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Associated Press

Tomas Vokoun has been between the pipes for every Florida Panthers victory this season and is among the league leaders in wins. In his next start, though, he'll have to rebound from one of the worst performances of his career.

Vokoun and the Panthers try to bounce back from their worst loss of the season when they host the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday.

Florida (18-17-3) had gone 6-1-2 over its previous nine games before a 5-1 home loss to Montreal on Friday. Vokoun, who is tied for third in the NHL with 18 wins, gave up four goals on just nine shots before being pulled midway through the second period.

"This is not figure-skating," Vokoun said. "You don't get points for looking good. It's about winning and if you start a game the way we started it's tough to win."

It was the Panthers' most-lopsided loss since a 4-0 defeat Feb. 14 at Ottawa.

Florida's lone goal was Olli Jokinen's 20th of the season. Jokinen has scored at least 35 goals in three of the past four seasons, but hasn't ever reached the 40-goal mark.

He's on pace to get there in 2007-08, and is also currently riding an impressive point streak. Jokinen has at least one point in seven straight games and 12 of his last 13, during which he's amassed nine goals and six assists.

The Panthers have won five straight against the Flyers, including a 4-3 home victory on Oct. 24. Jokinen had two goals in that game, giving him four during Florida's win streak in the series.

Vokoun is 3-2-0 with two ties in his career against Philadelphia.

The Flyers (18-14-4) had suffered through an 0-4-2 stretch during which they gave up 26 goals, but have won their past two games convincingly, following Thursday's 4-1 victory over Toronto with a 4-2 win at Tampa Bay on Saturday.

It marks the first consecutive wins since Nov. 10-12 for the Flyers, who are nonetheless only five points behind first-place New Jersey in a crowded Atlantic Division where all five teams are within five points of each other.

"Just look around the Eastern Conference and see what's going on," Flyers coach John Stevens said. "Every night somebody seems to be pulling away, and I think it's important that we try to climb back in. The fact that we (hadn't) won back to back is a big concern."

Joffrey Lupul has been the Flyers' most potent scorer of late, with has 10 goals and eight assists in his last nine games, including a pair of hat tricks. Mike Richards, who leads the team with 43 points, has four goals and nine assists over the same span.

Philadelphia has five players with at least 10 goals, led by Richards' 18.

Goaltender Martin Biron is 6-9-0 with one tie lifetime against Florida, but is winless with a 3.38 goals-against average in three games against them since he was traded to the Flyers from Buffalo on Feb. 27.





 

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