Just as there are no harmless bombs, pain-free taxes or vasectomies, or foolproof lion-tamers, there is no such thing as a ?minor injury? to Roberto Luongo.
Maybe you?ve heard: the Vancouver Canuck goalie has a cracked rib. He hopes to play next week. But his absence creates a potentially major problem for the National Hockey League team.
It?s not that backup goalie Andrew Raycroft isn?t capable. True, Raycroft?s start Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings is his first this season. But he made 31 appearances last season with the Colorado Avalanche and only three years ago logged 72 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The problem is Luongo has shown several times that the consequence of not playing ? due either to injury or layoff ? lingers well after his return to the lineup.
Luongo lost his form last April during an eight-day hibernation between playoff rounds. He missed eight weeks of last season with a serious groin injury, then required a full month to recover his game.
When he stumbled from the starting gate this month after his summer off, Luongo was merely continuing a trend he has tried hard and failed to break. Even one rest day foisted upon Luongo can upset his rhythm.
He needs to play and play often. And having struggled this month to play himself into peak form, now suddenly he?s off again and will have to start over once he returns ? whether that?s in one week or one month.
Ironically, what should be Luongo?s relatively brief absence from the lineup could actually help the Canucks short term, as players understand the need without their star to play with the urgency and discipline they have displayed only erratically so far.
Any serious consequences are more likely to surface later on.
?It?s all hard,? Luongo said Wednesday before the Canucks travelled without him to Los Angeles. ?The team?s been doing well lately and I've been feeling good about myself and my game; that's the toughest part about the whole thing.
?There is no definite timeline because it really is about the amount of pain you've got there. I'm definitely not playing these next two games and we'll see after that. I don't know what a worst-case scenario is. I'm thinking next week.?
Luongo was injured Saturday when struck in the ribs by Niklas Hagman?s sharp-angle shot during the Canucks? 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite the injury, Luongo finished that game and shut out the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 the next night.
He was brilliant for 40 minutes Tuesday against the superior Detroit Red Wings, but allowed four goals in the third period of a 5-4 loss. Luongo, whose rib pain increased significantly after the first period, insisted his discomfort had nothing to do with the third-period goals.
?I can't move right now for at least a couple of days,? he said. ?We'll see what happens when the weekend rolls around. Hopefully, it will be better by then.?
After playing the Kings and Anaheim Ducks, the Canucks have home games Sunday and Tuesday against two of the NHL?s hottest teams: the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers. They leave next Wednesday for a five-game road trip.
Vancouver was 9-12-3 last season when Luongo was injured and 36-15-7 when he was healthy.
Luongo said this injury is similar to one he had two years ago, when he missed four games after taking a shot in the ribs during a game in Minnesota. Then, too, Luongo made two more starts before coming out of the lineup due to increasing pain. But two years ago, there was no fracture.
?He was able to handle it before,? Vigneault said of Luongo?s pain tolerance. ?It would be tough for me to estimate ? but hopefully it won't be long. Maybe a week.
?We're like any team in the NHL. When you have injuries to your key guys, it's a challenge. You don't replace a Roberto Luongo.?
Raycroft, however, will have to try.
After spending most of his first three pro seasons in the minors, the 29-year-old from Belleville, Ont., won the Calder Trophy in 2003-04, when he had a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save rate for the Boston Bruins.
But he has been a No. 1 goalie in only one of four seasons since then. Raycroft signed with the Canucks in July for the NHL-minimum $500,000. He made only two relief appearances during Vancouver?s first 12 games.
?Believe it or not, I've been around for 10 years and kind of seen every different position and every different place to be on a team ? starting goalie, backup goalie, not playing, injured,? Raycroft said Wednesday. ?I've kind of seen it all, so I know what to expect.
?Obviously, [Luongo] set the bar here pretty high for what people expect out of a goalie.?
And we?ve seen what happens when Luongo doesn?t play.
Maybe you?ve heard: the Vancouver Canuck goalie has a cracked rib. He hopes to play next week. But his absence creates a potentially major problem for the National Hockey League team.
It?s not that backup goalie Andrew Raycroft isn?t capable. True, Raycroft?s start Thursday against the Los Angeles Kings is his first this season. But he made 31 appearances last season with the Colorado Avalanche and only three years ago logged 72 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The problem is Luongo has shown several times that the consequence of not playing ? due either to injury or layoff ? lingers well after his return to the lineup.
Luongo lost his form last April during an eight-day hibernation between playoff rounds. He missed eight weeks of last season with a serious groin injury, then required a full month to recover his game.
When he stumbled from the starting gate this month after his summer off, Luongo was merely continuing a trend he has tried hard and failed to break. Even one rest day foisted upon Luongo can upset his rhythm.
He needs to play and play often. And having struggled this month to play himself into peak form, now suddenly he?s off again and will have to start over once he returns ? whether that?s in one week or one month.
Ironically, what should be Luongo?s relatively brief absence from the lineup could actually help the Canucks short term, as players understand the need without their star to play with the urgency and discipline they have displayed only erratically so far.
Any serious consequences are more likely to surface later on.
?It?s all hard,? Luongo said Wednesday before the Canucks travelled without him to Los Angeles. ?The team?s been doing well lately and I've been feeling good about myself and my game; that's the toughest part about the whole thing.
?There is no definite timeline because it really is about the amount of pain you've got there. I'm definitely not playing these next two games and we'll see after that. I don't know what a worst-case scenario is. I'm thinking next week.?
Luongo was injured Saturday when struck in the ribs by Niklas Hagman?s sharp-angle shot during the Canucks? 3-1 win against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Despite the injury, Luongo finished that game and shut out the Edmonton Oilers 2-0 the next night.
He was brilliant for 40 minutes Tuesday against the superior Detroit Red Wings, but allowed four goals in the third period of a 5-4 loss. Luongo, whose rib pain increased significantly after the first period, insisted his discomfort had nothing to do with the third-period goals.
?I can't move right now for at least a couple of days,? he said. ?We'll see what happens when the weekend rolls around. Hopefully, it will be better by then.?
After playing the Kings and Anaheim Ducks, the Canucks have home games Sunday and Tuesday against two of the NHL?s hottest teams: the Colorado Avalanche and New York Rangers. They leave next Wednesday for a five-game road trip.
Vancouver was 9-12-3 last season when Luongo was injured and 36-15-7 when he was healthy.
Luongo said this injury is similar to one he had two years ago, when he missed four games after taking a shot in the ribs during a game in Minnesota. Then, too, Luongo made two more starts before coming out of the lineup due to increasing pain. But two years ago, there was no fracture.
?He was able to handle it before,? Vigneault said of Luongo?s pain tolerance. ?It would be tough for me to estimate ? but hopefully it won't be long. Maybe a week.
?We're like any team in the NHL. When you have injuries to your key guys, it's a challenge. You don't replace a Roberto Luongo.?
Raycroft, however, will have to try.
After spending most of his first three pro seasons in the minors, the 29-year-old from Belleville, Ont., won the Calder Trophy in 2003-04, when he had a 2.05 goals-against average and .926 save rate for the Boston Bruins.
But he has been a No. 1 goalie in only one of four seasons since then. Raycroft signed with the Canucks in July for the NHL-minimum $500,000. He made only two relief appearances during Vancouver?s first 12 games.
?Believe it or not, I've been around for 10 years and kind of seen every different position and every different place to be on a team ? starting goalie, backup goalie, not playing, injured,? Raycroft said Wednesday. ?I've kind of seen it all, so I know what to expect.
?Obviously, [Luongo] set the bar here pretty high for what people expect out of a goalie.?
And we?ve seen what happens when Luongo doesn?t play.
