Roberto Luongo’s solid goaltending helps ‘Nucks clip surging Red Wings

Added by AHN on December 22, 2011.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Category: Sports
Topics: Sports

Jojo Doria – AHN Sports Contributor

Vancouver, BC, Canada (AHN Sports) – Roberto Luongo posted another solid outing, making 38 stops in the Vancouver Canucks’ 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings Wednesday night at Rogers Arena.

The win enabled the Canucks (21-11-2, 44 pts) to leapfrog Detroit and St. Louis in the Western Conference.

Luongo was coming off his first shutout of the season and 56th of his career in a 4-0 blanking of Minnesota Monday that helped Vancouver improve to 9-4-1 as host this season.

Luongo, who entered the tilt 6-0-1 in his past seven games, withstood a fiery Red Wings in the third period, when the Canucks were outshot 16-4 while nursing their two-goal advantage.

The Canucks’ 32-year-old netminder sealed the win, making several late spectacular stops, including those off Darren Helm and Pavel Datsyuk with four minutes left in regulation.

Alexandre Burrows scored the eventual winner in the first period, where the Canucks rattled off three goals to take a 3-1 lead.

Chris Higgins, Cody Hodgson and Alexander Edler also lit the lamp in the victory, the third straight overall for the Canucks, who moved within a point of the Minnesota Wild atop the Northwest Division.

It was also the Canucks’ sixth win in their last seven on home ice.

The Red Wings, trying to extend their two-game winning streak, received goals from Todd Bertuzzi and Drew Miller.

Jimmy Howard was charged with four goals on 25 shots in the loss.