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Zednik rallies Panthers past Maple Leafs again

Feb 11, 2009 - 5:22 AM SUNRISE, Florida (Ticker) -- Richard Zednik has a new reason to remember February 10.

Exactly one year after having his throat lacerated by a teammate's skate, Zednik netted a pair of goals - including the winner early in overtime - as the Florida Panthers rallied from a three-goal, third-period deficit for a 5-4 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday.

Brett McLean, Nathan Horton and Ville Peltonen also scored for the Panthers, who overcame a two-goal deficit in the final session in Toronto last week en route to a 4-3 overtime triumph.

"It was a pretty nice win, and it was even better because (Zednik) played such a huge role," Horton said. "We just kept pressing and pressing and stuck with the game plan."

Cory Stillman, Kamil Kreps and defenseman Nick Boynton collected two assists apiece and Tomas Vokoun made 35 saves for Florida, which has won six of its last eight contests.

"To come back from what he came back from is a great story in itself," Florida coach Peter DeBoer said of Zednik. "He has such character and dedication, and he works so hard. I couldn't be happier for him."

Niklas Hagman tallied twice and Jamal Mayers and Nik Antropov notched a goal apiece for the Maple Leafs, who have lost all three meetings with the Panthers this season.

"We have the lead, 4-1, and then a couple of broken plays and it gets away from us," Toronto goaltender Vesa Toskala said. "We have been having difficulty keeping it together for 60 minutes."

Zednik was involved in the one of the scariest incidents to happen on an NHL rink on February 10, 2008, when former teammate Olli Jokinen's skate came up and cut his throat during a game in Buffalo. He was forced to undergo surgery later that night to repair a partially severed carotid artery.

"He had to go through so much. The memory is so vivid. It's like it happened yesterday," Florida's Gregory Campbell said. "We really didn't know if he would ever play hockey again."

But on this day, Zednik played the role of hero. The 33-year-old Slovakian tied the game at 4-4 with 5:29 remaining in the final session, knocking in the rebound of Kreps' off-angle shot.

"What an exciting game. Our resiliency really showed tonight," DeBoer said. "No one on the bench ever got down. This is such a character group of guys."

Zednik was not done, taking a pass from Stillman and blasting a one-timer past goaltender Vesa Toskala just 68 seconds into the extra session. Stillman led the 2-on-1 rush and teed up Zednik with a perfect pass to the slot.

"It's amazing. Exactly one year (from the injury) and I get the game-winning goal," Zednik said. "It's like a dream. I can't describe the feeling."

Many Panthers fans were thinking about making an early exit after Antropov gave the Maple Leafs a 4-1 lead at 7:47 of the third. But Horton answered just 26 seconds later and turned the momentum.

"We knew we had the ability to come back," Horton said. "Everybody just played with an intensity and didn't quit."

Peltonen cut the deficit to 4-3 with 9:12 left, setting the stage for Zednik's heroics.

"Everyone has been so supportive. I couldn't ask for better mates," said Zednik, who was mobbed by his teammates after scoring the decisive goal. "I didn't know if I would ever play again, and to have this happen, it's just hard to believe."

Toronto coach Ron Wilson said the team lost its composure as Florida rallied.

"For most of the game, we were poised and did a good job," Wilson said. "But in the last 10 minutes, we just didn't quite get it done. And in the overtime, we made a couple of bad decisions, probably tired decisions, and it ended up costing us."

Hagman felt his goals were not as meaningful without the end result being a win.

"We just couldn't hold on to the lead again," Hagman said. "That's obviously what separates us from them. They're battling for a playoff spot."