A Luongo Time Coming

Luongo's .928 save percentage was third in
the NHL in '11.

It has been an eleven-year wait for the Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo to play in the Stanley Cup Finals and even longer for the franchise as they had to endure a seventeen-year absence from the NHL's biggest stage. The Canucks are in the Cup Finals for the first time in 1994 and now for who is considered by many the best goaltender in the NHL, gets his chance to hoist Lord Stanley's Cup.

    Luongo was originally drafted in the first-round with the fourth overall pick by the New York Islanders in the 1997 NHL Draft. A native of Montreal, Quebec, Luongo did not make his NHL debut until the '99-'00 appearing in 24 games for New York. Twenty of those games for the 6-foot-3 rookie were as a starter for the Islanders finishing with a 7-14 record and .904 save percentage, the lowest of his career.

    Following his rookie season he was traded to the Florida Panthers where played the next five seasons of his career. Upon his arrival to Florida he signed a four-year extension with the Panthers keeping him there through the '04-'05 season. It wouldn't be until this fourth year with the Panthers that he would be recognized for his outstanding goaltending. He was nominated for the Vezina Trophy and Lester B. Pearson Award that year despite posting another under .500 record at 25-33.

    However, his .931 save percentage that season was and still is a career-high and a Panthers franchise record. He would also set an NHL record for most saves (2,303) and shots faced (2,475) in a single-season.

    In his final season with Florida he would finally accumulate an above .500 record for first time in his then-six-year career. He set a franchise record with 35 wins breaking the previous mark set by John Vanbiesbrouck back in the '96-'97 season.

    The Panthers would never make the postseason in Luongo's five seasons with the team. Prior to the '06-'07 season he would be traded by the Florida to Vancouver in exchange for three other players. Luongo, much like did when he was traded from New York to Florida, promptly signed a four-year extension with the Canucks worth $27 million.

    In his first season with the Canucks, Luongo posted his first forty win season with career-high 47 wins compared to 22 losses. His 47 wins was one shy of the NHL record set by long-time New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur that same season with 48.

     During his five years in Vancouver, Luongo has complied 193 regular season wins and a .919 save percentage. In eleven-seasons in the NHL, Luongo has never posted a save percentage below 90 percent.

    Vancouver finished with a 54-19 record in the regular season and the number one overall season in NHL postseason after capturing the President's Trophy, an award given to the team with the NHL's best record. Now here they are.

Thomas is also vying for his first
Stanley Cup Trophy.

With The Canuck's 1-0 win over the Boston Bruins in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals Wednesday, Luongo became only the sixth goaltender in history to post a shutout in his Stanley Cup debut. This year's Cup Finals is a matchup between two of the best shot blockers in the game today as Boston's Tim Thomas is one of the best in the net leading the NHL in save percentage at .938 during the regular season.

Both teams hold the fifth and sixth longest droughts in NHL history without a championship. The Bruins have not won since 1972 while the Canucks have yet to win a Cup in their franchise's history and three attempts since they joined the NHL in 1970.

Vancouver will look to protect home ice once again in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals Friday night in Vancouver.