CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. - Roberto Luongo practiced with the Florida Panthers on Thursday for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury during a 5-4 shootout loss against the New York Islanders at BB&T Center on Dec. 4.
Luongo Returns to Practice: 'The Passion for the Game is Still There'
"It looked like he didn't miss a beat," Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle said. "He was kicking out there. It's one of those things, when you see a guy like Lu and Reims, when you see them getting back on the ice getting healthy, it gets the spirits high.
"You see that they're grinding away every day to get back out there, especially for a guy like Louie that's been around for so long. You see him every day. He's here before everyone and leaves after everyone. I'm sure getting back on the ice feels good for him."
Luongo was out of action for just over two months after suffering a groin injury while attempting to make a right pad save on a slap shot from Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock. Luongo said he suffered a similar injury when he was 28, but his rehab was obviously slower than back then.
"Unfortunately, I wasn't 28 years old this time around," Luongo said. "I was a little bit older, so the path to being healthy was a little bit different. I put in the work. You've got to be patient with yourself. I've got some days that are a bit harder than others and have been more frustrating, but at the end of the day you always keep your mind at the end goal. That's what keeps you going."
At 38, Luongo was playing some of the best hockey of his career prior to the injury, posting a 6-6-1 record with a 2.61 goals-against average and a .928 save percentage - his best since the 2010-11 season. Florida's all-time leader in wins, Luongo's 459 career victories are the fourth-most in NHL history, with 200 of them coming in a Panthers jersey.
"I think the most frustrating part is that I think I was playing really well before I got hurt," Luongo said. "I'd love to say a I'm going to be able to get back in there and just pick up where I left off, but that's going to take some time. Hopefully it'll be quicker rather than later."
After practice, Panthers coach Bob Boughner said the team will continue to take things day by day with Luongo, with the hope that he'll be able to return to the lineup at some point during the team's upcoming five-game road trip through Canada, which begins Monday in Edmonton.
"It's nice to see him out there in practice today in full gear and going through all the drills," Boughner said. "He looked good. I haven't talked to him since we got off the ice, but it was encouraging to see that."
In the meantime, Luongo said he's already overcome the mental hurdles that come with being out of action for an extended period of time, saying "once your pain free and get into practice, you don't really think about that kind of stuff."
After undergoing hip surgery over the summer, missing six games earlier in the season with a right-hand injury and then hurting his groin, Luongo said it's "been a tough go here these last couple years," but reaffirmed that his passion to play hockey has never been stronger.
"The passion for the game is still there," Luongo said. "It's as good as its ever been. When you have that, you've got the motivation to keep going and get better and get back as soon as you can."
Florida has gone 13-9-2 in Luongo's absence, thanks in large part to the play of backup James Reimer and third-stringer Harri Sateri. Reimer started 18 of 19 games in relief of Luongo before suffering an eerily similar groin injury on Jan. 23 in Dallas, going 9-6-2 with a 2.58 goals-against average and a .924 save percentage.
Reimer, who returned to practice on Monday, said he's relieved the injury wasn't worse.
"You never know," Reimer said. "When I found it wasn't too severe, that's good. You just start rehabbing right away and hopefully you can cut down as much time as possible."
After sitting out the past five games, Reimer was cleared to play on Thursday and will back up Sateri when the Panthers host Los Angeles on Friday. Sateri, a 28-year-old rookie, had no NHL experience entering this season, but has played outstanding while backstopping the Panthers to four consecutive wins behind a 1.50 goals-against average and a .950 save percentage.
As the Panthers get healthier in net, Boughner said Sateri's earned the right to keep playing.
"It's a nice problem to have, for sure" Boughner said. "A few weeks ago, everybody was wondering what's going to happen, myself included. Harri's come in and answered a lot of questions. He's answered the bell.
"Now we're in a predicament where we're starting to get some healthy goalies back. Harri's going to play tomorrow. He deserves it. The team's playing well behind him and I want to see him continue."
