Luongo and Canucks fans ever want him to shake off that image, he needs to win SOMETHING in the NHL. The Olympics aren't good enough because haters will say that the team carried him. I don't give a shit with how many goals he lets in during the playoffs. As long as he gets the team to 16 wins, I'll be happy with his play.