Luongo to play 1,000th NHL game when Panthers face Bruins

Roberto Luongo is expected to play his 1,000th NHL game when the Florida Panthers face the Boston Bruins at BB&T Center on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; TVAS, FS-F, NESN, NHL.TV).
Luongo, 39, will become the third goalie (
Martin Brodeur
, 1,266;
Patrick Roy
, 1,029) to reach the milestone.

It would be the third straight start and third in four days for Luongo, who made 45 saves in a 2-1 win against the Nashville Predators on Tuesday to keep Florida's Stanley Cup Playoff hopes alive. The Panthers (41-30-8) trail the Philadelphia Flyers by four points for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference with three games remaining.
"Listen, it's a nice milestone," Luongo said. "It's all fine and dandy, but right now the most important thing is we have three games left. They're all crucial. We know that. And it starts with tonight. I have to tell you, 100 percent of my focus is on that right now. It's all that matters to me. Milestones are great. They're nice to reflect on during the offseason, but for right now it's all about trying to get the team into the playoffs.

"It's been a long run and I'm going to try to keep it going as long as possible. Having fun playing the game. To me, that's all that matters."

Luongo, who is 17-11-2 with a 2.50 goals-against average, .929 save percentage and three shutouts this season, is 470-376-86 (33 ties) in 999 NHL games (971 starts). He's fourth all-time in wins, tied for ninth with Ed Belfour and
Tony Esposito
in shutouts (76), and is the active leader in wins and shutouts. He has won at least 30 games eight times.
"On behalf of the Florida Panthers organization I would like to congratulate Roberto on becoming only the third goaltender in NHL history to reach 1,000 games in what has been a Hockey Hall of Fame caliber career," Panthers general manager Dale Tallon said. "Throughout his career, he has proven to be a dominant player and an exemplary leader. His dedication to his family, his teammates and the game of hockey is second to none."
"With three games remaining, his sole focus is on the success of the Panthers and the team's push towards the Stanley Cup Playoffs. We look forward to honoring his accomplishment at the start of next season with his family, friends and the entire Panthers family."
Selected by the New York Islanders with the No. 4 pick in the 1997 NHL Draft, Luongo has played 18 seasons with the Islanders, Panthers and Vancouver Canucks. He's been an NHL Second-Team All-Star twice (2004, 2007) and has been a
Vezina
finalist three times (2004, 2007, 2011). He was a
Hart Trophy
finalist as NHL MVP in 2007 and teamed with Cory Schneider to win the
Jennings Trophy
in 2010-11, when the Canucks allowed fewest goals in the NHL (185).