Lyle Stafford / Reuters

Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo makes a save against Dallas. Luongo made a record 72 saves for a goalie in his first career playoff start as the Canucks won their playoff opener, 5-4 in four overtimes on Wednesday.

updated 4:13 a.m. ET April 14, 2007

VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Roberto Luongo got more than two games worth of playing time in his first career postseason start.

Luongo made 72 saves before Henrik Sedin scored 18:06 into the fourth overtime to lift the Vancouver Canucks to a 5-4 win over the Dallas Stars in the opening game of their first-round playoff series on Wednesday night.

“I got all the experience I needed in one game,” said Loungo, who finished one save short of Kelly Hrudey’s playoff record.

Daniel Sedin came out from behind the net and spotted his identical twin brother cutting into the slot, where Henrik snapped a shot between the legs of Marty Turco, ending the sixth longest playoff game in NHL history in the early hours of Thursday morning.

“It’s a big relief,” Henrik Sedin said. “Personally I felt better the longer the game went, got my legs going in the fifth and sixth periods. It was a strange game but it was fun to play.”

Luongo did set the record for saves in a first career playoff start as the Canucks recovered after blowing a two-goal lead. When Antii Miettinen and Ladislav Nagy scored in the third period to rally the Stars from a 4-2 deficit and force overtime, no one could have predicted it would last so long.

It took more than five hours for Vancouver to grab a lead in the best-of-seven series scheduled to continue in Vancouver on Friday, less than 42 hours after the conclusion of Game 1.

“It’s such a long time ago, I don’t even remember,” Loungo said of the blown lead. “It was my first game and I was a little bit nervous out there but once we get the first one out of the way I’ll feel fine.”

Both teams had earlier chances to win on the power play.

The Stars couldn’t convert a 39-second, 5-on-3 advantage early in the second overtime. Vancouver only managed one long shot while goalie Marty Turco cleared the zone himself three times on a power play midway through the first overtime.

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Luongo made three huge stops early in the second overtime. He turned aside Jere Lehtinen and Nagy in tight, and robbed Mattias Norstrom with his glove. He got a break when Stu Barnes hit the crossbar in the final minute.

“It’s really disappointing right now,” said Turco, who made 51 saves but lost a fifth straight playoff overtime decision. “We had big chances to win a game tonight. It’s frustrating, yeah, but I’m sure it can be turned into a positive, too. It’s just tough right now to think like that but we carried the play.”

Markus Naslund gave the Canucks a 3-2 lead with 6:13 left in the second period and Bryan Smolinski pushed the advantage to two goals 7:36 into the third after a point shot bounced off the end boards and into the crease with Turco looking the other way. But Miettinen batted in a rebound less than a minute later, and he helped set up Nagy’s tying goal under Luongo’s blocker with 6:14 left.

Daniel Sedin and Mattias Ohlund also scored for the Canucks. Brendan Morrow had a goal and assist, and Trevor Daley also scored for Dallas.

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