| ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NASCAR | NHL.com | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER |
|
|
Thursday, Jan. 4 10:30pm ET
Kidd's 46 saves lift Panthers | ||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An ineffective power play has been a lingering problem for Florida Panthers. The Panthers were nearly unstoppable with a man advantage Thursday night, Ray Whitney and Viktor Kozlov scored power-play goals less than two minutes apart in the third period, helping the Panthers beat the Los Angeles Kings 4-3 for only their third victory in 19 games. The Panthers, who entered the game with the league's second-lowest percentage on the power play, were 2-for-4 with the man advantage. In their previous 10 games, they were 3-for-40. "The power play got some key goals for us at key times in the game, and that hasn't happened a whole lot the first half of the year," said goalie Trevor Kidd, who made 21 of his season-high 46 saves in the second period. "You need that killer instinct, regardless of the situation, and we had that tonight. When an opportunity was given to us, we took advantage of it." Olli Jokinen and Ivan Novoseltsev also scored and Rob Niedermayer had two assists for the Panthers, 2-2-0 since Duane Sutter replaced Terry Murray behind the bench. The victory was their first this season when they've allowed more than one goal (1-25-6). "It's been tough sledding, no question, so we'll take it," Kidd said. "This is our second season because of the coaching change, so we're trying to put the first half behind us, be really positive, try to make up a few points this month and see what happens after that." Glen Murray, Mathieu Schneider and Ziggy Palffy, in the lineup after missing eight games, scored for the Kings, who are winless in their last five home games with four straight losses. They are 2-8-1 in their last 11 games overall. Whitney snapped a 2-2 tie at 6:22 of the third period with his seventh goal, beating Steve Passmore to the glove side with one-timer from 45 feet. The goal came just four seconds after a holding penalty to Marko Tuomainen put the Panthers on their second power play of the game. "I'm not going to make any excuses," said Passmore, making his sixth straight start in net. "I think we lost because their goalie played better than ours did. When we outshoot a team (49-19), we should win. We dominated the game. We just didn't win it." The Kings thought they had tied it 12 seconds later. But Bryan Smolinski was whistled for interfering with Kidd in the crease just as Rob Blake beat the goalie with a slap shot from the right point. The goal was nullified. After Kozlov made it 4-2 with a one-timer from 25 feet at 8:12 of the third on a power play, Palffy redirected a pass from the right point by Jozef Stumpel with 10:58 remaining. It was the 22nd goal for Palffy, playing his first game after missing the previous eight because of a strained right hamstring. The Panthers fell behind 2-1 at 4:23 of the second on a 20-foot snap shot by Schneider. It was the 11th goal and 31st point of the season for Schneider, who had 10 goals and 30 points last season in 80 games with the New York Rangers. But Novoseltsev tied it just 58 seconds before the second intermission, squeezing the puck across the goal line during a scramble in the crease after Passmore stopped John Jakopin's shot from the right point. The Panthers took their only lead at 12:18 of the first on Jokinen's fourth goal. Passmore stopped Peter Worrell's 20-foot wrist shot with his chest. But defenseman Aki Berg couldn't clear the bouncing rebound and Jokinen swatted the puck by Passmore's stick for his fourth goal. The lead lasted less than four minutes, as Murray tapped in a loose puck that was lying in the crease after Kidd stopped Smolinski's slap shot. The goal was Murray's eighth of the season and first in two games after missing the previous 18 because of a strained right quadriceps muscle. Game notesPanthers president and general manager Bill Torrey, the architect of the New York Islanders' four consecutive Stanley Cup-winning teams, will be honored in a unique manner by the Islanders before their Feb. 13 game against Pittsburgh. Instead of the customary banner displaying a retired uniform number, a giant bow-tie -- Torrey's most recognizable piece of attire -- will be lifted to the rafters at Nassau Coliseum. One of Torrey's former Islander draft picks, Panthers broadcaster Denis Potvin, will take a night off to attend the ceremony. |
ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Florida Clubhouse Los Angeles Clubhouse RECAPS Ottawa 8 Tampa Bay 3
Florida 4
| |