Vancouver Canucks’ Roberto Luongo chokes against Boston Bruins’ Tim Thomas in Game 4 of Stanley Cup Finals
It was an embarrassing night for Vancouver Canucks that faced its second consecutive loss against Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Finals by 4-0 at the TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts.
There were many factors for Boston being able to level the series against the NHL’s leading team during the regular season and winners of the Presidents’ Trophy.
The Sedin twins, Henrik and Daniel, are having a tough time finding their game so far in the series which has certainly weakened Vancouver Canucks.
Canucks’ key defenseman, Aaron Rome, has also been suspended leaving a gap in the team’s defensive end.
"I thought we had a really good first period and had a lot of chances, but Thomas is standing on his head and he's winning games for them right now", Daniel said when he was asked about what went wrong in Game 4.
In Game 4 on Wednesday, June 8th, Roberto Luongo only faced 20 shots in total until being ejected by Canucks’ coach, Alain Vigneault, after Boston’s fourth successful goal.
He was able to only block 16 shots and fell short on four, a performance not worthy of him.
Tim Thomas, on the other hand, was amazing in front of the net and faced almost double the shots. He blocked all 38 for a perfect shutout, his first of this finals’ series.
Luongo knows that he chocked in the previous two games, but is still hopeful about the series when it returns to Vancouver.
"We have two out of three with home-ice advantage, and that's what we've worked for all season", the veteran goalie said. "We need to get playing the way we did in the first two games".
The series returns to Vancouver on Friday, June 10th, for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
It is a must win situation for both teams, but until now, home-ice advantage seems to have been a major factor in teams’ winning games.
Vancouver Canucks, especially Luongo, should plan on taking advantage of that if they want to remain alive in the series and turn the tables around.
Tags: