After allowing seven goals in the last two games of the Stanley Cup finals, Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo is probably wishing he’d kept his mouth shut.
The Boston Bruins won their first Stanley Cup in 39 years after they defeated the Canucks 4-0 in Vancouver Wednesday night, and the win was especially sweet for Bruins goalie Tim Thomas.
Thomas was the subject of Luongo’s remarks following Vancouver’s 1-0 Game 5 win that gave the Canucks a 3-2 series lead.
Luongo took a shot at Thomas in his postgame press conference when asked about the difficulty of stopping the Canucks’ game-winning goal.
“It’s not hard if you’re playing in the paint,” Luongo said. “It’s an easy save for me, but if you’re wandering out and aggressive like he does, that’s going to happen.
He might make some saves that I won’t, but in a case like that, we want to take advantage of a bounce like that and make sure we’re in a good position to bury those.”
Then to make matters worse, Luongo tried to clarify his remarks prior to Game 6 in Boston.
“I said he might make some saves that I don’t. I was just saying, on that particular play, I would have played it different. That’s the difference between me and him,” Luongo said.
“I have been pumping his tires ever since the series started. I haven’t heard one nice thing he had to say about me. That’s the way it is.”
To suggest that Luongo’s comments inspired Boston is an understatement, as the Bruins promptly scored three times against the Canucks’ goalie in a span of 3:04 during the first period of Game 6.
Boston’s onslaught was so overwhelming it forced Canucks coach Alain Vigneault to replace Luongo with Cory Schneider, who allowed two goals in Vancouver’s 5-2 loss to set up Game 7.
While Luongo didn’t realize it at the time, his comments regarding Thomas had sealed Vancouver’s fate.
Boston dominated Game 7 en route to an easy 4-0 win, scoring all of their goals against Luongo. Even sweeter than winning the Stanley Cup, Thomas was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner of the series.
Thomas thoroughly outplayed and outclassed Luongo after Vancouver took a 2-0 series lead.
The Canucks goalie allowed 18 goals in the last five games of the finals, while Thomas allowed four goals in the last five games.
Considering the Canucks were just one win away from capturing their first Stanley Cup in franchise history, Luongo’s comments were not only ill-timed but completely unnecessary.
Windows of opportunity are open for a short time in professional sports, and Vancouver’s best chance of winning a Stanley Cup may have slipped away for good.
And all of it can be blamed on Luongo running his mouth, giving the Bruins all the bulletin board material they needed.
If the Canucks find themselves in the playoffs next season, it’s a safe bet that Luongo will keep his mouth shut, but it will be a year too late.
