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Samsonov, Staal propel Hurricanes to shootout win

Mar 21, 2008 - 4:16 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- Sergei Samsonov and All-Star Eric Staal showed their teammates how it's done in the shootout.

Samsonov scored the decisive goal in the bonus format and Staal netted the clincher as the Carolina Hurricanes edged the Florida Panthers, 2-1, on Thursday.

Trevor Letowski tallied in regulation and Cam Ward stopped 36 shots for Carolina, which won its third straight and snapped Florida's record-tying seven-game winning streak. The Hurricanes (41-30-5) also increased their lead in the Southeast Division to seven points over the idle Washington Capitals (36-31-8).

"It's huge to get a win like that in a shootout against a team playing for so much," Staal said. "We went at it really hard and came out of here with two points. That's big."

Stephen Weiss tied the game early in the third period and All-Star Tomas Vokoun made 41 saves for Florida (35-31-9), which climbed within three points of idle Philadelphia (36-28-10) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

After a scoreless first round of the shootout, Ward stopped Nathan Horton's attempt, setting the stage for Samsonov. The Russian skated in and deked before backhanding the puck over Vokoun's pad, giving the Hurricanes the edge.

"You just want to take the best shot at it you can," Samsonov said. "(Vokoun) is really tough, and I was fortunate to get it past him."

Ward made another save on Weiss before Staal skated in and wristed a shot that sneaked between Vokoun's pads and trickled across the goal line, sealing the win.

The Hurricanes took an early lead as Letowski rifled a shot from just inside the blue line that went between the left arm and body of Vokoun at 3:22 of the first period. It was Letowski's seventh goal of the season and third against Florida.

"We got the break on that goal early, but to their credit, they hung in there and gave us quite a battle," Staal said. "Our work ethic is there. Everyone is chipping in."

While it may have appeared to be a soft goal, Vokoun said that was not the case.

"It didn't surprise me," Vokoun said. "It hit (defenseman Magnus) Johansson's stick and was going high and flying awkwardly. Then it dropped suddenly, and there was virtually nothing I could do about it."

Ward made it stand through 40 minutes, turning aside 25 shots - including seven with the Panthers on the power play.

"I thought we really showed our colors tonight," Hurricanes coach Peter Laviolette said. "I thought we came out the right way. We were resilient. Even through the second period, they ended up getting a lot of shots. Then at the end (of the second), they all came on the power play, but we held 'em in check."

However, Weiss struck quickly in the third period.

David Booth ripped a blast from just above the left faceoff circle that Ward kicked away with his left skate. Standing in front, Weiss banged in the rebound to even the contest at 1-1 just 22 seconds into the third.

"We had a couple of good chances in the second," Panthers coach Jacques Martin said. "If we could have put a few past (Ward), it would have been a different game.

"Both goalies made some big saves. At least we gain a point."

Making his 14th consecutive start, Ward also stopped 10 shots in the third and one in overtime en route to his 35th win of the season.

"Our defense did a tremendous job in front of me and keeping the pressure down as much as possible," Ward said. "Our team has the mind set now that we can get anything accomplished if we play together. We've overcome a lot with injuries and all."