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BOX SCORE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- The Florida Panthers thought they were
well on their way to their long-awaited first victory. A
third-period spurt by the Nashville Predators changed all of that.
Even though the Panthers took the lead 24 seconds in and held a
two-goal advantage going into the third Friday night, they couldn't
hold it and settled for a 3-3 tie with the Predators.
|  | | Greg Johnson and the Predators beat the Panthers to the puck Friday and outshot them 45-29. |
"We felt like it was going to be our night, but we kind of got
back on our heels," Florida captain Scott Mellanby said. "They
kept coming at us and coming at us."
The draw came at a price for the Predators, who lost top goalie
Mike Dunham with a knee sprain in the first period. The injury will
keep Dunham out of action for two to four weeks, the team announced
following the game.
Nashville's Sebastien Bordeleau and Scott Walker scored goals 57
seconds apart in the third period. Bordeleau connected at the left
post and Walker scored in a rush up the slot for Nashville, as the
Predators erased a 3-1 deficit and outshot the Panthers 20-7 in the
third period.
Florida's Pavel Bure was stopped on a breakaway by Nashville
backup goalie Tomas Vokoun with 2:43 left in regulation. Vokoun
then robbed Ray Whitney and Dan Boyle on the rebounds.
"I got the shot I wanted," Bure said. "Instead of trying to
put the puck between his legs I should have just gone around him."
The Panthers, who won 43 games last season, are 0-3-3-2. They
are the only team in the NHL without a win this season.
"It's very frustrating," Florida's Peter Worrell said.
"Obviously you want to win some games. Tonight we had the
opportunity to do it and just couldn't close it out."
Walker has become one of Nashville's most reliable forwards.
"That guy's fearless," Vokoun said. "He's 5-foot-10 and he
just goes into the battles. He plays very simple hockey, but very
effective."
Igor Larionov scored for Florida on the game's opening shift.
Bure sent a shot from the right corner toward Dunham. It hit
Larionov in a crowd of players near the right post and bounced in
the goal. Panther goalie Robert Luongo finished with 42 saves.
Dunham, one of the NHL's best goalies in the early season,
strained his left knee after stretching far to his right across the
crease in the final 10 seconds of the opening period. He was slow
to get up, and had to be helped off the ice by teammates Scott
Hartnell and David Legwand.
Vokoun replaced him to start the second period.
Vitali Yachmenev tied it 1-1 for Nashville on a power-play goal
off Roberto Luongo's glove midway through the second. Bure
connected just 1:25 later, beating Vokoun from the right circle to
put the Panthers back on top 2-1.
Rob Niedermayer made it 3-1 during a Florida two-man advantage.
"The opportunity to win the game was there going into the start
of the third period," Panthers coach Terry Murray said. "We lost
our composure. They came at us good . . . Luongo did make some very
big stops, and that's certainly the positive out of it."
Game
notes
Rookie Scott Hartnell played in his 10th game, hours after
a news conference in which Nashville general manager David Poile
announced Hartnell would stay with the club and not be sent back to
junior hockey. Hartnell, a gritty forward who was the team's first
choice in the June draft, has become a fan favorite. "I think a
lot of us, including the coaches, feel that his contribution to the
club has been steady and increasing," Poile said. ... Defenseman
Rory Fitzpatrick made his Nashville debut. He was recalled from
Milwaukee of the IHL on Thursday. ... Florida's 0-3-2-2 start was
the worst in club history. The best was 8-0-4 in 1996-97. ... The
game was Nashville's third straight to go into overtime.
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ALSO SEE
NHL Scoreboard
Florida Clubhouse
Nashville Clubhouse
RECAPS
Buffalo 2
Toronto 1
New Jersey 3
Carolina 3
Columbus 3
Washington 1
NY Islanders 2
Montreal 1
Ottawa 6
Tampa Bay 0
Minnesota 3
Calgary 1
Florida 3
Nashville 3
Pittsburgh 4
NY Rangers 1
Phoenix 4
Dallas 2
Atlanta 1
Vancouver 1
Anaheim 3
Edmonton 2
AUDIO/VIDEO
 Igor Larionov gives Florida the quick goal.
avi: 644 k
RealVideo: 56.6 | ISDN | T1
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