Luongo Plays 1,000 as Panthers Battle Bruins in 'Game 7'

SUNRISE, Fla. - For Roberto Luongo, Thursday's matchup with the Boston Bruins will be the 1,000th game in his illustrious career, making the 39-year-old just the third goaltender in NHL history to reach that storied mark, joining Hall of Famers Martin Brodeur and Patrick Roy.

"I've never really thought about it, to be honest with you," Luongo said. "I think it kind of popped up at some point during this year; some people started mentioning it. My only goal really is to win a Stanley Cup. All the other stuff is some nice accolades, but I only play for one reason."
As the Panthers fight to put Luongo in a position to play for the Cup that has long eluded him, the team know they can't afford to slip up in their rematch with the Bruins, who topped Florida, 5-1, in Boston last week. With three games left to play, the Panthers currently trail Philadelphia by four points for the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with one game in hand.
"I'm treating it like a Game 7 tonight," Panthers coach Bob Boughner said. "We've got to win this game. We talked about that at the beginning of the week, winning our home games. We had a tough test the other night against a a real good team in Nashville; same thing here tonight."
The Panthers are coming off back-to-back wins over Carolina and the Western Conference-leading Predators in which Luongo - starting both games of the back-to-back set for the first time this season - stopped a combined 72 of 75 shots (.960 percent) to pick up four points.
At 41-30-8, Florida has already achieved its sixth-most successful season in franchise history.
"This game is a special game for Lu and I think the guys want to make sure that we're good in front of him," Boughner said. "As an organization, this is what we play for all year. For Louie to reach this milestone, for us to win this game, it means everything."
Thursday's matchup will be the second to last for the Panthers at home, where they've won 14 of their last 17 games at home - including a franchise-record eight-game winning streak. Florida is 25-11-3 in Sunrise this season, a huge factor in the team's strong push towards the playoffs.
"Home ice has been great to us," Boughner said. "That's one of the things we talked about at the beginning of the year, being a tough team to play against at home, making this building a tough place to play. We've done that. We want to continue that. Every game changes, obviously, with the opponents, but the one thing that can't change is what we do best here at home."
The Bruins (49-18-12) have already clinched a spot in the postseason, but are currently fighting with Tampa Bay for first place in the Atlantic Division. Boston is coming off a lopsided 4-0 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday, but the two teams remain tied atop the division with 110 points.
"We're looking for a better all-around game, better start" Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We weren't very good in the first period the other night in Tampa. That' something we want to correct. Defensively, I didn't think we were hard enough in certain areas."
Boston's greatest strength throughout most of the season has been in net, where Tuukka Rask has posted a 34-12-5 record with a 2.32 goals-against average, a .919 save percentage and three shutouts. However, against Florida, he's been even better over the course of his career, going 21-3-1 with a .951 save percentage.
The Panthers likely need to win to stay alive tonight, but they know it won't be easy.
"There's not much room for mistakes," Panthers winger Nick Bjugstad said. "Just playing the right way, we talk about it all the time, that's what you need to do against playoff-type teams like this. With the position we're in here, we can't afford to make many mistakes."

NOTES

-- Aleksander Barkov enters tonight's game with 23 points (six goals, 17 assists) over his last 22 games and currently ranks fifth in franchise history for single-season points (77). With two more assists, the 22-year-old center will tie Viktor Kozlov (53, 1999-00) for the most assists in a single season in franchise history.
-- Aaron Ekblad enters tonight's game ranking tied for second in the NHL among defenseman in goals scored (16). With one more goal, he will break a tie with Jason Garrison for first place on the franchise's single-season goal-scoring list among blue liners.
-- Keith Yandle enters tonight's game ranking first among Florida's defensemen in points (55), assists (47) and power-play points (18), while also leading the club in total ice time (1933:57). In the midst of his third 50-point campaign, Yandle is the third defenseman in franchise history to reach 50 points in a season, joining Robert Svehla (1995-96) and Brian Campbell (2011-12).
-- Tonight is Florida's 1,900th NHL game and 950th home game in franchise history.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Forwards
Evgenii Dadonov - Aleksander Barkov - Colton Sceviour
Jonathan Huberdeau - Vincent Trocheck - Jamie McGinn
Frank Vatrano - Jared McCann - Nick Bjugstad
Micheal Haley - Derek MacKenzie - Maxim Mamin
Defense
Keith Yandle - Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson - Mark Pysyk
MacKenzie Weegar - Alexander Petrovic
Goalies
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratches: Denis Malgin, Connor Brickley, Henrik Borgstrom, Radim Vrbata, Ian McCoshen

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• March 26: F Henrik Borgstrom signed to a three-year, entry-level contract
  - March 26: G Harri Sateri loaned to Springfield (AHL)
  - March 24: G Harri Sateri recalled from Springfield (AHL)
  - March 10: F Frank Vatrano activated from IR

HOW TO WATCH

When:Thursday, April 5, 7:30 p.m.
Where: BB&T Center - Sunrise, FL
TV coverage: FOX Sports Florida (check local listings)
Florida Panthers Radio Network Presented by HARD Lifestyle Beverages: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 1370 WAXE (Treasure Coast)
Where to stream it:FOX Sports GO and NHL.TV (outside state of Florida)
Tickets:
https://www.nhl.com/panthers/tickets