Roberto Luongo lifts Vancouver Canucks to victory against Boston Bruins despite Canucks’ offensive Slump
Roberto Luongo was the man of the day on Friday when the series returned to the Rogers Arena as Vancouver Canucks and Boston Bruins faced off in Game 5 of the 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) Stanley Cup Finals.
He remained steadfast in Vancouver’s net even though Canucks was outshot 31 to 25 throughout the game and blocked all 31 shots for his second shutout of the Stanley Cup Finals’ series.
Tim Thomas, Boston Bruins’ veteran goalie, fell short on one attempt which Maxim Lapierre capitalised on and scored the game winning goal in the opening minutes of the final period, blocking 24 of 25 shots in total.
"(Luongo) knows that we believe in him", Vancouver’s forward, Alex Burrows, said about Luongo’s performance. "He's unreal. We have so much confidence in him, and he doesn't listen to what people outside this locker room say. We know he's the best goalie in the league".
It was after two consecutive losses in Game 3 and 4 that really embarrassed Luongo on the ice and his ejection in Game 4 gave off the impression that we would be seeing less of Luongo in the upcoming matches.
Vancouver Canucks’ coach, Alain Vigneault, remained confident in his number one goalie and announced the day after Game 4 that Luongo would remain Canucks’ start-up defender and that Vancouver would not be compromising its line-up in any way.
Luongo might have given 12 goals in back-to-back games, but it did not faze him. He termed it as two bad nights and that he would get back to his normal game once he returned home.
Tim Thomas remarked Luongo’s performance in Boston as a shame and felt sorry for him.
"I've been there and I probably will be there again", Luongo said after hearing about Thomas’s statement. "So I have some sympathy when that happens, but, at the same time, I just have to focus on what I'm doing".
Even though the offensive end for Vancouver remained a little sluggish throughout the game, Luongo locked down his area despite Bruins’ attacking frenzy, shot after shot being fired at his net.
In the upcoming games, Luongo will be Vancouver’s key to success. It only depends on how Canucks’ wish to use him.
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