Former teammates reunite — this time as goaltending foes
Luongo jokes, feels bad about beating Schneider
SUNRISE, Fla. — The Florida Panthers’ youthful energy won the first period.
New Jersey’s desperate energy dominated the second period.
A line that blended the young ( centre Nick Bjugstad) and desperate veterans ( wingers Brad Boyes and Scottie Upshall) took the third period and a 5- 3 win for the Panthers on Friday at BB& T Center, ending a threegame losing streak.
Boyes tied the game on a breakaway, then assisted on Upshall’s game winner in front of an announced 14,496. Rookie centre Vincent Trocheck threw in an empty- netter with 32.5 seconds left to clinch the win.
“All season, we’ve always had that push at the end, even when we come up short,” Boyes said. “Against Tampa ( Thursday) night, we had a couple of goals in the last minute, but we were a little short. ( On Friday night) we were able to complete that. ( The Devils) are fighting hard for a spot.”
Bjugstad’s line spent the night matched against Tuomo Ruutu, Travis Zajac and Jaromir Jagr, the latter leading the Devils in scoring at 42. Jagr got the Devils’ first goal that tied the game 1- 1 with 1: 15 left in a first period the Panthers owned before that. Longtime Panthers nemesis Patrik Elias assisted on Bryce Salvador’s first goal of the season, which put the Devils up 2- 1 and scored himself from wide of the left faceoff dot to expand the lead to 3- 2.
A scrum that included TSN and Sportsnet reporters surrounded Panthers once- and- again goalie Roberto Luongo, asking him about facing former Vancouver teammate and friend Cory Schneider, who took Luongo’s job before being traded to New Jersey last summer, and Sunday’s game against the Canucks.
Though Luongo joked about beating Schneider, “I actually feel bad. They need the points more than us,” he took great solace in stopping all 11 thirdperiod Devils shots.
Early in the period, with the Panthers still down 3- 2, Jagr barged in on a breakaway, threw a couple of backhand shots at Luongo and tried to almost guide the puck around Luongo with his long reach. Jagr’s attempt slid wide, but he quickly regained the puck and got stoned on the doorstep trying to shove home a two- goal lead.
“I wasn’t happy with myself after the third goal,” Luongo said. “The puck found its way between my arm and my pad. I came out in the third, I wanted to shut the door for the boys, and I was happy that I got rewarded with a couple of big goals.”
It took the Panthers 14: 30 of the second to get their first shot on goal of the period, but only 14: 32 to get their only goal of the period.
Panthers centre Scott Gomez, 34, the NHL’s Rookie of the Year for the 1999- 2000 Stanley Cup winning Devils who swept the Panthers in the playoffs, cruised into the right circle for a low wrister. The rebound from Schneider’s pad save came right back to Gomez, who fed Howden in the slot for a redirect that cut the Devils’ lead to 3- 2.