VANCOUVER: Raffi Torres scored with 19 seconds to play in regulation and Roberto Luongo earned the shutout as the Vancouver Canucks stopped the Boston Bruins 1-0 to draw first blood in the Stanley Cup Finals Wednesday. With overtime looming, Torres was the unlikely hero, redirecting a perfect feed from Jannik Hansen past Tim Thomas to trigger a thunderous celebration not heard in Vancouver since Sidney Crosby scored the golden goal to give Canada a victory over the United States in the 2010 Olympic men's final. “It (Torres goal) was huge,” Luongo told reporters. “At one point I thought we might be playing all night here.” With Vezina Trophy finalists manning both nets, the series opener turned in a goaltending duel between Thomas and Luongo. Luongo stopped all 36 shots he faced for his fourth career post-season shutout while Thomas was almost as brilliant, handling 34 shots. Game Two of the best-of-seven series is in Vancouver Saturday. “We got two of the best goaltenders in the league battling it out, so obviously scoring is going to be a challenge for both teams,” Canucks coach Alain Vigneault told reporters. It was thought Thomas would have to steal a game or two for Boston to have a chance of claiming their first Cup in 39 years and the Bruins netminder almost delivered, falling 19 seconds short of his second consecutive post-season shutout. Both Thomas and Luongo were razor sharp in a free-wheeling and at times ill-tempered opening period that saw the Bruins outshoot the Canucks 17-12. Boston had a chance to seize the early initiative when Daniel Sedin was assessed a double minor for high-sticking but the Bruins powerplay, which has produced just five goals this post-season continued to misfire and failed to convert. Luongo and Thomas remained in the spotlight during a scoreless second period as both teams failed to capitalize on powerplay opportunities. Thomas stole the show in the third period, denying Hansen on a breakaway, then stood his ground on a two-on-one robbing Maxim Lapierre. While the Boston netminder was in spectacular form, he also received a little help, Canucks Alexander Edler ringing the puck off the crossbar to draw groans from the capacity crowd. But those moans turned to cheers a few minutes later when Torres notched his third goal of the post-season sending the crowd out onto the street to join a citywide party. Ticket brokers were asking Olympic gold medal game prices with rinkside seats going for as much as $5,000.
