|
RECAP
|
BOX SCORE
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Viktor Kozlov took a night off from his
normal playmaking and started playing like Pavel Bure.
| | Viktor Kozlov's decision to shoot more and pass less paid off big for the Panthers on Wednesday. |
Kozlov ended a six-game goal-scoring drought with his first hat
trick, and Bure had a goal and two assists as the Florida Panthers
beat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 5-1 Wednesday night.
"Kozzy's been playing great," linemate Ray Whitney said.
"He's handling the puck with confidence and he's using his body
better than he ever has.
"He's doing things that a guy who's 6-foot-6 with those skills
should be doing. At times, I think he overhandles the puck instead
of shooting it. But with a shot like his, I think he could be a
goal-scorer if he wanted to."
Whitney had a goal and an assist for the Panthers, 6-3-2 against
the Ducks since the teams entered the NHL in 1993. Jaroslav Spacek
and Robert Svehla each recorded two assists.
Anaheim lost for the fourth-straight game.
Kozlov broke open a scoreless game with a pair of power-play
goals just over two minutes apart in the first period.
Guy Hebert was yanked after surrendering three first-period
goals for the first time this season.
"Overall we were just horrible tonight," Paul Kariya said.
"The power play and special teams let us down."
Kozlov, who leads the Panthers with 25 assists, began his
scoring binge midway through the first with a 35-foot slap shot
from the left circle that snuck between Hebert's legs. His next
goal was a one-timer from above the left circle.
"Kozlov's got a great shot, and we've been talking to him from
the time he's come to us about shooting the puck," coach Terry
Murray said of the six-year veteran, who once had a hat trick for
Dynamo Moscow in the European Cup. "The puck seemed to go in for
him tonight.
"I would not encourage a couple of those shots on a consistent
basis because it's not going to happen," Murray said. "But he saw
something tonight and it was good to see them go in."
The Panthers' third goal came with just three seconds left in
the period. Bure carried the puck across the blue line and faked a
shot in the left circle before Whitney redirected Bure's centering
pass past Hebert.
Kozlov's third goal gave Florida a 4-0 cushion at 5:11 of the
second. The Panthers' center was credited with his 11th goal after
his attempted centering pass for Whitney banked off defenseman Niklas Havelid and past relief goalie Dominic Roussel.
The hat trick was Florida's fourth of the season and first by
someone other than Bure, who scored four times in the Panthers'
previous game on New Year's Day.
Kozlov became the first player to get a hat trick against the
Ducks since Feb. 17.
A breakaway goal by Anaheim's Jeff Nielsen six minutes into the
second period prevented Mikhail Shtalenkov from blanking his
ex-teammates for the fourth time in five starts.
The seven-year veteran had two shutouts this season with Phoenix
and a 1-0 win last January with Edmonton.
Shtalenkov is 6-1 against the Ducks and has stopped 135 of 138
shots in his last five outings against them.
"Shtalenkov's played very well," Murray said. "I think that
moving around from team to team the last couple of years has been
hard on him. You keep wondering why it happens when you're at that
stage of a guy's career, but his résumé in world hockey is
outstanding and he's won some very big games for us."
Bure ended the scoring 1:50 into the third with his 26th goal.
The Panthers are 15-1-1 this season when Bure scores.
| |
ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Anaheim Clubhouse
RECAPS
NY Rangers 3 Toronto 2
New Jersey 3 Pittsburgh 1
Dallas 3 Nashville 1
Colorado 4 Calgary 0
San Jose 1 Edmonton 1
Tampa Bay 3 Vancouver 3
Florida 5 Anaheim 1
AUDIO/VIDEO
Viktor Kozlov scores on the first power play for Florida.
avi: 654 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Viktor Kozlov scores with the hard slap shot.
avi: 651 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
Viktor Kozlov gets the hat trick.
avi: 683 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
|