Edmonton Oilers' Ryan Nugent-Hopkins gets SO game-winner, edging Florida Panthers 2-1 -NHL Update
Having lost their first matchup in six contests to Carolina Hurricanes previously, the entire Florida morale went straight down the drain. Edmonton Oilers took advantage of the opportunity as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins got the shootout game-winner to edge Panthers,
2-1, Friday night, March 23, 2012, at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.
Maintaining their lead over South East Division rivals, Washington Capitals, the Florida Panthers worked hard to keep it that way as they sit at number-three in the Eastern Conference with 86 points.
Seeing another slump could give Washington the time to make a last minute push and may even result in Florida being kicked out of the playoff race.
"There's no shortcuts right now. We're looking to maybe take a little easier path, to try and take the highway instead of the dirt road and that's just not going to happen this time of year," Panthers coach, Kevin Dineen, said. "That's a very disappointing
loss for our team."
Ryan Jones scored first for Edmonton at 1:37 into the second. Jason Garrison followed closely to level the match at 4:58, but both teams failed to add any more during regulation, forcing each other into an overtime extension.
Devan Dubnyk worked the Florida players and made a number of crucial saves for Edmonton, keeping them alive in the contest.
Kris Versteeg has the perfect opportunity at point blank range but Dubnyk crossed over for the save during the intense competition.
"He made the move and I was kind of stuck and I couldn't really recover without pulling my leg off the post so I kind of had to just sit there," Dubnyk said. "Obviously, I got lucky with it going across the line there."
Missing again in overtime and on almost all in the shootout decider, Edmonton finally capitalised on their game changing shot as Ryan Nugent-Hopkins fired it past Jose Theodore on the fourth opportunity.
Edmonton Oilers will now be going on to face Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday while Florida Panthers are hoping for a rebound victory at home against New York Islanders on the same day in the fight for South Eastern supremacy.
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