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Armstrong scores in OT as Penguins edge Panthers

Feb 23, 2007 - 6:57 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- Colby Armstrong needed a little extra time to take advantage of a familiar foe.

Armstrong scored at 2:39 of overtime and rookie Jordan Staal added his 25th tally as the Pittsburgh Penguins bounced back from a rare loss with a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.

Pittsburgh rebounded from Monday's defeat to the New York Islanders, which ended a streak of 16 consecutive games with at least one point. Thursday's triumph raised the Penguins' mark in their last 18 contests to 15-1-2, including seven wins in their last eight.

"It was a battle out there," Penguins superstar Sidney Crosby said. "There wasn't very much tight checking, and that made the game wide open. But both goalies were up to the challenge and it came down to one chance, and we were able to convert it (in overtime)."

Armstrong sealed the victory with 2:21 remaining in the extra session, skating in from the right side and lifting the puck into the top right corner of the net from the faceoff circle. It was his first goal since tallying against Florida on January 10, a span of 15 games.

"It was nice to get the win," Armstrong said. "I just got open on the right side and had a clear shot. With the way (goaltender Ed Belfour) was playing, you just hope for the best, and I found just enough of an opening to get it past him."

The Penguins opened the scoring on a power play with 3:35 left in the first period. Staal redirected fellow rookie Evgeni Malkin's slap shot past Belfour for his ninth goal in 10 games and a 1-0 lead.

"You don't run into a goalie like that every game, so when you get one, it's pretty satisfying," Staal said. "I'll tell you, when you look back on that one, you feel fortunate to come away with a win."

Florida tied it with 2:19 left in the middle session, when Chris Gratton made a centering pass in front to Juraj Kolnik, who banked the puck off the left goalpost for his seventh tally.

Crosby, the league's leading scorer with 96 points, collected his 70th assist and Jocelyn Thibault made 32 saves to raise his record to 4-5-2 for Pittsburgh.

"Both goalies came up big, and when you have a game like that, you just have to get the breaks," Crosby said. "We put a lot of pressure on (Belfour) all night, but he (has) been solid for them."

"I knew it was going to be one of those nights." Thibault said. "I'm just glad it went our way. The way (Belfour) was playing, you knew it was going to come down to the wire and that a big shot would be the difference."

Belfour stopped 39 shots for the Panthers, who have lost three of their last four.

"These (games) are the tough ones," Florida defenseman Jay Bouwmeester said. "Eddie was pretty amazing out there. What he (is) doing is incredible. I just wish we could have helped it work out better for him tonight."

"Sometimes we try to press too much and it gives the other team the advantage," Panthers blue-liner Mike Van Ryn said. "We're all pretty disappointed, but we just have to find a way to get better."