Football
18y

Panthers hand Devils second shutout loss in a row

SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- Roberto Luongo's personal milestone only
made the Florida Panthers' latest victory that much better.

Luongo and his teammates just wanted a win.

The Panthers goalie earned his 100th NHL victory and third
shutout of the season by making 22 saves in a 4-0 win over the New
Jersey Devils on Friday night.

"It (100th win) is nice to get but the two points are much more
encouraging," Luongo said. "It's a huge game for us."

Luongo improved to 20-20-8 and posted his first shutout since
notching back-to-back blankings in the first two games of the
season.

Martin Gelinas, Chris Gratton, Olli Jokinen, and Jozef Stumpel
all scored against New Jersey's Martin Brodeur, who earlier in the
day agreed to a six-year contract extension that will pay him $31.2
million.

The Devils were shut out for the second straight night in
Florida. New Jersey lost 1-0 at Tampa Bay in overtime on Thursday
and hasn't scored since the second period of a 4-0 win Tuesday at
the New York Islanders.

"When you don't score a goal in two games it's disappointing,"
Devils coach Lou Lamoriello said. "We just weren't sharp, it's as
simple as that."

It was Brodeur's first loss to the Panthers this season in four
games and snapped his 13-game unbeaten streak at Florida. Brodeur
stopped 36 shots.

"You can't really see it coming," Brodeur said. "I thought
we'd be able to bounce back. We had our chances. We'll move on from
this and learn we can't just play hockey, we have to play good
hockey."

Florida took a 1-0 lead at 9:26 of the second period. Jay
Bouwmeester took a shot from the point, and Gelinas put the rebound
between Brodeur's legs. It was the first power-play goal for the
Panthers in four games.

"Finally we were able to score the power-play goal and get a
lead," Jokinen said. "Then, we played solid hockey for 60 minutes
and shut them down."

The Panthers went ahead 2-0 on Gratton's goal at 12:23 of the
period. Rostislav Olesz passed from the left circle across the
front of the net to Gratton, who was waiting to the right of the
crease and put it in on Brodeur's glove side.

Florida stretched its lead to 3-0 at 6:19 of the third when
Jokinen's shot from the right circle got past Brodeur's
outstretched right leg and into the net.

"We played a smart and patient game and didn't beat
ourselves," Panthers coach Jacques Martin said. "Luongo made some
big saves at key times in the game."

Stumpel's shot from the left circle put the Panthers ahead 4-0
at 15:07 of the third.

Game notes
Olesz returned to the ice for the first time since injuring
his right shoulder on Jan. 12. ... Stumpel has nine points in seven
games. ... The Panthers are 9-1-3 at home since Dec. 13. ... The
Devils had won 10 of 11 before dropping two straight. ... Brodeur
is 27-9-7 against the Panthers.

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