Luongo is moving on up

If you thought Roberto Luongo’s stick handling was crude Sunday, you should have seen him a few years go.

It may not seem like it right now, but he’s improved, and significantly so.

Of course, that can’t change the gut reaction you probably had when he donated a goal to Joe Thornton’s favourite playoff charity – the Sharks – to start Sunday’s scoring.

There was only one way to greet the goal. That’s to say: You can’t give up a goal like that in a game like this.

Not against the Sharks, an opportunistic team deep in forwards, and high in skill. Not in the first game of the Western Conference final, and not nearing the end of a first period which the Canucks carried.

There are no excuses for it, though Luongo did have one. He said his stick had been broken by Ben Eager a few shifts earlier.

"I don’t like to make excuses but … It was kind of broken and when I went to make the pass, I didn’t get all of it," Luongo said.

The goal came with "disaster" stamped all over it and threatened to squeeze all the oxygen out of the building, the stuff which had the Canucks flying out of the starting gates.

He knew how it looked – bad. He also felt the angst which swirled around the arena bowl as a result.

"I could hear the fans were nervous every time I was back there," he said.

Worse, you wondered how it would impact Luongo’s psyche. He is the goalie, you’ll remember, who continues to be accused of fragility.

But he may not need to be handled with care.

Those playoff disappointments, which sunk him to the sea’s floor when he was benched in Game 6 of Round 1, seem to have weathered Luongo. Oh, he is going to have mental lapses. That you can be sure of. But dodging one bad goal is nothing for a goalie who has been socked for seven in an elimination game.

"Mentally, for him, he’s been through a lot so I think it’s going to take a lot more than than to rattle him," Daniel Sedin said.

Shaken, maybe, but never shattered, Luongo reset himself and did it wonderfully. He was confident, and seeing the puck well, the Patrick Marleau tipped goal notwithstanding. He also stopped playing the puck. But don’t get excited. It’s something he said he’s going to get back to and soon.

Luongo’s save on Joe Thornton in the third not only proved his mettle, it allowed his team the opportunity it needed to come back.

Call it his makeup save. He tracked the puck through a maze of hips and hockey socks, and spread out wide as he gloved the puck, stuffing what should have been the goal to put the Sharks up by two. That could have been the spine snapper.

"I was having fun playing," Luongo said. "Obviously, it’s a bit deflating to let in one like that. But I was feeling good."

Luongo faced two key hurdles heading into Game 1. One, he was coming off a five-day break, something which used to eviscerate his game. Two, the Sharks were coming at him with shots from sharp angles and near the goal line, an attack they gleaned from watching Nashville have success.

This time, the break helped Luongo, instead of hurting him.

"It was actually good to get some practice," Luongo said. "I got my game fine tuned.

"They were shooting the puck from everywhere. That was to be expected. They watched some video from that last series. But I made a conscious effort to make a little adjustment and make sure everything was sealed up."

Luongo didn’t need an excuse for the turnover to start the game. Whether his stick was broken or not, it was a poor decision. He had Dan Hamhuis there and should have just left the puck. No one was going to get that by Thornton. Not even Mary Turco.

"It looked pretty bad obviously," Luongo said. "But you know what? I’ve been playing the puck a million times this year. I think I have done a pretty good job of it. I’m going to make mistakes. Turco makes mistakes playing the puck and he’s the best in the league."

Luongo’s right. He is going to make mistakes. He just has to cut back on the ones which lead directly to a goal and he’ll be just fine.