It took Ed Belfour three starts to get his
first win as a Florida Panther. The Philadelphia Flyers have gone
five games without a victory.
Olli Jokinen scored the game-winning goal late in the second
period and Florida beat Philadelphia 3-2 on Friday night, the
Flyers' fifth straight loss.
Belfour had 25 saves for the Panthers, who started the season 4-0
at home for the first time since 1995-96, when they made it to the
Stanley Cup finals. Belfour, who signed as a free agent before the
season, improved to 1-2-0 this season.
``I was in the right spots to make the right plays,'' Belfour
said. ``We knew they were going to come hard and we tried to match
that.''
Jozef Stumpel and Juraj Kolnik also scored for Florida.
Simon Gagne had two goals for the Flyers, who last lost five
straight from March 28-April 4, 2002. Antero Niittymaki stopped 23
shots for Philadelphia.
``These ones hurt, they hurt a lot,'' Flyers coach Ken Hitchcock
said. ``We are 1-6-1 and we played seven hard games. It's tough on
everybody right now.''
Mike Van Ryn passed across the ice to Jokinen in the last seconds
of a power play, whose shot from the right of the crease got past
Niittymaki's glove with 1:43 left in the middle period to break a
2-2 tie.
Jokinen's game-winning goal is his 24th with Florida, breaking
the franchise record previously held by Pavel Bure.
``It was a pretty even game but it was good to get Eddie that
first win,'' Jokinen said. ``We worked hard against a team we've
struggled against. We deserve the two points.''
Gagne's second goal came 6:38 into the second period after a shot
by Sami Kapanen was blocked by Belfour. Gagne got the rebound and
poked the puck into the net to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead.
The Panthers tied it 34 seconds later when Kolnik's shot from the
top of the right circle beat Niittymaki on the glove side.
``We lost five in a row and you cannot get used to it,'' Gagne
said. ``Right now, we're in a very deep hole. I don't remember, on
my side, the last time I've been there.''
The Panthers scored on their first shot on goal. During a Flyers'
power play, Stumpel picked up a loose puck at centre ice and his
shot from the slot went through Niittymaki's legs for a short-handed
goal 2:01 into the game.
Philadelphia tied it at one at 16:45 of the period when Mike
Knuble passed across the front of the crease to Gagne on the right
side and he put the pack past Belfour on the glove side.
``This is a good win,'' Panthers coach Jacques Martin said. ``The
Flyers are a gritty team trying to work their way out of where they
are now. We had a good start and Eddie was really strong.''
Notes: Florida is 1-9-1 at home against Philadelphia since Jan.
17, 2000. ... Jokinen has 266 points as a Panther, which ties him
for fourth place on the franchise list with Rob Niedermayer. ...
Florida F Todd Bertuzzi was scratched due to back spasms. ...
Philadelphia F Peter Forsberg missed the game after spraining his
left wrist on Thursday at Tampa Bay.