Sunrise, FL (My Sportsbook) - Jay Bouwmeester and Nathan Horton scored early in the third period to help Florida double up Carolina, 4-2, at BankAtlantic Center. David Booth and Gregory Campbell also tallied for the Panthers, who have won three of four. Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 shots for the win, improving to 10-12-1 on the year. Anton Babchuk and Sergei Samsonov scored for the Hurricanes, who saw their four-game win streak halted. Cam Ward took the loss after allowing three goals on 30 shots. Bouwmeester and Horton tallied in the first 3 1/2 minutes of the third period for a two-goal Florida cushion. Each goal happened in similar fashion, as the burly Panthers backliner tapped home a cross-crease feed at the left side of the net from Cory Stillman only 31 seconds in for a power-play goal and 2-1 lead followed by Horton tapping in Booth's dish at the right side of the crease at 3:26. Samsonov netted a nifty feed from Tuomo Ruutu with 4:45 left in regulation for a one-goal contest, but Campbell hit the empty net with 35.5 seconds to play to wrap up the contest. Booth managed to knock in a loose puck at the top of the crease with a backhander past Ward with 5:45 remaining in the first period, then Babchuk converted a pass from Matt Cullen with 2:10 to play. Game Notes Each club has won two games in the six-game season series...The next matchup comes in Raleigh on February 12...Florida failed to have a penalty called against it in the contest.
|