Luongo Criticizes Thomas; Bruins Defend Their Goalie
BOSTON (AP) - The Boston Bruins tried to push the mute button on the controversy over Roberto Luongo's verbal swipe at Tim Thomas.
So what if Vancouver's goalie claimed he would have stopped the shot that beat Boston's most important player and gave the Canucks a 1-0 win Friday night and a 3-2 lead in the Stanley Cup finals? That game's over. The focus, the Bruins said Saturday, is on keeping their season alive in Game 6 on Monday night.
And they almost succeeded in lowering the volume.
WBZ NewsRadio 1030's Kim Tunnicliffe spoke to Thomas on Sunday:
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But on the next to last question of his news conference on Saturday, a poker-faced coach Claude Julien couldn't resist.
"Let's put it this way," he said, fresh off his cross-continent flight. "I don't think Timmy is going to make much of that comment (by Luongo). I think you guys (reporters) are making more out of it than Timmy will. Either way, his stats, you know, are proof itself. He's given up six goals in five games.
"The guy that made the comment, I'm not quite sure how many he let in. I think you guys have a good idea, so I don't think he (Thomas) is going to lose sleep over that."
That would be 14 goals, coach.
That also matters much less than another number, 1, as in the one game by which the Canucks lead the series and the one win they need to claim their first NHL title.
"It's all about wins and losses this time of year," Boston forward Shawn Thornton said. "Some people like to chirp. Some people don't. I think, as a group, we're trying to take the high road. It's not really our M.O."
Vancouver won Game 5 after Thomas skated out of the crease toward Kevin Bieksa as the Canucks defenseman shot from the right point. The puck went wide but ricocheted off the backboards to Maxim Lapierre to the left of the crease. Thomas got back in time to block the shot, but the puck rebounded into the net with 15:25 to go.
Luongo watched it all from the other end of the ice.
"It's not hard (to stop) if you're playing in the paint," he said. "It's an easy save for me, but if you're wandering out, that's going to happen."
On Saturday, before boarding the plane for Boston, Luongo backed off a bit.
"I said also that he might make some saves that I don't, so I was just saying on that particular play I would have played it different and that's the difference between me and him," Luongo said.
But then he tossed out a parting shot.
"I've been pumping his tires ever since the series started," he said, "and I haven't heard one nice thing he had to say about me, so that's the way it is."
Thomas, Peverley Talks Luongo's Comments
Actually, after the Bruins won 8-1 and 4-0 to tie the series at 2, Thomas said he felt sorry for Luongo, who was pulled from Game 4.
"I've been there and I probably will be there again," he said. "So I have some sympathy when that happens, but, at the same time, I just have to focus on what I'm doing."
During the regular season, Thomas was first in the NHL in goals against average and Luongo was second. In save percentage, Thomas was first and Luongo was third. In the postseason, Luongo is first with four shutouts and Thomas is second with three.
And they're finalists, along with Pekka Rinne of Nashville, for the Vezina Trophy awarded to the league's best goalie.
"Timmy's unbelievable for us," Bruins forward Chris Kelly said. "We wouldn't be where we are if it wasn't for him."
The Canucks have picked on Thomas before.
Earlier in the series, coach Alain Vigneault complained about the goalie's tendency to leave his crease and then expect to get right back in it without an opponent getting in his way.
So why do they keep taking jabs and risk angering the feisty netminder who slashed Alex Burrows in the leg in Game 4 after the Vancouver forward hit his stick?
"I just think he's playing so well right now and that's just how they decided to go about things," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said.
Luongo's jibe could give the Bruins more incentive to win Game 6.
"It's amazing how they need all this external motivation and they are looking for stuff," Bieksa said. "For us, we have it all in (the locker) room, we have it all in the Stanley Cup and that's all we need."
But Julien feels the Bruins don't need that to motivate them, not with their season on the line.
"We're down to the wire here and have to focus on our game and what it means, a lot more than (on) what is being said," he said. "Anybody can say what they want. Right now my focus is on getting this team back in this series."
Luongo isn't wasting much time either thinking about the fallout from his comment. But, for him, all the noise surrounding his brief poke at Thomas is hardly surprising.
"We're in the Stanley Cup finals, so every little thing is blown out of proportion," Luongo said. "He has his style and I have mine, so that's how it goes."
(Copyright 2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
