Roberto Luongo back in net to face Los Angeles Kings
Just in time for the Canadian Olympic team selection, gold-medalist Roberto Luongo is back in net for the Vancouver Canucks.
Canuck coach John Tortorella confirmed this morning the 34-year-old goalie will start tonight against the Los Angeles Kings as the National Hockey League club begins a difficult weekend in Southern California.
Loungo hasn’t played since injuring his groin on Dec. 22, leaving rookie backup Eddie Lack to start Vancouver’s last three games. The Canucks were awful in a 4-2 loss Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“There’s no issue; he’s ready to play,” Tortorella said of Luongo, expected to be named Tuesday to Team Canada for the Sochi Olympics. “I still don’t think we missed a beat with Eddie. It’s a nice situation to have (two goalies). All the stuff going on with Roberto when the year started, Lacker, I didn’t even know who he was. We’ve settled in really well as far as the tandem of our goalies.”
The “stuff” with Luongo was the fallout from a year-long goaltending drama that came to a shock ending in June when general manager Mike Gillis traded Cory Schneider.