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Thursday, Dec. 30 8:30pm ET
Thibault comes through for 'Hawks | |||||
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CHICAGO (AP) -- Jocelyn Thibault overcame a rib injury to get the best of Pavel Bure and Florida Panthers. "I could feel it all the time, but it was feeling good so I just wanted to stay on the ice," said Thibault, who made 29 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks beat Florida 2-1 on Thursday night. Bure failed to record a point, ending his team-record points streak at 11 games. He had 12 goals and nine assists during the streak. "Sooner or later, it would end, so it's normal," Bure said. "You just have to appreciate what you had." Thibault hit the ice in pain two minutes into the game when he was struck in the ribs by Mike Wilson's shot. "He deserves full marks tonight," Chicago associate coach Lorne Molleken said. "He battled. A lot of shots he didn't see, but he battled to find them." Panthers coach Terry Murray agreed. "Thibault did a great job," Murray said. "He made some outstanding stops." Doug Gilmour and Alex Zhamnov scored for Chicago. Zhamnov broke a 1-1 tie with five minutes left in the second period. After passing to Dean McAmmond, Zhamnov skated down the slot and one-timed McAmmond's return pass under goalie Mikhail Shtalenkov. Gilmour opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 6:52 of the first period. He knocked the puck out of the air after Shtalenkov made a glove save on Bryan McCabe's shot from the point. Ray Sheppard tied it 38 second later, backhanding the puck over Thibault's shoulder. Sheppard, who signed with Florida as a free agent Nov. 15, scored for the first time since April 6 with Carolina. Goalie Mike Vernon, acquired by Florida from San Jose earlier in the day, joined the team, but did not dress for the game. "We'll get him in a game as quickly as we can," Murray said. "He'll be established as our No. 1 guy right off the bat. We'll play him accordingly."
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Chicago 2 AUDIO/VIDEO Doug Gilmour slaps the puck in. avi: 605 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 |