Blackhawks Still Have Psychological Edge Over Luongo
CHICAGO (WSCR) -- Wednesday will begin the third straight year that the Chicago Blackhawks and the Vancouver Canucks have met in the NHL's Western Conference playoffs.
And there were two elements in both matchups that Blackhawks fans are hoping to see again: the Blackhawks advancing and Roberto Luongo melting down.
"He's had a great regular season, but he's had great regular seasons in the past," former Blackhawk and current analyst Eddie Olczyk said on the Danny Mac Show.
"Two years ago it was Roberto Luongo agaisnt Nikolai Khabibulin, check mark Khabibulin. Last year, Antti Niemi versus Roberto Luongo, check mark for Antti Niemi. And now it's Corey Crawford's opportunity.
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"I'm a big believer, until you do it, there's going to be question marks. Going into this regular season, Carey Price, of the Montreal Canadiens had the most pressure on him of any player in the National Hockey League. ... I don't think there's a player in the playoffs ... that has more pressure on him than Roberto Luongo.
"Can he do it? I'm not sure, and I think that the 'Hawks do have that psychological positive check mark in their corner because of the success they've had over Roberto Luongo in the playoffs."
The Blackhawks and Canucks split their regular season series at two games each. In those games Luongo had a 2-1-1 record, with a 2.18 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.
"What's happened in the regular season, forget about it," Olczyk said. "Now you have to worry about the playoffs and I think the 'Hawks certainly have an edge on that, and it all starts on Wednesday."
