Emag.co.uk Entertainment News Leader
Sabres forward Drew Stafford is denied by Roberto Luongo
Roberto Luongo made a winning return to Florida colours as the Panthers recorded a 2-0 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.
Luongo, acquired in a trade with Vancouver on Tuesday, was back in goal for Florida for the first time since 2006 and marked the occasion by making 25 saves to claim his fourth shutout of the season.
Dmitry Kulikov and Jesse Winchester each scored power-play goals as the Panthers registered just their second victory in seven games.
“I thought the boys played really hard for 60 minutes,” said Luongo. “As soon as the other team maybe generated a little bit of something, we came right back and answered the bell.
“Kudos to all the guys in front of me tonight. It was really a team effort.”
Florida are already out of play-off contention but Luongo has called on his side to finish the season strongly.
“It’s important to have the right mind set for the last 20 games, the right attitude,” he said.
“Even though, obviously, in all likelihood, we probably won’t make the playoffs, you want to bring a winning attitude into the dressing room.
“Even if the games don’t mean much, you want to play hard for the guys, especially for the guys playing for jobs here next year.”
Elsewhere, Eastern Conference leaders Pittsburgh returned to winning ways with a 3-2 shootout win at Western Conference table-toppers Anaheim.
Penguins centre Brandon Sutter scored on a backhander in the sixth round of a shootout to give his side a road victory.
Derek Stepan netted on a 5-on-3 power play with less than three minutes remaining as the New York Rangers rallied for a 4-2 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
The Hurricanes appeared in good shape with a 2-1 lead after centre Jeff Skinner scored on a penalty shot with 7:53 to play, but New York scored three times in the last seven minutes.
It was another frustrating outing for the New York Islanders however after they threw away a two-goal lead for the second successive night against the Calgary Flames.
Right winger Joe Colborne scored twice for Calgary in the third period, the first two-goal effort of his NHL career as the Flames ran out 4-3 victors.
Lastly, rJohan Franzen registered two goals and two assists to lead the Detroit Red Wings to a 7-4 rout of the New Jersey Devils.
The Red Wings led 5-3 after a wild second period in which seven goals were scored.
New Jersey goalie Cory Schneider stopped 25 shots but also conceded seven goals for the first time in his career.
