|
|
 |
 |
|
| |
Saturday, Apr. 1 7:30pm ET
Tie keeps Panthers on Capitals' heels | |||||
|
| ||||||
|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- If the Florida Panthers needed a reminder of what playoff intensity is all about, they got a good taste of it from an unlikely source -- the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Panthers, outplayed and outmuscled for much of the game, were rescued by Scott Mellanby's goal with 1:36 remaining in regulation to earn a 3-3 tie with Tampa Bay on Saturday night. Florida, which trailed 3-1 after two periods, outshot Tampa Bay 12-1 in the third period. "It's good for hockey and the NHL to have games like this," Tampa Bay coach Steve Ludzik said. "It would be great to see what it would be like if we were fighting for a playoff spot right now. Obviously, our two teams do not like each other and that's good for the game." Mellanby slid the puck past Zac Bierk off a nice feed by Mark Parrish, who was inside the right circle. "I went over to the net and just yelled for it," Mellanby said. "It was a little bit out towards the net and I just lunged forward and tried to redirect it towards the net. The goalie thought it was going across, but I just found the goal on the short side." Mike Johnson scored a pair of goals and had an assist for Tampa Bay in the physical contest. Vincent Lacavalier added a pair of assists. The Panthers, with Washington's 4-3 loss to Toronto, pulled within four points of the Capitals for the Southeast Division title. "We needed the two points," Florida coach Terry Murray said. "But getting down 3-1 was a very big hole. It doesn't matter what the record of a team that you're playing. It gives them confidence." The Lightning ended a nine-game losing streak in the series dating to March 21, 1998. Tampa Bay notched only one win in the prior 14 meetings. The Lightning haven't won a road game from the Panthers since April 10, 1996. The Lightning dropped to 0-7-9 in overtime. The Panthers are 2-21-2 when trailing after two periods. Tampa Bay, coming off an impressive 6-3 victory over playoff-bound Ottawa, jumped out to a 1-0 lead on Johnson's 18th goal. Brian Holzinger took the initial shot, which Mike Vernon stopped, but Vernon didn't cover the puck and Johnson skated in and poked it into the net. The Panthers tied it 1-1 just 2:38 into the second period on Ray Whitney's 26th goal. Whitney scored after a shot by Robert Svehla from the slot caromed off the end boards. Whitney reached a new career high with 66 points. Pavel Bure assisted on Whitney's goal, extending his scoring streak to 11 games. It's his second such streak of the year, becoming the only player in the NHL this season to accomplish the feat. Bure, with two assists, is the first Panthers player to reach 90 points. "It's always hard to play against those guys," Bure said. "They play with lots of passion and always want to win." The second period was marred by dirty play that included 62 minutes of penalties, 47 by Florida, and game misconducts issued to Florida's Brad Ference and Mike Sillinger, who was traded from Tampa March 14. Ference was ejected after a fight with Wayne Primeau. "They have a few guys on their team, that's their kind of role," Ference said. "Obviously, I could have handled myself a bit better in that situation. Stuff happens and you just move on." The Lightning wound up on a power play due to Ference's original penalty, for slashing, and took advantage when Todd Warriner scored to put Tampa Bay up 2-1. Johnson's second goal came at 14:24 of the second as he sent a shot from the slot past Vernon, who had won his five prior starts. Oleg Kvasha made it 3-2 when he rebounded a miss by Bure that went off Bierk's knees at 5:19 of the third. It was the first point for Kvasha since Feb. 21 and his first goal since Jan. 21. Tampa Bay only managed 19 shots, 15 in regulation, compared to 36 for Florida. "I'm getting tired of doing this," Parrish said. "I'd like to have the game in hand going into the third period and not have to scramble for your life." Of course, that's the way it is in rivalry games. "We're the closest teams and we're going to continue it," Tampa Bay's Jaroslav Svejkovsky said. "It's too bad we didn't get two points from it." | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard Tampa Bay Clubhouse Florida Clubhouse RECAPS Philadelphia 3 Pittsburgh 2
Tampa Bay 3 AUDIO/VIDEO   Mike Johnson puts the rebound past Mike Vernon for the goal.avi: 633 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||