To some extent, Roberto Luongo’s performance against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday was an unusual circumstance; whatever the explanation, it’s not often that a team gives up a 29-2 shot disparity and still wins. On the other hand, Luongo was asked to face a ton of shots in his first stint with the Florida Panthers, so his take last night to the Florida Sun-Sentinel shouldn’t be too shocking.
“That was vintage Panthers,” Luongo joked.
It’s easy to see where the 34-year-old is coming from. Luongo faced the most shots and made the most saves in the NHL in both the 2003-04 and 05-06 seasons with Florida and was second in those categories in 2002-03.
From the Sharks perspective, CSNBayArea.com reports that head coach Todd McLellan looked at it as the team waking up far too late.
It’s understandable to view it that way, but maybe the truth is that this wasn’t about a sleepy Sharks or the Panthers as usual. Maybe it was actually vintage Luongo.