Overtime loss to Panthers keeps Penguins winless

Stephen Weiss’ slap shot from the right faceoff dot eluded Pittsburgh goalie Jocelyn Thibault on a power play 53 seconds into overtime and the Florida Panthers ran the Penguins’ season-long winless streak to nine games by winning 4-3 Tuesday night in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins led 3-2 following goals by Dick Tarnstrom and Lasse Pirjeta in the third period, but the Panthers tied it on Lukas Krajicek’s power-play goal with 2 1/2 minutes remaining in regulation as he steered in Kristian Huselius’ shot from center point.

Penguins owner-captain Mario Lemieux then drew a disputed interference penalty in the final 17 seconds of the period that carried into the overtime, and Weiss took advantage of it to score his first of the season. An agitated Lemieux yelled at referees Stephane Auger and Dan O’Halloran as he left the ice.

Pittsburgh is 0-4-5, the longest season-opening stretch in its 39-season history without winning, and it has dropped its last 10 against Florida dating to the 2001-02 season. The Penguins have been the NHL’s only winless team for 1 1/2 weeks.

Canucks 3, Wild 1: At St. Paul, Minn., Markus Naslund broke a tie early in the second period with his team-leading seventh goal to help Vancouver beat Minnesota for its sixth straight victory.

The Canucks are 8-1-1, matching the best record after 10 games in team history.

Canadiens 3, Flyers 2 (OT): At Montreal, Mike Ribeiro scored his second goal of the game 2:28 into overtime to give the Canadiens a victory over Philadelphia.

Ribeiro also tied it midway through the third, taking advantage of a big rebound off goalie Robert Esche.

Islanders 4, Thrashers 3: At Uniondale, N.Y., Alexei Yashin had two goals and an assist to extend his points streak to seven games in New York’s win over Atlanta.

Miroslav Satan and Jason Blake also scored to help the Islanders win for the third time in their last four games.

Avalanche 5, Oilers 3: At Denver, Patrice Brisebois and Ian Laperriere scored in the final minute to help Colorado beat Edmonton to extend the Oilers’ losing streak to seven games.

It was a stunning finish for the Avalanche, who lost twice after blowing a pair of three-goal leads in their most recent homestand and fell behind 3-2 in this one.

Predators 5, Blackhawks 3: At Nashville, Tenn., Paul Kariya had a goal and an assist and Tomas Vokoun made a season-high 38 saves to help Nashville beat Chicago for its season-opening eighth straight victory.

Kings 3, Mighty Ducks 1: At Los Angeles, rookie Jason LaBarbera, a former Spokane Chief, made 29 saves, and Mike Cammalleri, Luc Robitaille and Craig Conroy scored goals to lead the Kings past Anaheim.

Coyotes 5, Blues 4 (OT): At Glendale, Ariz., Petr Nedved scored off a rebound 1:51 into overtime to give Phoenix a win over St. Louis. The score capped a wild night that saw eight goals in the second and third period.

Around the league

The New York Rangers signed forward signed forward Fedor Fedorov, the younger brother of Anaheim star Sergei Federov, to an NHL contract and recalled him from Hartford of the American Hockey League. The team also reassigned suspended defenseman Dale Purinton to Hartford. … The Washington Capitals recalled forward Brooks Laich from Hershey of the AHL and assigned forward Boyd Gordon to the minor league club.