Roberto Luongo lost his third consecutive playoff game (first and possibly last of 2013) as the San Jose Sharks beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 in Game 1 on Wednesday.

It was hardly Luongo's fault, although national and local media members probably won't let that stop them from stirring the pot. Luongo was strong through two periods in holding the Sharks to one goal, but was overwhelmed in the third, ultimately stopping 25 out of 28 shots.

Roberto Luongo will be between the pipes for Vancouver Wednesday night when the Canucks host San Jose in Game 1.

The Canucks will go with Luongo to open the 2013 playoffs because Cory Schneider is still dealing with an undisclosed injury. The veteran netminder will be looking to bounce back after he ended the regular season with an embarrassing loss to Edmonton, where he allowed seven goals on 37 shots.

Roberto Luongo allowed seven goals on 37 shots, including six in the third period, as the Oilers pounced on a distracted Canucks team in the regular season finale.

Nightmare or blessing? Perhaps the loss will wake the Canucks up ahead of their playoff opener, but for Luongo, the loss confirms he'll only see post-season action in the case of an injury or major struggling from Vancouver's starting goalie Cory Schneider.