Panthers Fall To Thrashers

Atlanta Thrashers Marian Hossa (18), stretches to reach the puck as Florida Panthers Olli Jokinen (12) applies pressure during the second period of the Friday, Nov. 9, 2007 hockey game in Sunrise, Fla. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

By Dave Joseph for floridapanthers.com

The Panthers ran into a hot, young goalie Friday night and suffered a rare home loss to the revived Thrashers at BankAtlantic Center.

Despite a goal just 18 seconds into the third period by Nathan Horton to tie the game at one, the Thrashers scored three times in the final 16 minutes, twice on the power play, to beat the Panthers 4-1.

The No. 1 star of the game was the Thrashers’ 20-year-old goalie, Ondrej Pavelec, who stopped 36 shots including a big glove save on Olli Jokinen in the second period.

“He played well,” said Jokinen of Pavelec. “Then again, every goalie in this league is capable of making saves when there’s no traffic and he can see the puck.”

Jokinen said the Panthers have to do a better job of driving to the net to create traffic and draw penalties. The Thrashers were called for only one penalty on the night while the Panthers were called for five.

“No doubt, we need to get in that zone and, hopefully, you get those calls,” said GM and coach Jacques Martin.

“We took too many penalties,” Horton said. “We need to get a little more traffic and keep shooting.”

Game Highlights
Starting Lineups
Panthers		Thrashers
Jokinen	C	White
Peltonen	LW	Kovalchuk
Horton	RW	Hossa
Bouwmeester	D	Havelid
Salei	D	Enstrom
Vokoun	G	Pavelec
Post-Game Video
Jacques Martin  Olli Jokinen  Nathan Horton  Tomas Vokoun  Mike Van Ryn
Quote of the Game
"We had opportunities. I think it could have been a different game if we would have been able to capitalize on some but the bottom line is we gave them two open net goals. We have to find a way to be better. The game is so tight now and the teams are so evenly matched, we can't afford to give up goals like that." - defenseman Mike Van Ryn
Stat of the Game
The Panthers scored on their very first shift of the third period. The goal by Nathan Horton tied the score at one.
3 Stars Presented by Szrio Jewelry
1. Ondrej Pavelec 2. Ilya Kovalchuk 3. Robert Holik

The Panthers came back, however, on the opening shift of the final period when Nathan Horton tied the game just 18 seconds into the period off a pass from Jokinen.

But the Thrashers scored what ultimately turned out to be the game-winner at 3:22 of the final period when Chris Thorburn scored after the Thrashers won a faceoff in the Panthers zone. The Thrashers later added two power-play goals.

Vokoun, making his 10th consecutive start, had no shot on the first two goals as the Thrashers crashed the net and created havoc in the crease.

“We had some chances,” Vokoun said. “We played better (than Wednesday in Tampa), but we still lost.”

After losing their first six games of the season, the Thrashers have now won seven of their last 10. They’ve been led in part by Ilya Kovalchuk, who recorded hat tricks in consecutive games Nov. 1 at Ottawa and Nov. 3 at Tampa and scored Friday his 14th goal.

The Panthers were to take Saturday off before returning to practice Sunday to prepare for Monday’s game against Carolina.

“We’ll find out Monday how we respond,” Vokoun said.

NOTES

Jassen Cullimore played his first game Friday as a Panther. The veteran defenseman, paired with Mike Van Ryn, played 17:39 and was a minus-1...Brett McLean suffered a fractured bone in his right hand. It’s unknown how long McLean might be out…