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Canucks on brink of first title
Source: Agencies |
June 12, 2011, Sunday
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VANCOUVER goaltender Roberto Luongo regained his confidence with a shutout as the Canucks beat the Boston Bruins 1-0 on Friday and moved within one game of winning the team's first National Hockey League championship.
Vancouver's third-line center Maxim Lapierre scored the only goal of a tight contest 4:35 into the third period, ending Boston keeper Tim Thomas's blemish-free run that lasted since Game 3 of the series.
The teams meet again in Boston tomorrow with Vancouver holding a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup series.
Luongo, who conceded 12 goals to a rampant Bruins attack in the last two games, turned away all 31 shots, including several tough saves in the final minutes as Boston tried to claw its way back in.
"It's never been easy for me in my career, it's always been a battle," said Luongo, who was in goal for Canada when it won gold at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Luongo said he did not let the heavy Boston losses get to him, but says he did take a walk along Vancouver's seawall after the team returned to the city on Canada's Pacific coast to "clear his head" before Friday's battle.
There had been questions whether Luongo would start, but he showed top form from the outset, robbing Boston's Patrice Bergeron in the first period after he grabbed a rebound and fired away at point-blank range.
Luongo's teammates also appeared to regain their footing. After being outmuscled in Boston, they out-hit the Bruins 47-27 and showed the form that had given them narrow wins in the first two games of the series in Vancouver.
Vancouver got into penalty trouble in the first period, but stopped Boston from taking advantage of it and coach Alain Vigneault said the team was then able to overcome the second period let-downs it had suffered in both games in Boston.
Thomas stopped 24 shots until Lapierre took advantage of his aggressive style and knocked one in from the side off the sprawling Bruins netminder.
Boston coach Claude Julien gave credit to Luongo's performance but said his team did not test him hard enough. "Tonight they were the better team," he told reporters.
Julien downplayed the pressure of facing potential elimination in Game 6, saying he was confident that his team could take the series to seven games and win just as it did against Montreal and Tampa Bay earlier in the playoffs.
"I don't think we're a team that's done anything the easy way, so in certain ways, it's not surprising that we're here in this situation where we got to bring our team back home and create a Game 7," he said.
While Vancouver is eyeing the first Stanley Cup in the team's 40 years in the NHL, the Bruins are trying to end a championship drought that has lasted since 1972.
Vancouver's third-line center Maxim Lapierre scored the only goal of a tight contest 4:35 into the third period, ending Boston keeper Tim Thomas's blemish-free run that lasted since Game 3 of the series.
The teams meet again in Boston tomorrow with Vancouver holding a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup series.
Luongo, who conceded 12 goals to a rampant Bruins attack in the last two games, turned away all 31 shots, including several tough saves in the final minutes as Boston tried to claw its way back in.
"It's never been easy for me in my career, it's always been a battle," said Luongo, who was in goal for Canada when it won gold at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics.
Luongo said he did not let the heavy Boston losses get to him, but says he did take a walk along Vancouver's seawall after the team returned to the city on Canada's Pacific coast to "clear his head" before Friday's battle.
There had been questions whether Luongo would start, but he showed top form from the outset, robbing Boston's Patrice Bergeron in the first period after he grabbed a rebound and fired away at point-blank range.
Luongo's teammates also appeared to regain their footing. After being outmuscled in Boston, they out-hit the Bruins 47-27 and showed the form that had given them narrow wins in the first two games of the series in Vancouver.
Vancouver got into penalty trouble in the first period, but stopped Boston from taking advantage of it and coach Alain Vigneault said the team was then able to overcome the second period let-downs it had suffered in both games in Boston.
Thomas stopped 24 shots until Lapierre took advantage of his aggressive style and knocked one in from the side off the sprawling Bruins netminder.
Boston coach Claude Julien gave credit to Luongo's performance but said his team did not test him hard enough. "Tonight they were the better team," he told reporters.
Julien downplayed the pressure of facing potential elimination in Game 6, saying he was confident that his team could take the series to seven games and win just as it did against Montreal and Tampa Bay earlier in the playoffs.
"I don't think we're a team that's done anything the easy way, so in certain ways, it's not surprising that we're here in this situation where we got to bring our team back home and create a Game 7," he said.
While Vancouver is eyeing the first Stanley Cup in the team's 40 years in the NHL, the Bruins are trying to end a championship drought that has lasted since 1972.
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