GAME THREAD: NHL: FLORIDA (15-18) at MONTREAL (16-16)

NHL: FLORIDA at MONTREAL

<div class="pre">** CONFIRMED **
NHL
FLORIDA 3
MONTREAL 2</div>

 

By Mark Lidbetter
PA SportsTicker Contributing Writer


MONTREAL (Ticker) - The Montreal Canadiens may be one ofprofessional sports' most storied franchises, but they don'tseem to have an answer for the Florida Panthers.


Jozef Stumpel and Brett McLean each scored first-period goals tohelp the Panthers defeat the Canadiens, 3-2, on Tuesday. Itwas Florida's fourth consecutive victory over Montreal.

Montreal has claimed 24 Stanley Cup titles in its existence,with the last one coming in the 1992-93 season - the seasonbefore Florida began play as an expansion team. The Panthersare the only team that can claim a winning record against theCanadiens, going 27-16-4 with six ties.


"It's not too hard to get up to play games like this," Pantherscenter Stephen Weiss said. "It's an exciting building to playin especially against a team like Montreal. Tonight, we had asolid game and deserved the win."


Florida scored twice on eight shots in the first period bycapitalizing on Montreal's sloppy play. The lack of offensivediscipline led to only three shots on goal in the opening 20minutes for the Canadiens.


"The first period we were waiting to see what would happen andwe didn't have the jump (needed) to win the battles in thecorner," Canadiens center Saku Koivu said. "They were ready,they wanted the puck and scored those first two goals and theyare a very good team when they have the lead. They play a tightdefensive game.


"We have games where we seem to be playing very well for 40minutes and then there's 15-20 minutes where we get in trouble."

Stumpel opened the scoring at 14:13 of the first, converting apass from Olli Jokinen on a perfectly played 2-on-1 break.Jokinen forced defenseman Andrei Markov and goaltender CareyPrice to commit before feeding a streaking Stumpel, who firedthe puck into the open net.


"Olli made them think he was shooting and he made a really niceplay," Stumpel said. "All I had to do was shoot it into theopen net."


Price's miscue with 1:48 remaining in the first period allowedthe Panthers to take a 2-0 advantage.


The rookie netminder skated to the right corner to make aclearing pass only to see the puck end up on the stick of McLeanjust inside the Montreal blue line. McLean one-timed the puckinto the vacant net for an unassisted goal.


"I understand mistakes are part of the game," Montreal coach GuyCarbonneau said. "I believed it as a player and I believe itas a coach. With Carey, I think he was careless. He's going tolearn, he's still young and we don't expect him to be perfect,we don't ask him to be perfect - but he needs to be better."

Weiss blasted the puck from just inside the blue line that beatPrice, giving the Panthers a 3-0 lead with 7:05 remaining in thethird period.


Markov broke up Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun's bid for histhird shutout in 11 days when he scored at 8:25 of the thirdperiod.


With Florida holding a 3-1 lead, Markov struck again withanother wrister with 24 seconds remaining, but Montreal couldn'tnet the equalizer.


"We know there's no easy games, we had a good cushion but it wasstill closer than we would have liked," Vokoun said. "We hungon and won the game and that's what matters. We need to learnto play through those crucial moments and win the game."

Vokoun finished with 23 saves to win two consecutive starts forthe first time this month for the Panthers, who have not lost inregulation time in Montreal since January 28, 2003 - going3-0-1-3 in that time.


During the final scramble in which Montreal was desperatelytrying to notch the equalizer, Koivu was assessed a majorpenalty for cross-checking and a game misconduct with no timeremaining. The Canadiens' captain was unaware in the dressingroom of the call.


"There was a play and I was in the corner, it (the call) was forwhat?" Koivu said. "Cross-checking? I don't know."

The call may result in Koivu sitting out for one game,eliminating him from the lineup for Thursday night's gameagainst the Washington Capitals.


Price finished with 27 saves for the Canadiens, who begin asix-game road trip that will take them away from the Bell Centreuntil January 3.

 

NHL: FLORIDA at MONTREAL

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Florida 2 0 1 --3
Montreal 0 0 2 --2
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida, Jozef Stumpel 5 (Olli Jokinen),
14:13. 2, Florida, Brett Mclean 2 (Unassisted), 18:12. Penalties: R
Hamrlik, Mon (hooking), 9:56.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Bench, Fla (too many men served by S
Weiss), 2:29; A Kostitsyn, Mon (holding), 5:41; R Hamrlik, Mon
(interference), 17:14.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Florida, Stephen Weiss 6 (Gregory
Campbell), 7:05. 4, Montreal, Andrei Markov 7 (Kyle Chipchura, Mike
Komisarek), 8:25. 5, Montreal, Andrei Markov 8 (Saku Koivu), 19:36.
Penalties: B Mclean, Fla (high sticking), 10:36; S Koivu, Mon (cross
checking match, game misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Florida 8 15 7 --30
Montreal 3 9 13 --25
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Florida - 0 of 3, Montreal - 0 of 2. Goalies :
Florida, Tomas Vokoun (25 shots, 23 saves; record: 16-12-1). Montreal,
Carey Price (30 shots, 27 saves; record: 9-6-2). A: 21,273. Referees:
Bill Mccreary, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Mark Shewchyk, Pierre
Racicot.</div>

 

NHL: FLORIDA at MONTREAL

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
FLORIDA 2 0 1 --3
MONTREAL 0 0 2 --2
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida, Jozef Stumpel 5 (Olli Jokinen),
14:13. 2, Florida, Brett Mclean 2 (Unassisted), 18:12. Penalties: R
Hamrlik, Mon (hooking), 9:56.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Bench, Fla (too many men served by S
Weiss), 2:29; A Kostitsyn, Mon (holding), 5:41; R Hamrlik, Mon
(interference), 17:14.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Florida, Stephen Weiss 6 (Gregory
Campbell), 7:05. 4, Montreal, Andrei Markov 7 (Kyle Chipchura, Mike
Komisarek), 8:25. 5, Montreal, Andrei Markov 8 (Saku Koivu), 19:36.
Penalties: B Mclean, Fla (high sticking), 10:36; S Koivu, Mon (cross
checking match, game misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
FLORIDA 8 15 7 --30
MONTREAL 3 9 13 --25
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: FLA - 0 of 3, MON - 0 of 2. Goalies : Florida,
Tomas Vokoun (25 shots, 23 saves; record: 16-12-1). Montreal, Carey
Price (30 shots, 27 saves; record: 9-6-2). A: 21,273. Referees: Bill
Mccreary, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Mark Shewchyk, Pierre Racicot.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

FLORIDA MONTREAL
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
G Campbell 0 1 even 2 S Koivu 0 1 even 1
O Jokinen 0 1 +1 4 T Plekanec 0 0 even 5
R Dvorak 0 0 -1 1 R O'Byrne 0 0 even 0
J Stumpel 1 0 +1 2 C Higgins 0 0 +1 2
N Horton 0 0 +1 0 M Dandenault 0 0 -1 0
B Mezei 0 0 even 0 J Gorges 0 0 -1 2
R Zednik 0 0 even 1 M Lapierre 0 0 -1 0
J Cullimore 0 0 +2 0 A Kovalev 0 0 even 2
R Salei 0 0 -1 1 K Chipchura 0 1 even 1
T Glass 0 0 even 0 M Streit 0 0 -1 1
J Bouwmeester 0 0 -1 0 R Hamrlik 0 0 even 3
B Allen 0 0 even 2 A Kostitsyn 0 0 even 1
B McLean 1 0 +1 2 F Bouillon 0 0 -1 1
K Kreps 0 0 even 0 T Kostopoulos 0 0 even 1
A Stewart 0 0 even 3 M Ryder 0 0 +1 0
S Montador 0 0 +2 4 S Kastsitsyn 0 0 even 1
R Olesz 0 0 +1 5 A Markov 2 0 even 3
S Weiss 1 0 -1 3 M Komisarek 0 1 -1 1
D Booth KNEE INJURY P Brisebois SHOULDER
S Begin SHOULDER
G Latendresse UPPER BODY</div>

 

NHL: FLORIDA at MONTREAL

<div class="pre">------------------------------------
Florida 2 0 1 --3
Montreal 0 0 2 --2
------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida, Jozef Stumpel 5 (Olli Jokinen),
14:13. 2, Florida, Brett Mclean 2 (Unassisted), 18:12. Penalties: R
Hamrlik, Mon (hooking), 9:56.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Bench, Fla (too many men served by S
Weiss), 2:29; A Kostitsyn, Mon (holding), 5:41; R Hamrlik, Mon
(interference), 17:14.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Florida, Stephen Weiss 6 (Gregory
Campbell), 7:05. 4, Montreal, Andrei Markov 7 (Kyle Chipchura, Mike
Komisarek), 8:25. 5, Montreal, Andrei Markov 8 (Saku Koivu), 19:36.
Penalties: B Mclean, Fla (high sticking), 10:36; S Koivu, Mon (cross
checking match, game misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on goal:
---------------------------------------
Florida 8 15 7 --30
Montreal 3 9 13 --25
---------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: Florida - 0 of 3, Montreal - 0 of 2. Goalies :
Florida, Tomas Vokoun (25 shots, 23 saves; record: 16-12-1). Montreal,
Carey Price (30 shots, 27 saves; record: 9-6-2). A: 21,273. Referees:
Bill Mccreary, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Mark Shewchyk, Pierre
Racicot.</div>

 

NHL: FLORIDA at MONTREAL

<div class="pre">-----------------------------------------
FLORIDA 2 0 1 --3
MONTREAL 0 0 2 --2
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Florida, Jozef Stumpel 5 (Olli Jokinen),
14:13. 2, Florida, Brett Mclean 2 (Unassisted), 18:12. Penalties: R
Hamrlik, Mon (hooking), 9:56.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: None. Penalties: Bench, Fla (too many men served by S
Weiss), 2:29; A Kostitsyn, Mon (holding), 5:41; R Hamrlik, Mon
(interference), 17:14.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Florida, Stephen Weiss 6 (Gregory
Campbell), 7:05. 4, Montreal, Andrei Markov 7 (Kyle Chipchura, Mike
Komisarek), 8:25. 5, Montreal, Andrei Markov 8 (Saku Koivu), 19:36.
Penalties: B Mclean, Fla (high sticking), 10:36; S Koivu, Mon (cross
checking match, game misconduct), 20:00.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
FLORIDA 8 15 7 --30
MONTREAL 3 9 13 --25
----------------------------------------

Power-play Conversions: FLA - 0 of 3, MON - 0 of 2. Goalies : Florida,
Tomas Vokoun (25 shots, 23 saves; record: 16-12-1). Montreal, Carey
Price (30 shots, 27 saves; record: 9-6-2). A: 21,273. Referees: Bill
Mccreary, Stephane Auger. Linesmen: Mark Shewchyk, Pierre Racicot.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

FLORIDA MONTREAL
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
G Campbell 0 1 even 2 S Koivu 0 1 even 1
O Jokinen 0 1 +1 4 T Plekanec 0 0 even 5
R Dvorak 0 0 -1 1 R O'Byrne 0 0 even 0
J Stumpel 1 0 +1 2 C Higgins 0 0 +1 2
N Horton 0 0 +1 0 M Dandenault 0 0 -1 0
B Mezei 0 0 even 0 J Gorges 0 0 -1 2
R Zednik 0 0 even 1 M Lapierre 0 0 -1 0
J Cullimore 0 0 +2 0 A Kovalev 0 0 even 2
R Salei 0 0 -1 1 K Chipchura 0 1 even 1
T Glass 0 0 even 0 M Streit 0 0 -1 1
J Bouwmeester 0 0 -1 0 R Hamrlik 0 0 even 3
B Allen 0 0 even 2 A Kostitsyn 0 0 even 1
B McLean 1 0 +1 2 F Bouillon 0 0 -1 1
K Kreps 0 0 even 0 T Kostopoulos 0 0 even 1
A Stewart 0 0 even 3 M Ryder 0 0 +1 0
S Montador 0 0 +2 4 S Kostitsyn 0 0 even 1
R Olesz 0 0 +1 5 A Markov 2 0 even 3
S Weiss 1 0 -1 3 M Komisarek 0 1 -1 1
D Booth KNEE INJURY P Brisebois SHOULDER
S Begin SHOULDER
G Latendresse UPPER BODY</div>