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Jokinen's shootout goal lifts Panthers past Rangers

Nov 24, 2007 - 5:23 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- The Florida Panthers turned to Olli Jokinen to keep the team rolling.

Jokinen scored the lone goal in the fifth round of the shootout and Tomas Vokoun made 28 saves to lead the Panthers to their third consecutive win, a 3-2 triumph over the New York Rangers on Friday night.

After four scoreless rounds, Jokinen sent a wrist shot between the pads of Rangers goaltender Stephen Valiquette. Chris Drury hit the post on his ensuing attempt to end the game.

"It was well-deserved," Jokinen said. "I was practicing (penalty shots) for the first time in my life this summer. I told a couple guys that I've got a couple of new moves. They asked me to show them those moves, but I said I'll wait for the game. I don't think I've scored one in practice when I've been doing my old stuff."

"Jokinen just got off a good shot," Valiquette said. "It was one of those things. I never lost my focus; he just managed to get it past me."

David Booth and Stephen Weiss tallied in regulation for Florida, which has won four of its last five games after losing four straight contests.

Vokoun said there's no different mentality for having to face five shooters.

"The mentality is to stop the puck all the time," Vokoun said. "There's not much to it. It's always a pressure situation and that's when you have a chance to make a difference. You can't be scared. You have to embrace a chance like that, try and be the difference."

The Rangers tied the game at 2-2 just moments after Valiquette denied Josef Stumpel on a breakaway. With a man advantage, Scott Gomez delivered a pass through the crease to Drury, who banged in his second goal of the night with 3:50 left in the third period.

"It was certainly nice to chip in, but it would also have been nice to extend the shootout," Drury said. "Some nights, you'll get good chances and get goals and other nights you can't buy a goal - so it all evens out."

Valiquette also stopped Stumpel on a breakaway in overtime. The Panthers thought they had won the contest midway through the extra session when defenseman Steve Montador's slap shot went in, but Richard Zednik was called for a holding penalty.

"I think we probably played the best game we've played all year," Vokoun said. "We got some great chances. Their goalie played great. We played pretty good defensively for most of the night. There's not much we could do on that one (5-on-3) power play, just try and kill it off."

Florida dominated the first period everywhere but the scoreboard.

Valiquette made 19 saves and Drury tallied with eight seconds remaining to give the Rangers a 1-0 edge at intermission. Drury poked a rebound of a Michal Rozsival slapshot into the left corner of the net past Vokoun.

"We had that (against) Columbus," Weiss said of giving up a goal in the final seconds of a period. "We learned from it and had a good third period. We weren't going to let that beat us with 40 minutes to go."

Valiquette started his second game of the season in goal - and first-ever against the Panthers. Despite playing in just his 14th career game, Valiquette was sharp for most of night, making 33 saves and keeping the Rangers in the game.

"He was terrific," Rangers coach Tom Renney said. "That's why he was here and we felt he was more than ready to play."

Booth tied the game at 1-1 at 10:53 of the second when his shot glanced off the right post and into the net. It was Booth's sixth goal of the season, which doubles his total in 48 games from last season.

Weiss gave Florida a 2-1 advantage early in the third period with a power-play goal that he sent through Valiqutte's legs from just outside the crease. It was Weiss' third goal of the campaign.

The Rangers had been 9-2 in November, but Renney said there was just one reason why his team lost.

"I'm not real happy with our overall effort," he said. "I don't think we came out prepared to compete and be mentally and physically engaged to go up against a team (like Florida)."