Roberto Luongo bounced back from a horror stretch at the net with a number of key stops to help the Vancouver Canucks stave off elimination with a 4-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks.
Luongo, who gave up 14 goals from three straight losses leading into Game 5, stonewalled Chicago through two periods as Vancouver cut the Blackhawks’ Western Conference semi-final lead to 3-2.
“He’s been around such a long time and played in some big games and a lot of playoff games,” Canucks defenseman Shane O’Brien told reporters of his Olympic gold-winning teammate. “He was ready to go tonight. He was a lot better. I know we were a lot better in front of him, and that’s what we said before the game — we just all have to be a lot better.”
PHOTO: AFP
After allowing his team to build a 3-0 lead, Luongo’s shutout bid was foiled when Jonathan Toews scored his team’s lone goal in the third.
Vancouver’s Kevin Bieksa led his team with two goals after teammate Christian Ehrhoff opened the scoring 59 seconds into the game. Alexandre Burrows scored into an empty net with 45 seconds left.
The Canucks lost defenseman Sami Salo to injury in the first period when he took a shot to the body and left the contest.
After being plagued by power-play opportunities in Game 4, Vancouver was able to slow the game to their liking and avoid being punished by penalties.
Toews scored three times from power-play goals in Chicago’s 7-4 Game 4 win on Friday, but was denied such leeway as the Canucks played tight to keep their postseason alive.
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