Florida Panthers get first win over Calgary Flames
After a solid performance in their home opener against the Los Angeles Kings, the Calgary Flames were shutout once again as they fell 3-0 to the Florida Panthers on Thursday night.
How it went down
Panthers forward Radek Dvorak got two first period goals to lead the way for Florida, and Thomas Vokoun was solid in nets stopping all 27 shots he faced as the Flames outshot the Panthers 27-18.
With no scoring in the second period, Shawn Matthias got his first of the season for the Panthers at 9:57 of the third to round out the scoring.
What they're saying
Vokoun, who faced only 10 shots through the first two periods before the Flames started to pour it on in the third, was delighted by his team's performance.
"This is my fourth year in Florida and this is one of the best games I've seen us play," he said. "We were playing exactly how we wanted and it was a great effort from everybody."
The Calgary fans, on the other hand, were not too pleased with their team as they filled the Scotiabank Saddledome with a roar of boos in the game's final minutes, and Calgary head coach Brent Sutter can't blame them.
"We were a team that played a very soft game," Sutter said. "At the end of the day if you really want to score goals you've got to get into tough areas.
"You may not score goals every night and you may not win every game, but you need that level of play to be where it needs to be. We've got tremendous, tremendous fans here in Calgary -- tremendous -- and you know what they want and expect, and when they
don't get it, they have every right."
Despite getting only a single win in their first three games to start the season, Panthers centre Mike Santorelli, was pleased with the way his team performed as they now get set to head home for a three-game home stand.
"I thought we had a great road trip," he said. "We kept the mindset the same as the first two games – work hard, use our speed and get pucks to the net."
What it all means
That first win for the Panthers was huge as they aim to keep pace in the Southeast Division. They host the undefeated Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night.
As for the Flames, they have now been shutout in two of their three games. They will hope to have their fans cheering again as they host the Edmonton Oilers – a team which the shut them out, 4-0, in their season opener – on Saturday night.
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