Penguins Pound Panthers
SUNRISE (CBS4) — Pittsburgh defenseman Zbynek Michalek scored with 7:49 left and the Penguins handed the Florida Panthers their eighth consecutive loss, 3-2 on Saturday night.
Tyler Kennedy and Pascal Dupuis also scored for the Penguins, who solidified their hold on fourth place in the Eastern Conference. Jordan Staal had three assists, and Craig Adams scored an empty-net goal with 1:30 remaining.
Brent Johnson stopped 28 shots for Pittsburgh, which swept Florida in a season series for the first time.
The Panthers took a 2-1 lead in the first period on goals by Jack Skille and Clay Wilson 22 seconds apart. It was the fastest two goals scored by Florida this season.
After Kennedy gave Pittsburgh a 1-0 lead with his 20th goal, Skille netted his first for Florida since being acquired from Chicago in February.
Skille, who missed the previous four games and 16 of 18 because of an ankle injury, scored at 14:38. He knocked down a pass from Marty Reasoner in front of the net and flicked a quick shot past Johnson.
"It's just good to get the monkey off my back. Now I can just worry about playing hockey and trying to hep this team win," Skille said.
Wilson scored his third goal in 12 games since begin recalled from the minors at 15:00 when he beat Johnson with a wrist shot from just outside the left faceoff dot.
Dupuis tied it 45 seconds into the second period when Max Talbot's spin-around backhand attempt from the front of the net went across the crease. With Scott Clemmensen out of position, Pascal Dupuis scored into an open net.
The Panthers are on their worst skid since a 12-game slide during the 2005-06 season (0-8-4). The Panthers haven't won since beating Toronto 4-0 on March 17.
(©2011 CBS Local Media, a division of CBS Radio Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
