NEWARK -- Roberto Luongo was back in the dressing room Monday night, peeling off his equipment and savoring his 23-save effort which backstopped a 3-2 road victory for the Panthers over the Devils, when the team's Vide President of Communications approached him to share a piece of information the veteran goalie swears he knew nothing about.
The win etched Luongo's name in the record books. It was his 200th victory with the Panthers, making him only the second goaltender in NHL history to win 200 games with two different teams.
Roberto Luongo of the @FlaPanthers is the second goaltender in NHL history to earn 200+ wins with two different franchises, joining Patrick Roy. #NHLStats #FLAvsNJD pic.twitter.com/MiCoT0dxYZ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) November 28, 2017
The only other goaltender to accomplish the feat? Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy. Pretty awesome company to keep. Yet when asked about his latest accomplishment, the 38-year-old Luongo remained unimpressed.
"Other than my save percentage, I don't look at numbers much," Luongo told reporters in the visitors locker room at the Prudential Center.
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You can be blase about these things when you continue to cement your place in history as Luongo does, seemingly on a nightly basis.
On Nov. 7, Luongo appeared in his 972nd career game, passing Terry Sawchuk for third on the NHL's all-time list for goaltenders. Three days later in his next start, Luongo earned the 455th victory of his career and passed Curtis Joseph for fourth all-time.
This month, Luongo also played in his 500th game as a member of the Panthers, the only goalie in franchise history to do so.
"It's nice, but I'm not thinking about it too much to be honest," Luongo explained. "I just try and stay in the zone, in the moment, and try to give my team a chance to win every night. Those accolades and milestones will be nice when it's all said and done."
Luongo emphasized he is much more concerned about helping the Panthers get back on track. After a miserable 5-9-2 start, largely produced with Luongo sidelined with a thumb injury, the Panthers seek relevance in the Atlantic Division, boosting their record to 9-12-2.
The goalie is doing his part, winning five of his last seven starts.
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"The team is playing way better in front of me, so that helps a lot with the way I play," explained Luongo. "It's a give and take. They feel better in front of me. I feel better behind them."
Monday night, Luongo joked that he came back to the dressing room after the first period and "drank a couple cups of coffee to make sure I was awake" after facing only three shots. That total grew to only ten through two periods before a 15-shot third period kept Luongo more busy.
200 wins in the Sunshine State for @strombone1. The man is unbelievable. pic.twitter.com/mT30ykPXfo
— NHL (@NHL) November 28, 2017
Despite the low shot totals early in the contest, Luongo kept his focus razor sharp. In the final seconds of the first period he made a sensational glove save on Devils defenseman John Moore; and then early in the second, Luongo showed he still has elite reflexes with a terrific pad save on Adam Henrique's deflection.
"He's a pretty special guy," stated Panthers coach Bob Boughner.
For the record -- not that he knows, or cares, for that matter -- Luongo owns a career record of 459-370-85 in 979 games, with 252 of those victories coming with the Vancouver Canucks and another seven with the New York Islanders, who drafted him fourth overall all the way back in 1997.