VANCOUVER, British Columbia, June 10 (UPI) -- Roberto Luongo bounced back from a two-game battering Friday in carrying the Vancouver Canucks to a 1-0 win over Boston and within one win of the Stanley Cup.
The Canucks moved to a 3-2 advantage in the NHL's championship series and can win the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history Monday when Boston hosts Game 6. If a seventh and deciding contest is needed it will be played next Wednesday in Vancouver.
The Canucks earned home-ice advantage in the series by posting the league's best regular-season record.
After giving up just two goals in the opening two games of the series, Luongo was shelled for a dozen goals in the two contests played in Boston. The 8-1 and 4-0 victories by the Bruins gave them the momentum heading back to Vancouver, but Luongo came through with his second shutout of the series and his fourth of these playoffs.
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He made 31 saves in a game that involved far less nastiness than the two contests in Boston. The tone of those two games was set by Aaron Rome's vicious hit on Boston's Nathan Horton in Game 3 that left Horton with a concussion and Rome with a suspension.
There were just nine 2-minute penalties called Friday and only one in the third period.
The winning goal came from Maxim Lapierre 4:35 into the third period, his second score of the playoffs.
Boston's Tim Thomas was perfect otherwise, stopping 24 shots.
Vancouver moved within one victory of becoming the first club from Canada to win the Stanley Cup since Montreal did so 18 years ago. This is the third straight Stanley Cup Finals in which the home team has won the first five games of the series.
