With a chance to silence critics and claim Vancouver's first Stanley Cup in franchise history Monday night, Luongo folded in the first 10 minutes of a potential clincher for the Canucks.
Now, 'Nucks fans are grasping at straws.
Here's the situation. There's one game left in the 2010-11 NHL season. After 60 minutes, the league will have a champion. Whether it be Henrik Sedin or Zdeno Chara hoisting the Cup, one team will be left standing.
No statistic guarantees a victory in a do-or-die game. Especially one-sided statistics that include a World Cup game in Finland in 2004 — a year when Tim Thomas was still playing in Europe.
Nucksmisconduct.com, a Vancouver Canucks blog, thinks otherwise, though.
One of its featured posts Wednesday was titled 'Luongo in Game7/Winner Take All Games.' Some delirious thought tries proving that Luongo's victory in the 2004 Finland World Cup Championship means something come Wednesday night.
The post also included three other games to back up Luongo's stellar clutch performances. The games included Canada's 3-2 victory over the U.S. in the 2010 Olympics, a 4-1 win over Dallas in the first round of the 2007 playoffs and Vancouver's 2-1 win in Game 7 over Chicago in this year's playoffs.
With performances like that, how could anyone doubt Luongo in Game 7?
Luongo was shaky in that gold medal game, the Canucks lost to Anaheim in the second round in 2007 after beating Dallas and Luongo was pulled after giving up eight goals in two games against Chicago in these playoffs.
Luongo has also failed to bail his team out when they needed him the most. In the 2009 and 2010 playoffs, the Canucks lost to the Blackhawks twice. Luongo gave up 12 goals combined in those do-or-die games.
Those games, however, didn't make this list.
The Canucks netminder didn't do himself any favors Monday night, either. However, Luongo has been a different goalie at home. In three games at Rogers Arena, he has given up just two goals.
Instead of referencing those games, nervous 'Nucks fans are looking to a game seven years ago in Finland to reassure themselves that "Bobby Lou" will get it done.
Then again, maybe they're just trying to pump up his tires a little bit.
