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Monday, Apr. 3 7:30pm ET
Panthers one win from clinching fifth | |||||
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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Panthers were more interested in points than paybacks. Pavel Bure scored his league-leading 56th and 57th goals, tied for the NHL scoring lead, and extended his point streak to a career-high 12 games as Florida beat New Jersey 5-2 on Monday night. The Panthers, 5-1-1 in seven games, scored three straight goals against Devils goalie Chris Terreri, who was subbing for Martin Brodeur. New Jersey also played without star defender Scott Stevens. "They're a good all-around team even without those two guys in the lineup, so this was a good win," said Panthers goalie Mike Vernon, who stopped 39 shots and is unbeaten in six starts. Florida left wing Peter Worrell, sidelined two weeks by a concussion, returned to action without any serious incident. New Jersey's Scott Niedermayer hit Worrell over the head with his stick March 19, earning a 10-game suspension, and several Devils players vowed payback for Worrell's throat-slashing gestures toward the bench. Worrell also threatened Niedermayer, but only four penalties were called through the first two periods. Worrell and Colin White got major penalties for fighting in the third period. "It's a little different with four games left," Panthers right wing Mark Parrish said. "If it was 30, it would have been more of a street fight or a bloodbath" The Panthers hoped Worrell's situation wouldn't be an issue, so they could stay focused on the importance of the game. The victory moved the Panthers within a win -- or a loss by Ottawa -- of clinching the fifth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. "You want to keep your foot on the gas," Panthers coach Terry Murray said. You want to put it right down on the floorboards and get things going and keep it going when you can." New Jersey could have used a victory as well. The Devils are seeking to stay atop the Atlantic Division and capture home-ice advantage throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Devils, 5-5 in their last 10 games, took a 1-0 lead in the first period on Sergei Brylin's 18th goal. He deflected Ken Daneyko's shot from just inside the blue line and beat Vernon. Florida, which beat the Devils for the first time in nine games, got two goals in a span of 22 seconds in the closing minutes of the first and led 2-1 at the intermission. Len Barrie's shot from the left circle deflected off Terreri and rebounded to Alex Hicks, who tried to poke it in. Hicks' first shot rebounded into the air, where he caught it, dropped it in front of the goal and Scott Mellanby tipped it home. Parrish scored his 25th goal seconds later. He redirected a shot from Mike Wilson. "We know that we're in a slump and we're trying to get out of it," center Bobby Holik said. "No one wants to go into to the playoffs like this." Bure's first goal came on a power play 22 seconds into the second period. He slashed between two defenders and scored his ninth empty-netter of the season with eight-tenths of a second remaining. "We were like a yo-yo, playing up and down all night," New Jersey right wing Randy McKay said. | ALSO SEE NHL Scoreboard New Jersey Clubhouse Florida Clubhouse RECAPS Buffalo 3 Toronto 2
Florida 5 AUDIO/VIDEO   Alex Hicks knocks the puck down, and Scott Mellanby puts it past Chris Terreri.avi: 473 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Len Barrie beats Chris Terreri for a goal.avi: 605 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1 Ken Daneyko slaps a shot past Mike Vernon.avi: 415 k RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1   | |||||