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Booth, Panthers skate past Pens

Fri 7th, March 2008

Sunrise, FL (Sports Network) - David Booth registered a goal and two assists, as the Florida Panthers thumped the Pittsburgh Penguins, 5-2, at BankAtlantic Center.

Stephen Weiss, Brett McLean and Bryan Allen each posted a goal and an assist for the Panthers, who opened a season-high, seven-game homestand by winning their third straight game. Olli Jokinen recorded two assists, while Craig Anderson, making his third consecutive start, made 25 saves to earn the win.

Florida has 70 points on the season and sits six points behind Philadelphia, which defeated Tampa Bay, 3-2, on Thursday, for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Ryan Malone and Kris Letang scored for the Penguins, who had a two-game win streak halted. Marc-Andre Fleury allowed three on 19 shots in the first period and was replaced by Ty Conklin at the start of the second. Conklin finished the game with 21 saves.

"I'm not going to try to diagnose it," Conklin said about the team's play. "But, our (goalies') job is to stop the puck, plain and simple, regardless of how many shots we give up. We've been scoring goals too. I think we haven't been as happy with our game as we should be, as a team, not as individuals and not in any one individual area."

Pittsburgh is tied with Montreal, which downed the Phoenix Coyotes, 4-2, on Thursday, for the top spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Panthers hounded the Penguins from the drop of the puck, registering the first nine shots of the game, two of which found the back of the net.

Booth notched his 20th goal of the season at 4:19 to put the Panthers on the board and Rostislav Olesz buried a rebound in front 39 seconds later to make it 2-0.

Pittsburgh trimmed its deficit in half 1:21 later, snapping Anderson's shutout streak at over 150 minutes in the process. Hal Gill's blast from the left point was tipped by Malone, who was positioned in the slot, but Anderson got a piece of the puck. However, Malone spun around and backhanded the rebound between the legs of the netminder.

It was the first tally Anderson, who recorded consecutive 1-0 shutouts over the Islanders and Bruins, had allowed since the second period of Florida's 2-1 overtime victory over Philadelphia on February 23rd.

"Once they (Penguins) scored, it was actually a big weight off my chest," Anderson said. "There's a bit of pressure there (the shutout streak), but it's good that we followed through there and came through with a big win tonight."

The franchise record for consecutive shutout minutes is 182:37 held by Roberto Luongo from February 21-27, 2004.

Florida regained a two-goal lead when Weiss slipped a rebound past a sprawled Fleury with 2:06 remaining in the frame.

Florida extended its lead to 4-1, as McLean battled down low and jammed home a loose puck behind Conklin at the 3:34 mark of the second.

Letang lit the lamp at 9:02 to cut the deficit to two. As Pittsburgh's power play expired and Nathan Horton left the penalty box, Letang shifted to the middle of the ice and unleashed a shot from the point that squeezed between the pads of Anderson.

Allen's empty-net marker with 52 seconds remaining in regulation sealed the win. It was his first tally since November 21st.

Game Notes

Prior to the game, Panthers head athletic trainer Dave Zenobi was presented the ADT's "Good Sport Award" for his efforts in helping to stabilize the cut to forward Richard Zednik's neck...Florida hosts Atlanta on Saturday...Pittsburgh concludes its three-game road swing Sunday in Washington...Anderson has won six of his last seven starts overall...Jokinen appeared in his 553 game as a Panther, passing Scott Mellanby for second place on the franchise's all-time games played list...Pittsburgh won the four-game season series (3-1-0)...The Florida Panthers suspended veteran forward Chad Kilger indefinitely on Wednesday for failing to report to the team.

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