The Canucks needed a statement game after getting blitzed out of Boston in Games 3 and 4 and they got it thanks to Roberto Luongo and Maxim Lapierre. Luongo stopped 31 shots in earning his fourth shutout of the playoffs while Maxim Lapierre scored the games lone goal as Vancouver took Game 5 1-0 over Boston to take a 3-2 series lead.
Lapierre proved to be a pain in the neck all game long for Boston but his goal thanks to a brilliant pass off the boards from Kevin Bieksa was the difference maker for Vancouver.
The game proved to be a goaltending exhibition and while Tim Thomas played great stopping all but one of the 25 shots he faced, Luongo’s play was steady, strong, and brilliant. While the Boston played “Bruins hockey” in Games 3 and 4, tonight it was all about Vancouver playing “Canucks hockey” as they got solid play from all four lines and great, steady play out of their defensemen all game long.
The biggest star tonight though was Luongo. After being booed by his home fans as they watched at Rogers Arena as their team played on the road in Games 3 and 4, they roared to his support throughout the night as Luongo looked like the guy we saw through most of the playoffs. Earning his second shutout of the series he’s shown that it’s not always all about Tim Thomas in the Stanley Cup finals.
Seeing Luongo bounce back after such miserable starts is more than encouraging for Vancouver as they’ll now look to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup on Monday night in Boston for Game 6. If this Roberto Luongo and this Canucks team shows up that night, they might just pull it off.
Here are the highlights from Game 5:
Here’s Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa with Darren Pang after the game:
Maxim Lapierre spoke after the game with Darren Pang talking about his goal and Roberto Luongo:
Here’s the Game 5 wrap up from the Versus panel: