Vokoun, Panthers Shut Out Devils By Dave Joseph for floridapanthers.com

Florida Panthers goal keeperTomas Vokoun (29, of the Czech Republic, stops the puck as New Jersey Devils Dainius Zubrus (16) of Lithuania makes an attempt at the goal in the first period during a hockey game in Sunrise, Fla. Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

The way Tomas Vokoun figures it, the Panthers “put a lot of faith in me when they traded for me, and I want to repay them with good performances.”

Vokoun started that process Thursday night at BankAtlantic Center when he stopped 29 shots to help the Panthers to their first victory of the season, a 3-0 shutout over the Devils.

Behind power plays goals by Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton, and two assists each from by Jozef Stumpel and Cory Murphy, the Panthers put together a strong, 60 minute game while helping Vokoun record the team’s first home shutout since January 27 2006. Ironically, that shutout was also against the Devils.

“It’s a huge win,” said Vokoun, who recorded his 22nd career shutout.

“We had a good start to the game, we found a way to stay out of the penalty box in the first two periods, and we got two power play goals,” added Jokinen.

Said defenseman Ruslan Salei; “It’s always nice to win. The difference (tonight) was we worked pretty hard for 60 minutes and we played desperate hockey, the way we should play all the time.”

“It wasn’t perfect, but we have to continue to work hard,” he said.

For Vokoun, acquired in June from Nashville, it was a big game after allowing nine goals in his first two starts in a Panther uniform.

“This game is all about confidence,” Vokoun said. “It’s been tough for us, it’s been tough for me. It’s a new environment and people brought me here and expect me to do well. It was a rough start. Maybe I wasn’t in as good a shape as past years. I had a lot of stuff to deal with off the ice, maybe that was my mistake. But I’ve been working hard on it.

“I think once we get confidence, I’m really certain this is a great hockey club.”

Game Highlights
Starting Lineups
Panthers		Devils
McLean	C	Madden
Campbell	LW	Pandolfo
Horton	RW	Clarkson
Van Ryn	D	Vishnevski
Salei	D	Mottau
Vokoun	G	Brodeur
Post-Game Video
Jacques Martin  Olli Jokinen  Nathan Horton  Tomas Vokoun  Mike Van Ryn
PhotoGallery
Panthers vs Devils
Quote of the Game
"It's a good feeling and it's a great win. It's a great team effort. I think it's a confidence booster for our team and that's what we needed." - Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun
Stat of the Game
There were many, but it was the Panthers first shutout at home in a long time, dating back to January 27, 2006.
3 Stars (floridapanthers.com)
1. Jozef Stumpel  2. Tomas Vokoun  3. Cory Murphy

After Vokoun made three big saves midway through the second period – including one on a redirected shot by David Clarkson – the Panthers kicked into gear with the help of five consecutive Devil penalties.

Just five seconds into a 5-on-3 power play, Jokinen drilled a shot from the right point past Brodeur’s glove side to make it 2-0. The goal was set up after Stumpel won a faceoff in the Devil end over John Madden.

Six minutes later, the Panthers scored their first 5-on-4 power play goal of the season when Nathan Horton wheeled and wristed a shot past Brodeur to make it 3-0.

“I was just trying to get it to the net,” Horton said. “The puck was rolling.”

Although the Panthers took only three shots at Brodeur in the third period, they managed to hold off the Devils behind Vokoun, who made two big saves on Patrik Elias in the third period.

Vokoun gave credit to his teammates, who blocked 14 shots. Meanwhile, Brett McLean won eight of 10 faceoffs and Stephen Weiss five of seven.

“When you win these games people do the little extra things,” Vokoun said. “I don’t care who you are. You win more when you want it more than the other team.”

The Panthers now look to start a winning streak when they play host Saturday night at BankAtlantic Center to the Lightning.