"I wanted to look like a 25-year-old so I could play like one," Luongo said after the game of shaving the beard he'd had since the summer. "It was time, and I'm glad it paid off."
Luongo ended a personal four-game losing streak.
The Panthers won their second straight home game, but it was the first time this season they'd given a prize to their player of the game. Last season, they captured the hockey world's imagination by awarding a blue "Spacey in Space" hoodie to their MVP after each win, but they never did publicly disclose the sweatshirt's origin.
They were similarly coy about Luongo's apron. The 37-year-old goalie told the Miami Herald it did not involve his shaving.
Forward Shawn Thornton would not offer any details when pressed.
"You're not getting anything out of me," Thornton told the newspaper. "Nope. Not saying anything."
