Roberto Luongo had the right frame of mind and it undoubtedly showed for Vancouver in Game 5.
VANCOUVER -- Roberto Luongo had to clear his mind. Truly, it could qualify for an episode of "Hoarders" these days.
For a goaltender that has backstopped the Vancouver Canucks to only the third Stanley Cup final in franchise history -- and won an Olympic gold medal for Canada in Vancouver -- he somehow finds himself with the distinction of being the best goalie that isn't even trusted in his own city.
They cheered inside Rogers Arena, where thousands of fans watched Game 4, when Luongo was pulled in the third period. Canucks fans, cheering lustily, as their No. 1 man reached his lowest point.
The need to clear his mind must be acute, and any old peaceful place wouldn't do.
So, where former Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau once went for a long walk in the snow to right his own thoughts, the man who could bag hockey's two biggest trophies in consecutive years took to the famous Vancouver seawall to find his peace.
"I did it today," Luongo said, making it sound almost like an admission. "I put my hoody on and my headphones, and I don't know if somebody said anything. I can't hear."
Hearing. That's the last thing Luongo needed to do on this day, in this town, coming off a 12-goal scalding in Boston that had left this series tied and Vancouver's first Cup parade in serious jeopardy.
He needed to clear his mind.
"I just focus on the journey and everything I need to do to be ready for the game. That's what gets me prepared."
Hours later, the Canucks goalie delivered in every conceivable way.
Luongo stopped 31 Boston Bruins shots in a thrilling 1-0 win, bringing the Canucks to within a single victory of the Stanley Cup. And he had slain the dragon that is Tim Thomas, the Bruins goalie who had simply been the better netminder in this series through four games.
And we all know which team tends to win these series', when one team's goalie is considerably better than his opponent. After 8-1 and 4-0 losses in Beantown, this Game 5 performance from Luongo was, by our reckoning, mandatory.
"I don't think it was mandatory, and I don't think we were going into the game thinking we were going to win 1-0," countered Canucks forward Ryan Kesler. "But Lou was amazing tonight. He stood tall. He was definitely our leader tonight.
"We all believed in here, that he's a great goalie. He's proved it, for many seasons," Kesler said. "I knew before the puck was even dropped. He really wanted this one. You could see it."
If you have never walked the iconic Stanley Park seawall here, with the squirrels climbing Douglas Firs and the sea planes landing and taking off, you may not appreciate what it does for the busy mind. It is an ocean town's version of a long drive in the country, or a quiet chair lift in the mountains.
That Luongo can manage such solitude in this hockey-crazed city on a game day is more a case of everyone's gaze being fixed on the sea, not the other people sharing the experience.
"I don't do it before every start," he said. "Sometimes I need to clear my head and put things in perspective. Usually people don't bother me. So it's nice for me to be able to do that and focus on what I need to do, and don't have any distractions."
There was only one goal in this canoe-tipper of a game, and it was scored by third-line centre Maxim Lapierre. He took time away from his pathetic attempts to fool the officials into penalties, to become perhaps Vancouver's best forward in the final two periods.
He was dealt a fine break, standing to Thomas' right to accept a Kevin Bieksa rebound off of the end boards. Lapierre didn't hit the shot well, yet it fluttered off of Thomas' stomach and into the net, the only goal needed on this night, in what could turn out to be one of the lowest scoring series' in years.
"We got lucky, a good bounce," Lapierre said. "Right spot at the right time."
It was the kind of goal Thomas is apt to give up, as he crept to the top of his crease to find Bieksa's shot, could not retrieve his post in time to thwart Lapierre.
"It's not hard if you're playing in the paint. It's an easy save for me, but if you're wandering out and aggressive like he does, that's going to happen," assessed Luongo, who has changed his style to play deeper in his crease this season. "He might make some saves that I won't, but in a case like that, we want to take advantage of a bounce like that and make sure we're in a good position to bury those."
Claude Julien, whose team has scored only twice in three games at Rogers Arena wasn't satisfied after the game.
"Good effort. Not good enough."
Now, back to Boston. And Stanley will be there
