The Dallas Stars attempted to get into Roberto Luongo's head prior to last year's playoffs by complaining to the NHL about the Vancouver goalie's knee flaps, two pieces of equipment that stick out from his leg pads.
At Thursday's morning skate, Stars netminders Marty Turco and Mike Smith poked fun at Luongo by wearing homemade cardboard flaps, with each sporting his number "1."
Canucks' Roberto Luongo sports a 3.15 goals-against average in six career games versus Phoenix.
(Paul Battaglia/Associated Press)
Then there's Phoenix Coyotes rookie forward Peter Mueller, who has a more subtle way in his attempt to figure out the opposing goaltender. On Thursday, it resulted in a shootout goal against San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov for a 3-2 win.
"I had a couple of moves in mind, and I just watch how the goalie plays during our game and see what he does and what he likes to do. So I just picked that move and went with it," Mueller, who scored on a wrist shot, told the Arizona Republic.
Based on Luongo's recent play, Mueller and company might need to be at their strategic best when they open a four-game homestand Saturday (CBC, 10 p.m. ET).
With a .929 save percentage, Luongo is second in the NHL, trailing only Boston's Tim Thomas (.933). The two-time all-star is also third in goals-against average (2.04) behind Detroit's Chris Osgood (1.83) and Nabokov (1.99).
The six-foot-three puckstopper downplayed his performance by saying statistics are secondary.
"We all see what the standings look like and that's our main focus right now," he told Vancouver reporters on Friday. "The standings are so tight and every game is so important."
On Saturday morning, the standings showed the Canucks in fifth place in the Western Conference. Their 19-12-4 record for 42 points puts Vancouver in a tie with Colorado (20-13-2) and the first-place Minnesota Wild (20-12-2) in the Northwest Division.
Luongo will get the call in Phoenix, despite his 2-4-0 career mark and 3.15 GAA in six games against the improved Coyotes (17-16-0).
The 28-year-old is coming off a 33-save performance against Dallas on Thursday, a 3-2 victory that gave the Canucks their third win in their last five outings.
While Vancouver has defeated Phoenix nine times in the past 11 meetings, it has dropped three of four on the road.
The Wayne Gretzky-coached Coyotes haven't been much better at home. They have only five wins in 13 games on home ice — both totals are the lowest in the league — but three of the victories have come since mid-November.
Canucks coach Alain Vigneault pointed to the arrival of goaltender Ilya Bryzgalov for Phoenix's improved play. He is 9-6-0 since being claimed off waivers from Anaheim on Nov. 17.
"They're a really improved hockey team. He's given them a chance [to win] every night," said Vigneault of Bryzgalov. "Phoenix pressures all over the ice and they come at you hard."
Of late, the line of Radim Vrbata, Martin Hanzal and Fredrik Sjostrom has given the opposition fits. Sjostrom has four goals in four games, while Vrbata has a team-leading 13 goals and Hanzal 18 points.
Vancouver, meanwhile, has been led by the all-Swedish trio of Daniel Sedin, Henrik Sedin and Markus Naslund, who have posted 11 points in the last two games.
On the injury front, the Coyotes will be without Daniel Carcillo for the next six to eight weeks after he injured himself following a fight in Thursday's contest.
Related
More Hockey Headlines »
- Canadiens top stumbling Blackhawks in OT
- Guillaume Latendresse scored 3:18 into OT as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Tuesday.
- Gretzky's Coyotes leave Flames howling
- Wayne Gretzky was a winner in his 200th game as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-1 over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
- Canucks knock off Islanders in shootout
- Alex Edler scored the shootout winner as the Vancouver Canucks beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Tuesday night.
- McDonald, Blues too much for Blue Jackets
- Andy McDonald had two goals and one assist as the St. Louis Blues beat the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-1 on Tuesday night.
- Crosby propels Penguins past Panthers
- Sidney Crosby had one goal and one assist as the Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Tuesday night.
More Sports Headlines »
- Canadiens top stumbling Blackhawks in OT
- Guillaume Latendresse scored 3:18 into OT as the Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 on Tuesday.
- Gretzky's Coyotes leave Flames howling
- Wayne Gretzky was a winner in his 200th game as head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes, 3-1 over the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night.
- Jan Hudec tears right knee in training run
- Jan Hudec suffered a season-ending knee injury in Tuesday's World Cup downhill training session at Wengen, Switzerland.
- Canucks knock off Islanders in shootout
- Alex Edler scored the shootout winner as the Vancouver Canucks beat the New York Islanders 3-2 on Tuesday night.
- Goose Gossage elected to baseball hall
- Rich (Goose) Gossage was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on Tuesday, the lone player to meet the voting threshhold.
Sports Features
- NBARaptors Basketball
- Sun, Jan. 13 at 12:30 pm ET: Portland at Toronto
Blog Watch
Most Blogged about CBC.ca Articles
Note: CBC does not endorse and is not responsible for the content of external sites - link will open in new window
