Panthers earn rare road win
Joe Nieuwendyk got the Florida Panthers off to a good start to solving their road woes.
Nieuwendyk scored 32 seconds into the game on the first shot on net and Gary Roberts connected on the game-winner in the Panthers’ 2-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday.
“Any time you get a goal early it really lifts the team, especially on the road,” Nieuwendyk said. “Tonight was a good start for us.”
The Panthers improved to 7-2-1 in their last 10 games while also upping their sagging road record to 4-14-3. Not a bad way to open a five-game road trip.
“It’s huge,” said goaltender Roberto Luongo, who stopped 28 shots. “Guys are aware that this is probably the most important stretch for our team this year. … We definitely wanted to get off to a good start tonight and have a good week.”
Roberts sealed the win with a power-play goal in the third period, redirecting Olli Jokinen’s shot past Ryan Miller to break the tie.
Henrik Tallinder scored for Buffalo, which had a five-game home winning streak snapped and lost for only the fifth time in 23 games (18-3-2). Of the Sabres’ 12 losses this season, three have come against the Panthers, including two at Florida.
The Sabres went 0 for 7 with the man advantage, failing to score despite enjoying four consecutive power-play opportunities in the final 12 minutes. That included a 37-second stretch in which they enjoyed a two-man advantage.
“Our execution and passing wasn’t very good,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “We had a couple of guys on a couple of shifts who couldn’t handle the puck, and it disrupted the whole power play.”
It was a rare power outage for the Sabres, who failed to register a power-play goal for only the ninth time this season.
“We just can’t sit back and rely on the power play,” forward Tim Connolly said. “We have to be better 5-on-5 and we have to be more disciplined earlier in the game.”
The Panthers would prefer to be more disciplined late in the game, considering all the penalties they took down the stretch. But credit Luongo for preserving the victory. The only shot that beat him came from a bad angle to the left of the net, when Tallinder caught Luongo leaning off the post.
Roberts extended his points streak to five games, and has three goals and six assists over that stretch. With the assist, Jokinen extended his points streak to a career-high 10 games.
Connolly said the key to beating Florida is a strong start.
“Luongo is a tough goalie to play against when he has the lead,” he said. “He’s got all the confidence in the world.”
Thrashers 5, Capitals 2: At Washington, Marian Hossa scored twice, Ilya Kovalchuk had a goal and two assists, and Atlanta beat the Capitals. Scott Mellanby and Marc Savard each added a goal and an assist for Atlanta. The Thrashers, who scored three power-play goals, have won three of four road games. Washington’s Alexander Ovechkin scored a goal for the sixth straight game, and Dainius Zubrus also had a goal.
Mighty Ducks 4, Predators 2: At Nashville, Tenn., Joffrey Lupul scored a pair of goals in the first period to help Anaheim win its second straight. The two teams combined for five goals in the opening period. The Predators jumped out to 2-0 lead but Anaheim tied the game with consecutive goals from Lupul at 13:20 and 16:29 and went in front on Scott Niedermayer’s power-play goal. Jonathan Hedstrom also scored for the Mighty Ducks.