Roberto Luongo

Panthers' Roberto Luongo (hip) hopes to be ready for opener

Florida Panthers goalie Roberto Luongo (hip) feels like he is ahead of schedule and he hopes to be ready for Florida's regular-season opener on October 13.

What It Means:

After an informal practice on Tuesday, Luongo described his status by saying, "I don't want to put a number on it or a percentage. Right now I feel good, but it's still not quite there yet. It's just that last little bit. Hopefully, it'll come along in the next few weeks and I'll feel good enough to play." The Panthers added goalies James Reimer and Reto Berra in the off-season as insurance in case Luongo isn't ready.

Luongo played in 62 games last season (60 starts) and posted a .922 save percentage and a 2.35 goals against average, both of which were superior to his career averages. He improved these totals to .934 and 2.05, respectively, during six games in the playoffs.