Roberto Luongo: Why Neither the Canucks nor Any Other Team Can Trust Him in Net

The Vancouver Canucks can't rely on Roberto Luongo.

And neither can the opposing team.

Luongo had a dominant regular season, picking up a Vezina Trophy nomination to go along with his 2.11 GAA, 0.928 save percentage and 38 wins.

But his playoff performances, much like the Canucks' play as a whole, have been, well, uneven to say the least.

Canucks vs. Blackhawks

Game 1: 1.000 save percentage (32/32), Shutout

Game 2: 0.885 save percentage (23/26), 3 goals allowed

Game 3: 0.938 save percentage (30/32), 2 goals allowed

Game 4: 0.786 save percentage (22/28), 6 goals allowed *Pulled after 44:03

Game 5: 0.667 save percentage (8/12), 4 goals allowed * Pulled after 21:15

Game 6: 0.923 save percentage (12/13), 1 goal allowed *Played 32:59 in relief

Game 7: 0.969 save percentage (31/32), 1 goals allowed

Canucks vs. Predators

Game 1: 1.000 save percentage (20/20), Shutout

Game 2: 0.957 save percentage (44/46), 2 goals allowed

On the one hand, Luongo leads the remaining playoff goalies with a pair of shutouts. (Ryan Miller had two shutouts as well for the eliminated Buffalo Sabres.)

But on the other hand, he has also been pulled from two games and didn't start another.

Opposing teams aren't sure how to play Luongo.

The book on Luongo used to be that you needed to get traffic and bump him and to work some down-low plays to take advantage of how much he would focus on the shooter, leaving the rest of the net open for a backdoor play.

That doesn't seem to be the case anymore.

Working with new goalie coach Rollie Melanson, Luongo is playing deeper in his net and is better able to read and defend against those down low plays. And the much improved Vancouver defence isn't letting opponents take too many liberties on Luongo, either.

Now, the opposition is trying to beat him with mid-range shots, trying to hit the corners that are exposed as he isn't challenging high in the crease anymore.

This is a risky strategy. 

If Luongo is having a good night, then peppering him with shots just keeps him in the game mentally and he'll stone you with a Vezina-worthy performance. 

But if he is having an off night, you want to take lots of shots to get some soft goals and shake his confidence, as the Hawks did in Games 4 and 5 of the first round.

The opposition can't rely on a strategy to beat Luongo, as his play is so different from night to night.

As for the Canucks, they can't rely on Luongo either.

I don't mean this in a bad way, as his playoff stats are still a respectable 2.29 GAA, 0.921 save percentage, and most importantly, he has five wins. 

But the Canucks have a noted tendency under Alain Vigneault to fall back into a defensive shell and rely on Lou to shut the door on a one-goal lead rather than push forward and put some insurance goals on the board.

This tendency infuriates Vancouver fans and was the source of the Canucks' downfall in Game 2 against the Predators, as the Canucks were out shot 36 to 15 in regulation as they tried to nurse home a 1-0 lead, eventually falling 2-1 in OT.

The Canucks need to score goals, not rely on Luongo to try and steal them a game.

He has the capacity to steal games, but the Canucks are good enough that relying on Luongo to pitch a shutout shouldn't be the entire game plan, as seems to be the case in the second round so far. 

The Canucks can score enough goals and play well enough on special teams that even if Luongo has a bit of an off night, they can still win. See Game 2 of the Hawks series, where he put up sub-par numbers, but the Canucks still walked away with a 4-3 victory.

But if they try to win a defensive, grinding, low scoring, 1-0 or 2-1 game and Luongo has an off night, or a bounce goes the wrong way, then they lose.

Starting in Game 3 against the Predators, the Canucks need to remember that not only do they have a Vezina-nominated goalie and the best goals-against record in the NHL, but that they also have a couple of Art Ross winners and 40-goal scorers to go along with the best even-strength and power-play offense in the NHL as well. 

You need all your players, skaters and goalies, to contribute to win a single series, let alone win the Stanley Cup. You can't rely on one player to score a hat trick or put up a shutout every night. 

Luongo did his part in Games 1 and 2—now it is time for the skaters, especially the Sedins, to stop relying on him and pay Luongo back by putting some goals on the scoreboard.