Friday, December 8, 2017

Luongo and Fleury: Why I Think They Might Have A Problem Getting #1 Back!

By all accounts, Roberto Luongo and Marc Andre-Fleury have had great careers. Both seem to have a shot at the Hall Of Fame (Fleury has won 3 Stanley Cups, Luongo has been on 3 international championship teams), as both are closing in / past the 400 win mark. Luongo also has 74 shutouts, just two less than Tony Esposito. Not bad company.

So the 2017/18 season started out with each as THE man in the crease. Fleury seemed a lock for sure, as his Las Vegas Golden Knights were an expansion team and there was no one else around with the chance to take him off the #1 charts.

But then injuries struck him, and later, Luongo.

Fleury held the fort for 4 games, as him numbers were good: 3-1-0, 2.48, .925! Hey, job's his right? Not quite. A bad concussion that he has yet to return from in a loss to Detroit October 13th game, has allowed others to step in.

As I mentioned before, Vegas has used 5 goalies (So far) this season. But none were in Fleury's class. But then PK Subban's brother Malcolm, with all of 2 NHL experience with the Bruins, found his way into the crease, and wonders never ceased.

In 9 games (1 no-decision), Subban is 6-2-0, with a 2.27 GAA and .923 S%. Maybe it's all a fluke, but the guy has yet to come down to earth. Is Fleury's job in trouble. According to Hockey-Reference, it's possible a return in soon, but he'll have to battle it out with the kid for his spot. At this point, some of the fluke part of Las Vegas' surprising start is starting to wear off. The team is currently (Dec 8, 2017) 17-9-1, good enough for 2nd place in the competitive Pacific. Why not try to make the playoffs? With this kind of goaltending depth, the team is likely to alter Fleury and Subban since Malcolm has proven he belongs in there. Oscar Dansk, the other hot goalie, is down with an injury, too, but went 3-0-0 with a shutout for good measure. Gotta wonder if he is in the equation for this season.

Luongo was cruising and James Reimer was doing some winning and losing in the Florida Panthers' crease this year. Reimer won his 5th game last night, 6-4. Okay, not his best performance, but where is Roberto? Luongo (6-6-0) has been hurt and expected to be on the shelve for anywhere from two to five weeks.

James Reimer took it all in Toronto, and loved playing their. Okay, he's not the most talented goalie in the world, fine. But he always gives you 100%. He'll battle it out right down to the final buzzar. Certainly, he is still young, just 29 (Compared to Luongo, who is 38), but nonetheless, burst on to the scene way back in 2009/10. His experience in Toronto no doubt prepares him for the "Must win every game," expectations, but forget about that, he's coming into his own: 40-36-15, 2.60, .916) in the last two seasons plus 2017/18 (98 games). I think this is the type of situation where he'll really want to show you what he's made of. In his last half-season in Toronto, he wanted it. Same thing in his first. Why would this time be any different? With Luongo's age a factor, and a determined 1B goalie, Roberto might be fighting for that #1 position for the rest of the season when he returns. Don't be surprised if he's riding the pines half the time should Florida be in playoff contention. Reimer, don't forget, played in 43 games last year, more than half the season.


References

"Official Site of the National Hockey League” | NHL.com. National Hockey League. Web. 8 Dec. 2017. <https://www.nhl.com>

NHL.com. “Rotoworld - Fantasy Baseball, Basketball, Football, Baseball and Hockey. Draft Guide, News, Projections, Cheatsheets, Depth Charts And More.” Team News - Rotoworld.Com. Web. NBC Sports, 8 Dec. 2017, <;www.rotoworld.com/teams/nhl/vgk/vegas-golden-knights>

Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. Web. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 8 Dec. 2017.

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