Vancouver Canucks netminder Roberto Luongo did not get the win on Thursday, but he definitely grabbed the attention of Detroit and Team Canada head coach Mike Babcock in a 3-1 loss to the Red Wings.
Luongo, making his first start since a broken rib forced him out of the Canucks line-up on Oct. 28, made 28 saves in the defeat and the effort left a strong impression on Babcock.
Luongo is in the running to be the starting netminder for Canada at the Vancouver Olympics.
“He made two unbelievable saves,” Babcock told reporters. “He’s a big man. He’s just got to get himself back playing and get healthy and he’ll be fine. I thought he did a good job.”
Luongo faced just five shots in the opening period, surrendering a power-play goal to Tomas Holmstrom, but faced a much heavier workload in the final two frames.
After Mason Raymond tied the score in the second, Henrik Zetterberg put the Wings back in front with a highlight reel goal, racing down the right wing and backhanding a shot over Luongo midway through the third.
Niklas Kronwall made it 3-1 into an empty net after the Canucks took Luongo off the ice in favour of an extra attacker.
“I felt good, I didn’t get much action in the first period but once the shots got going in the second I got into a rhythm and felt pretty good the rest of the way,” Luongo said. “I’m back now, I felt like my timing was good tonight. For me it’s a major part of my game, the reading and timing, so I’m happy with my play tonight.”
Goaltending is expected to be one of Team Canada’s strengths when they drop the Olympic puck in February, though none of the five men identified as contenders for three slots on the team have displayed gold medal form.
Team Canada executive director Steve Yzerman is set to announce his squad on New Year’s eve.
The battle for the starting job is expected to be between Luongo and the New Jersey Devils’ Martin Brodeur, who has more career wins than any other NHL netminder.
Also in the frame are Marc-Andre Fleury, who helped the Pittsburgh Penguins to the Stanley Cup last season, Carolina Hurricanes’ Cam Ward and Columbus Blue Jackets’ Steve Mason, last season’s rookie of the year.
Both Fleury and Mason are struggling for form while Ward is out injured after suffering a deep gash on his leg.
DEVILS 4, PENGUINS 1
At Pittsburgh, Niclas Bergfors had a goal and two assists as the New Jersey Devils beat the slumping Pittsburgh Penguins 4-1 on Thursday to close within a victory of tying the NHL record of 10 consecutive road wins to start a season.
Also on Thursday, it was:
• Panthers 1, Bruins 0, SO
• Flyers 5, Senators 1
• Thrashers 5, Rangers 3
• Lightning 4, Wild 3, SO
• Stars 3, Sharks 2, SO
• Predators 3, Blues 1
• Canadiens 4, Coyotes 2
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite