Luongo named second star.
Itwas a bigweek for Panthers goaltender Roberto Luongo, and the NHL recognized him by naming him the league’s second star of the regular season’s final week.
Luongo played in four games across the final seven days of the season, posting a .955 save percentage and1.59 goals against average. He started back-to-back games for the first time in two years when he won games against Carolina and Nashville on Monday and Tuesday, respectively.
On Wednesday, he turned 39 years old. On Thursday night, he became just the third goaltender in league history to play 1,000 games, joining Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy. If the Panthers remained in the playoff hunt, Luongo likely would have started both against Buffalo on Saturday and Boston on Sunday.
Dallas forward Jamie Benn (seven goals including two hat tricks in three games) was the first star. Philadelphia forward Claude Giroux (five goals, two assists in three games) was the third star.
Luongo became the third Panthers goaltender this season to be named one of the league’s stars of the week. James Reimer earned thirdstar honors in December after leading Florida to its first extended winning streak of the season. Harri Sateri was the league’s second star in the week after the All-Star break, when he helped jump-start the Panthers’ remarkable turnaround.
Overall, Luongo’s season was a mixed bag. When he was healthy, Luongo was elite. He had a .929 save percentage, the highest in his career since 2003-04, when he finished third for the Vezina Trophy during his first stint with the Panthers. He had three shutouts in 33 starts.
But Luongo also suffered a handful of injuries, both minor and major. In October, a hand injury caused him to miss six games. In December, a groin injury sidelined him for 27 more. In the last month, a rib injury knocked him out of the lineup for one game.
Next season will be Luongo’s 19th in the NHL. ...
Sateri was named the CCM/AHL player of the week on Monday afternoon after he had a .976 save percentage and 0.67 goals against average for AHL affiliate Springfield last week. The Thunderbirds won all three games.