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 Luongo made 19 saves for the 65th shutout of his NHL career as the
Canucks blanked the Edmonton Oilers 4-0 on Friday night.
The goose egg moved him within one of tying Patrick Roy for 14th
place on the NHL's all-time list. Luongo now has three shutouts this
season along with a 15-8-5 record.
"I felt pretty good," said Luongo. "A (onesided) game like that,
it's not the type of game I love to play, but I was seeing the puck
well."
He helped the Canucks (19-10-5) post their sixth straight win, while
the Oilers (11-20-3), appearing tired and listless throughout, lost
for the second time in two nights. Vancouver moved into sole
possession of sixth place in the ultra-competitive Western
Conference, only three points away from second and five out of
first.
For the fourth consecutive home game, the Canucks entered the third
period looking for a shutout as they held a precarious 1-0 lead.
Eddie Lack managed to get one in the previous game on Monday, but
Luongo was denied in his two previous chances.
To add to the frustration, Luongo allowed a goal Sunday against
Colorado with only 7.1 seconds left. But there was much less tension
this time as the Canucks finished with a flourish.
Edmonton goaltender Devan Dubnyk was credited with 37 saves in the
loss as the Canucks outshot the Oilers 40-19. Vancouver scored on
one of two power plays, while Edmonton was denied on one.
Canucks left winger Daniel Sedin scored his first goal in six games
while right winger Zack Kassian, left winger Chris Higgins and right
winger Dale Weise also scored for the Canucks. Defenseman Jason
Garrison provided three assists.
"I thought all four lines contributed," said Canucks coach John
Tortorella. "So that's good. Hopefully, guys gain some confidence
and we'll try to put them in some situations as we go through (the
season.)"
Kassian, who scored after being criticized by Tortorella for his
inconsistent play lately, said the Canucks succeeded in their plan
to play well from the defensive zone out. Vancouver players were
also keen to get Luongo a shutout after they had failed to do so in
the other recent outings.
"We wanted a good shutout for Louie," said Kassian. "We blew a
couple shutouts for Louie, and you never want that as a goalie. We
wanted to finish the game (well)."
The Canucks outshot the Oilers 14-4 in the first period, but could
not beat Dubnyk.
Sedin provided the only goal the Canucks needed as he opened the
scoring at 8:40 of the second period. He snapped in a shot from the
point during a four-on-three power play.
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Edmonton left winger David Perron said the Oilers failed to
generate much offensively because they spent the majority of
their shifts defending.
"I'd like to have a couple shots back that I got on him," said
Perron. "But when you have a shutout like that, I think he's on
his way to being a good player going forward. The (Vancouver
goaltending) is situation is cleared up for him (following Cory
Schneider's trade to New Jersey in the offseason.) I think he's
on top of his game right now, but we have to find a way to beat
him."
Perron praised Dubnyk for keeping them in the game. The Oilers
did not register a shot on Luongo until the game was just under
seven minutes old.
Dallas coach Dallas Easkins indicated his club was tired
following a home loss to Boston the night before.
"We just couldn't ever get going," said Eakins. "It seemed every
time we got the puck that they had already closed on us, and we
just couldn't even get out of our zone most of the night."
The six-game win streak bodes well for the Canucks as they get
ready to host the Bruins for the first time since losing the
seventh game of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup finals at Rogers Arena.
If Eakins' assessment of Vancouver is any indication, the
Canucks will be ready.
"That's as good as I've seen the Canucks play in a while," he
said.
NOTES: Canucks D Alex Edler missed his fourth straight game with
an undisclosed injury, while LW Tom Sestito sat out his second
for the same reason. ... Edmonton C Boyd Gordon returned after
being sidelined seven games with a shoulder injury. But G Ilya
Bryzgalov remained out, for the sixth straight game, with a
concussion. ... RW Dale Weise, usually a third or fourth-liner,
also saw some action with the Sedins. ... Hockey Night in Canada
aired the game on a rare Friday night telecast, resulting in a
start one hour earlier than usual. ... Boston coach Claude
Julien scouted the game. The Canucks host the Bruins on
Saturday. It will be the first meeting between the teams in
Vancouver since the seventh game of the 2010-11 Stanley Cup
finals.
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