Another Goose Egg Victory For Cats

Florida Panthers goalie Craig Anderson (31) keeps his eyes on the puck in front of the crease as Boston Bruins' Chuck Kobasew (12) tries unsuccessfully to get to it in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Boston on Tuesday, March 4, 2008. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

By Dave Joseph for floridapanthers.com
 
BOSTON – With a flick of his wrist, Nathan Horton sent the Panthers home victorious Tuesday evening.
 
Just 22 seconds into overtime, Horton beat Bruins goalie Alex Auld to the short side to break a scoreless tie and give the Panthers a 1-0 victory and four points on their two game road trip.
 
The Panthers victory brought them to within five points of Carolina in the Southeast Division with their next seven games at home. Craig Anderson, who pitched a 53-save shutout Sunday on Long Island, stopped 40 shots to earn his second consecutive victory and ran his scoreless streak to 147:24 while stopping his last 105 shots.

It's the most saves in consecutive shutouts since 1989-90 according to STATS LLC. Dominik Hasek had 75 saves in back-to-back shutouts in December 1997.

It was the first time the Panthers had won consecutive games since Feb. 2-5 against the Maple Leafs and Lightning and the first time the team had consecutive shutouts since Oct. 5-7 of 2005.

“It was a big two points,” said Horton after scoring his 22nd goal of the season off a pass from linemate Stephen Weiss. “Andy played unbelievable. It’s unbelievable how he can come in and has played so good. Right now he can’t be beat. You can’t downplay how important it is to have a good goalie, and both of our goalies are good.”
 

Game Highlights
Starting Lineups
Panthers		Bruins
Jokinen	C	Savard
Olesz	LW	Axelsson
McLean	RW	Murray
Bouwmeester	D	Chara
Skrastins	D	Wideman
Anderson	G	Auld
PhotoGallery
Panthers vs Bruins
Quote of the Game
“It was a big two points. Andy played unbelievable. It’s unbelievable how he can come in and has played so good. Right now he can’t be beat.” - Forward Nathan Horton
Stat of the Game
Backup netminder Craig Anderson has looked like an elite goaltender the past couple games, registering his second straight shutout by stopping 93 shots in those two games. He has stopped 105 consecutive shots dating back to February 23rd against  Philly.
3 Stars Presented by Szrio Jewelry
1. Craig Anderson 2. Alex Auld 3. Nathan Horton

 
Anderson, now 5-5-1 on the season, was sharp throughout the evening. He started just two minutes into the game with a save on David Krejci. In the second period, he stopped a shot from the point by P.J. Axelsson at 8:31 and then foiled Glen Murray with a glove save on the rebound. During a Bruin power play late in the same period, he made a key save from the point on Dennis Wideman and then Shawn Thornton from the slot.
 
Auld was equally sharp. His biggest save may have come with Weiss during a two-on-break with 1:04 remaining in regulation.
 
“I thought we played pretty good defensively,” said GM and coach Jacques Martin. “We had a few breakdowns in the second, but we had a good effort from a lot of people.”
 
While time is getting short in the season, Horton summed it up best. “We just have to keep this thing going. We control our own fate. Anything can happen.”
 
NOTE:
The Panthers lines were Jokinen, Olesz and McLean, Weiss, Horton and Booth, Campbell, Peltonen and Montador and Kreps, Glass and Belak…The Panthers returned home after the game. Their next seven games will be at home beginning Thursday against the Penguins…