NHL Update: Florida Panthers topped New Jersey Devils, 4-3
Rostislav Olesz lit the lamp in extra session, as Florida Panthers held on for a 4-3 victory over New Jersey Devils, at Prudential Center on Friday night.
Mike Santorelli and Chris Higgins both also netted goals for Florida, which halted a three-game skid. Tomas Vokoun started between the pipes, turning aside 28 shots for the winners. Dennis Wideman tallied another goal in the win.
"I think we deserved that win tonight," said Panthers head coach Peter DeBoer. "We've been playing some good hockey lately and haven't been getting the bounces. We played good tonight and we deserved those two points."
Jason Arnott and Mark Fayne both found the net for New Jersey, which has won six of its previous seven contests. Johan Hedberg made 24 saves in the loss. Travis Zajac tallied a goal and had an assist.
"I thought we played well, we did a lot of good things in the second and third period," said Fayne. "We just couldn't hold on and let this one slip through."
Florida notched the initial lead 1-0 in the seventh minute of the opening period, as Higgins backhanded Steve Bernier’s rebound past Hedberg for his ninth goal of the season.
However, Devils took advantage on a pair of lucky bounces off the boards to score the next two goals.
Zajac knotted the game at 1-1 just two minutes after the Higgins’ goal. The sequence started when Vokoun played a puck over to the right boards for Garrison, who tried to backhand the puck behind the net. However, it hit off the boards and went out into
the slot where Zajac buried it into the net.
Just over two minutes later, New Jersey got its first lead 2-1 when a right point shot from Henrik Tallinder caromed off a Florida defenseman in front, then bounced off the backboard before coming to the right side where Arnott tipped it into the net for
his 13th goal of the year.
Panthers, however, pulled the game even at 2-2 just 1 ½ minutes later with a power-play goal. With Michael Frolik providing a screen in front of Hedberg, Wideman fired a shot from the high slot into the net.
Fayne snapped the deadlock for 3-2 lead with the lone goal of the middle stanza, chipping in a high shot on the rolling puck from the blue line. Nick Palmieri, who positioned in the slot, ducked out of the way as the puck arced over the head of Vokoun.
“We worked hard for all our goals and they got three goals on nothing plays,” Vokoun said. “You look at their goals, and how much bad luck we had. We really battled.”
Later in the period, both net-minders made big saves on short-handed breakaways. Vokoun stopped Patrik Elias’ shot while Hedberg made 11 saves to help Devils take a one-goal advantage into the final period.
Devils were attempting to build two-goal edge early in the third period when Jason Garrison was called for slashing, but they were not able to score. Hedberg was sharp, as he blocked Olesz’s shot when Florida charged the net. He later made a pair saves,
turning away Wideman’s point shot and Marty Reasoner’s rebound attempt.
“It found a space between by arm and my body, which shouldn’t happen,” Hedberg said. “I’ve got to play better. We’re fighting hard and I’ve got to make those saves.”
However, Panthers got a short-handed goal for a 3-3 deadlock with seven minutes to play in the last period. It started when Ilya Kovalchuk tried a pass from the left to the right point, but he didn't get anything on it and Santorelli snatched it away. He
then rushed the length of the ice, faked around Hedberg and knocked the puck into the open net.
In the overtime, Olesz received a pass from Radek Dvorak in the Devils zone and from the right circle ripped a simple wrist shot past Hedberg to seal the win at 4-3.
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