NEWARK, N.J. _ Roberto Luongo had been tied with Hall of Famer Terry Sawchuk on the NHL's all-time win list for almost three weeks.
Monday night, Luongo finally got sole possession of fifth.
Luongo looked terrific as he backstopped the Florida Panthers to a 3-0 win over the host New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center.
The victory was No. 448 for Luongo _ who had not been in the personal win column since Dec. 20 against the visiting Sabres.
Next up for Luongo is Curtis Joseph (454 wins) and one-time Florida goalie Eddie Belfour (484). Belfour replaced Luongo in Florida's net for what was his final NHL season after Luongo's controversial (and lopsided) trade to Vancouver in 2006.
The shutout was Luongo's first this season but 73rd of his career which ranks 11th. Luongo is three shutouts shy of tying Belfour and Tony Esposito for ninth.
Luongo made 28 saves in the victory.
Florida went 3-0 against the sagging Devils this season and Monday's victory puts the Panthers two points back of a playoff spot in a muddled Atlantic Division.
Luongo had to be sharp Monday as Florida's list of walking wounded grew Monday after Denis Malgin was forced out after being decked by Pavel Zacha in the first period.
The Panthers had Malgin centering their fourth line before he was hit from behind by Zacha in the first and cashed in on the subsequent power play for a 1-0 lead.
Zacha was called for five minutes worth of roughing. After Shawn Thornton served his two minutes for going after Zacha in his defense of Malgin, Florida had a three-minute power play and got a Reilly Smith goal as he polished off his own rebound off the left pad of Cory Schneider with 3:05 left in the opening frame.
Florida's power play had been 0-12 before Smith scored.
Luongo, who missed the past two games, was back in the nets against his old Vancouver teammate Schneider and it appeared his recent time off was to his liking.
Luongo, who was making only his second start in the past six games, was sharp from the start and made a number of key saves in the victory.
The Panthers were able to get a little breathing room with 1:05 left after Jussi Jokinen scored into an empty net. It was Jokinen's second goal in the past five games.
Vincent Trocheck got Florida's final goal _ also into an empty net _ with 16 seconds remaining.
