Cats Suffer Tough Shootout Loss

Florida Panthers' Richard Zednik, right, moves the puck on Edmonton Oilers' Ladislav Smid, during the first period of a hockey game in Sunrise, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 24, 2008. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)

By Dave Joseph for floridapanthers.com

The Panthers returned to their old ways Thursday evening at BankAtlantic Center, managing to snatch defeat from victory.

Seemingly ready to go into the All-Star Break with a second consecutive victory, the Panthers allowed two goals in the final 1:23 of regulation and then lost 4-3 to the Oilers in a shootout.

“Disappointing,” said GM and coach Jacques Martin.

“A tough ending,” said Olli Jokinen, who, along with Nathan Horton and Kamil Kreps, was stopped in the shootout by Oiler goalie Mathieu Garon.

The Panthers, who did earn a point and three of four in their last two games, go into the All-Star break three points out of first place in the Southeast Division. The Panthers were 19-22-10 after 51 games last season with 48 points. They’re now 22-24-5 with 49 points.

Leading 3-1, the Panthers watched it all go away beginning at 18:37 of the third period. With Jassen Cullimore in the penalty box and the Oilers with six skaters on the ice, Jarret Stoll scored to make it 3-2.

Just 31 seconds later, Panther goalie Tomas Vokoun failed to stop the puck from ringing around the net. The puck bounced over his stick and went to Stoll, who fired the puck from the corner off Vokoun’s left pad and into the net to tie the game with 52 seconds remaining in regulation.

Game Highlights
Starting Lineups
Panthers		Oilers
Weiss	C	Horcoff
Booth	LW	Hemsky
Horton	RW	Penner
Allen	D	Staios
Bouwmeester	D	Souray
Vokoun	G	Garon
Post-Game Video
Jacques Martin  Olli Jokinen   Bryan Allen   Brett McLean  Tomas Vokoun
PhotoGallery
Panthers vs Oilers
Quote of the Game
"It's not the way you want to enter the break because you have too much time to think. A lot of times you get right back at it. We have to build on some positive things we did. It's going to leave a bitter taste for these four days for sure." -Defenseman Bryan Allen
Stat of the Game
It only took 1:18 for the Cats to get on the board as Gregory Campbell stole the puck in the defensive zone and raced in on a shorthanded breakaway. It was Campbell's fifth of the season and second with the Cats down a man.
3 Stars Presented by Szrio Jewelry
1. Shawn Horcoff 2. Brett McLean 3. Jarret Stoll

“The puck just jumped over his stick,” said Radek Dvorak of Vokoun.

After a scoreless overtime, Shawn Horcoff scored the only goal in the shootout when he backhanded the puck behind Vokoun, who tried to poke the puck with his stick away from Horcoff.

The Oilers are now 12-3 in shootouts. Oiler coach Craig MacTavish called it a “miraculous win.”

“When you’re going into the break on a win, it puts the team on such an emotional high and it’s all welcome,” he added.

It was a tough loss for the Panthers, who got on the board first just 1:18 into the game and while short-handed when Gregory Campbell broke in alone on the Oiler goal and shot the puck through the legs of Garon.

The Panthers played a strong first period but they couldn’t distance themselves from the Oilers. And that came back to haunt them at 16:31 of the second period when Ethan Moreau, coming out of the penalty box for an unsportsmanlike conduct, wristed the puck past Vokoun to tie the game at one.

The Panthers seemed to put the game away in the third period on goals from Brett McLean (5th of the year) and Jokinen (24th). But the Panthers, outshot 15-7 in the third period, couldn’t hold off the Oilers.

“I thought we had a strong game,” Martin said. “We did a lot of good things. We were up 3-1, in control of the  game. There was an unfortunate call late in the game. They got a power play goal then a goal to tie it.

“We just have to pick ourselves up. We have a chance to get some rest. We have a busy month coming back. Hopefully, we’ll get some guys back after the break. We have two big games at home (Buffalo and Vancouver next week), then on the road to Tampa.”

And a final push to the playoffs.