Apparently, you have to learn to walk before you can have success in the NHL playoffs.
By Jonathan Hayward, AP
Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo had a 31-save shutout in Game 5 Friday.
By Jonathan Hayward, AP
Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo had a 31-save shutout in Game 5 Friday.
With the city of Vancouver debating whether Roberto Luongo should start after two shaky outings in Boston, the Vancouver Canucks goalie inexplicably decided the afternoon before Game 5 to stroll along the sea wall.
Whether it helped clear his head or simply relaxed him, Luongo posted a 31-save shutout. He might be pondering another short hike this afternoon before his team plays the Boston Bruins (8 p.m. ET, NBC) with a chance to win Vancouver's first Stanley Cup.
"He played with confidence, and just before the game, you knew he was ready," Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa said. "Guys prepare different ways, but for some reason (before Game 5) he looked very, very confident."
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If the Canucks win, Luongo would join Martin Brodeur as goalies who have won a Stanley Cup, an Olympic gold medal and world championship. More important, Luongo will establish himself as a proven NHL playoff competitor. He was 17-17 in the NHL playoffs before this season.
Luongo has faced this level of pressure before. During the 2010 Olympics, Canada coach Mike Babcock benched Brodeur in favor of Luongo and he delivered the gold, knowing the entire country would accept nothing less. He also did it on Vancouver ice. There is no comparison between an Olympic run and a Stanley Cup march, Luongo insists.
"They're both unbelievable but very different. You know, the Olympics is a very short tournament," he said. "This is a two-month grind, probably one of the hardest things we've ever had to do as a team. In the end, if you come out on top, it's the most rewarding thing that you can probably do as an athlete."
Although Luongo gave up 12 goals in just over five periods last week, he doesn't seem worried about playing in Boston.
Stanley Cup Final schedule
Canucks lead series 3-2
Game 1: Canucks 1, Bruins 0
Game 2: Canucks 3, Bruins 2 (OT)
Game 3: Bruins 8, Canucks 1
Game 4: Bruins 4, Canucks 0
Game 5: Canucks 1, Bruins 0
June 13: at Boston, 8 (NBC)
x-June 15: at Vancouver, 8 (NBC)
x-if necessary. All times ET
"All year long, I've been comfortable on the road and at home, so that doesn't make a difference for me," he said. "I don't want to start making excuses for what happened here in the first two games. Obviously I think maybe they got the first goal, a couple of lucky bounces. ? As a team, we got away from the game plan."
He said Game 6 would be about enjoying the moment. "Lay it on the line and see what happens," he said.
If Luongo takes his pregame walk as he did in Vancouver, Boston fans might not recognize him. "I put my hoody on and my headphones, and I don't know if somebody said anything," he said. "I can't hear. But I just focus on the journey and everything I need to do to be ready for the game, and that's what gets me prepared."
Maintaining focus has been key in this series, with a variety of subplots evolving daily, including his comment that he would have been able to stop the winning goal in Game 5 because his style was less aggressive than that of the Bruins' Tim Thomas.
Luongo pointed out the next day that he complimented Thomas in the same answer and then said: "I've been pumping his tires ever since the series started, and I haven't heard one nice thing he had to say about me."
Thomas said Sunday that he didn't want to respond to Luongo's original comment, but he did joke: "I guess I didn't realize it was my job to pump his tires. I guess I have to apologize for that."
Luongo indicated he wasn't bothered by what was being said in the news media.
"All the other stuff is noise," Luongo said. "It doesn't really affect what's going to take place for me."
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