Luongo Aces First Playoff Test
Roberto Luongo was terrific in goal for Vancouver Wednesday night, stopping 72 shots to help the Canucks to a 5-4 victory over Dallas in four overtimes.
The 28-year-old veteran repeatedly frustrated the Stars in overtime, after allowing third-period goals to Antti Miettinen and Ladislav Nagy, which erased a 4-2 Vancouver advantage. Three key saves came early in the second overtime. Luongo stopped Jere Lehtinen and Nagy at point-blank range, and he made a game-saving catch of a blistering shot from Mattias Norstrom, who waltzed in from the point and let one rip.
Luongo was pummeled with 76 shots by the Stars, the most in an NHL game since the league started tracking shots on goal in 1956. His 72 saves were one short of the record on the books, set by Kelly Hrudey, who had 73 saves for the Islanders in a 3-2 quadruple-overtime win over Washington on April 18, 1987. Luongo put on a stunning performance, especially for a goaltender making his first playoff appearance after six seasons with the Islanders and Panthers.
"I got all the experience I needed in one game," said Loungo, who seemed to take his heavy workload in stride.
Despite a lack of playoff experience, it can be said that Luongo has had plenty of prep time for a playoff marathon. He faced the most regular-season shots in two of the last four seasons as a member of the Panthers, and even in his first year with the Canucks in 2006-07, he ranked third among his peers. No goaltender has faced more shots over the last four seasons -- by a wide margin.
Most Shots Faced, Last Four NHL Seasons
(2002-03 through 2006-07)
Goalie. . . . . . . . . Shots. . . Shots/Gm
Roberto Luongo. . . 9,143. . . 31.7
Martin Brodeur. . . .7,838. . . 26.2
Olaf Kolzig. . . . . . . 7,641. . . 31.6
Tomas Vokoun. . . . 7,012. . . 28.4
Marc Denis. . . . . . .6,947. . . 29.4
Luongo posted 47 wins for Vancouver, setting personal and franchise highs after coming over in a summer trade with Florida. His victory total is the second-highest in NHL history, one short of the 48 recorded by New Jersey’s Martin Brodeur this season. Luongo tied the previous mark set by Philadelphia's Bernie Parent in 1973-74.
Comments
Amazing what a difference a support staff can do. Brodeur has been in a class by himself with the Devil defense support he gets year after year...now Luongo has received it in Vancouver and will soon replace Brodeur as The Man Between The Pipes....
Posted by: Daniel Danford | April 17, 2007 10:08 AM
You’re right about the difference in having an improved defense. The Panthers ranked first, second or third in the league for most shots allowed in each of Luongo’s five years in Florida. Interestingly, the Panthers appeared to have improved defensively in their first season without Luongo, as they ranked in the middle of the NHL pack for shots allowed and allowed only four more shots than the Canucks. At the same time, Florida finished second in the league in shots taken and scored 28 more goals than Vancouver. Yet, it’s the Canucks who were 49-26-7 while the Panthers were 35-31-16 and missed the playoffs. With Luongo finishing fourth in the league with a .921 save percentage, perhaps Luongo does more for his team’s defense than what it does for him. Regardless, Luongo is more valuable on a better team. It’s terrific to finally see him playing playoff hockey.
Posted by: TH | April 17, 2007 04:59 PM
The Western conference seems to boast better defenses which reflects directly in the superior goaltending they have over the East...Perhaps if the Hawks would follow suit in the West, then Khababulin can finally shine too !
Posted by: Daniel Danford | April 20, 2007 08:49 AM
The Hawks thought they were going to compete when they signed Khabibulin to a hefty long-term deal. They don't seem to be any closer to being a playoff club after two seasons with him in net. The best move the Hawks could make is dealing Khabibulin, but his salary gets in the way. That would free up money to fill a number of holes. Khabibulin is 34 years old, and he probably isn't going to be a factor if/when the Blackhawks are a competitive team again.
I wonder if 29-year-old Niklas Backstrom in Minnesota could be the next top goalie behind a solid defense. He'll be a free agent this summer, and the Wild will have to figure out if they can keep both Backstrom and 32-year-old Manny Fermandez.
Posted by: TH | April 22, 2007 06:21 PM
The West is loaded with some great talent between the pipes. Seems that the Wild and a few others are going to have to make some tough decisions.
Not sure what the real status of these guys are on the teams but it should be an interesting summer for Goaltenders.
Fernandez - Backstrom
Mason - Vokoun
Toskala - Nabokov
Giguere - Bryzgalov
I apologize for butchering anyones name...I did not look them up.
Posted by: Daniel Danford | April 24, 2007 06:02 AM
Yes, the West has great talent in the nets. Wonder who we're going to see most in the playoffs -- Giguere or Bryzgalov?
Posted by: TH | April 24, 2007 11:32 PM
I think we will see Giguere in there. He should be the number 1 of the two number 1 goalies the Ducks have.
I don't think the Ducks can go wrong with wither one though.
Posted by: Daniel Danford | April 25, 2007 06:10 AM
You were right about Giguere in Game 1. There aren't many teams that have two legitimate goaltending options at playoff time, as Anaheim has.
Posted by: TH | April 26, 2007 04:18 PM