A stressful conquest for Roberto Luongo

SUNRISE – Former goaltender Roberto Luongo, who serves as special advisor to general manager Bill Zito at the Florida Panthers, admitted to going through the gamut of emotions during the epic Stanley Cup final won in seven games against the Edmonton Oilers.

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“It’s stressful when it’s out of our control,” Luongo said during the celebrations on the ice Monday evening. When you play, you don’t think about anything else, you just play.”

The precious trophy has always eluded Luongo during his career in net. He thus enjoyed, as a member of the organization, his first conquest of the Stanley Cup.

“When the boys lifted the cup, it was incredible to see that,” he said. Especially in Florida, in front of our fans.”

Luongo, 45, has always had a special bond with the Panthers, having played 572 of his 1,044 regular season games in that uniform. It was also with the Vancouver Canucks that he reached the final in 2011. Luongo and the Canucks then lost in seven games to the Boston Bruins.

Bobrovsky: among the greats of history?

At the end of this final won by the Panthers against the Oilers, the Quebecer was well placed to appreciate the work accomplished by goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky during the decisive match. The Russian then turned away 23 of the 24 pucks aimed at him in a narrow 2-1 victory.

“It wasn’t easy to achieve what he did, I’m really proud of him,” admitted Luongo. To come back so strong for game number 7, it’s really not easy to do for a goalie. He showed that he is one of the greatest in history.”

Bobrovsky finished this postseason with a 16-8 record, a 2.32 goals-against average and a .906 save percentage.

“It’s so special, I don’t think we yet fully realize what we have just accomplished,” said the Russian goalkeeper, during his team’s celebrations.

Knight’s apprenticeship

Inevitably in the shadows throughout the playoffs, promising goaltender Spencer Knight, 23, sees the journey of Bobrovsky and the Panthers as motivation for the rest of his own career.

“We see how difficult it is to win the Stanley Cup,” he noted. You have to work hard to get there.”

Without playing in the playoffs, Knight says he learned a lot from Bobrovsky

“His mental strength is impressive, he is focused on what he does and he has confidence in his abilities,” said the young American goalkeeper, who was the 13th overall pick in the 2019 draft. He had to recover from three consecutive defeats, but I had faith in him for this match number 7.

In the notebook…

Goalkeeper Sergei Bobrovsky believes that the captain Alexander Barkov is the best teammate, the best player and the best leader he has known during his career.

Panthers general manager Bill Zito was certainly the most emotional when celebrating the triumph of the Florida team on the ice. He was seen shedding tears of joy.

Panthers defender Dmitry Kulikov recognized that a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders with this conquest of the Stanley Cup. “I’ve been in this league for 15 years and it’s a great feeling to be able to win,” he said.

Connor McDavid didn’t feel like talking about the Conn-Smythe Trophy, awarded to the playoff MVP, at the end of the game. When asked by a colleague on this subject, the captain of the Edmonton Oilers simply nodded his head for several seconds.

Among the personalities present at match number 7, it was possible to have a bit of a chat with the former hockey player Alexandre Daigle. We mainly talked about our late mutual friend Derek Aucoin.

For those who complain that beer is too expensive at the Bell Center in Montreal, it cost 19 US dollars for such a drink on Monday evening at theAmerant Bank Arenaduring the seventh and final game of the Stanley Cup final.