NEW YORK, 22 February 2004 — Roberto Luongo made 34 saves for his fourth shutout of the season and 20th of his career as the Florida Panthers blanked the reeling Penguins 2-0 in Pittsburgh on Friday.
The Penguins ran their NHL record home losing streak to 13 games and lost their 17th straight game overall, although they did earn a point in an overtime loss in St Louis.
Pittsburgh hosts Ottawa today and a loss in that game would give the club its 18th straight loss, which would be an NHL record for most consecutive losses in one season. A loss or a tie would also equal the team’s longest winless streak. The Penguins went 0-17-1 from Jan. 2, 1983 to Feb. 10, 1983.
Pittsburgh coach Ed Olczyk tried to stay positive despite the poor run. “We are a team in an unbelievably tough stretch and it certainly makes it more difficult,” Olczyk said. “But not at any time did we feel like we were out of the game and I think you could tell that by the players’ effort.”
Kristian Huselius and Juraj Kolnik both scored in the second period on Penguins rookie goalie Andy Chiodo as the Panthers snapped a three-game winless streak (0-2-1) in the fourth game of a six-game road trip.
Chiodo, 20, played well in just his second NHL game. He has stopped 60 of 66 shots since being called up from the American Hockey League earlier this week.
In Detroit, Henrik Zetterberg scored a pair of powerplay goals and added an assist as the Detroit Red Wings thumped the St Louis Blues 5-1 in Detroit. Ray Whitney added a goal and two assists for the Red Wings, who have won six of their last seven games.
Kirk Maltby and Darren McCarty scored the other goals for the Wings, who ended the Blues’s three-game winning streak. Brett Hull added a pair of assists.
Doug Weight had the lone goal for St Louis. Manny Legace made 25 saves for Detroit, which took 1-0 and 3-1 period leads before putting the game away on third period goals by McCarty and Whitney.
In Dallas, Jason Arnott scored three goals as the Stars trounced the Colorado Avalanche 5-1. Pierre Turgeon and Scott Young both had a goal and an assist for Dallas, while Marty Turco had to make just 15 saves. Karlis Skrastins scored the goal for the Avalanche.
In Buffalo, Daniel Briere scored with 1:59 left in overtime to lead the Sabres past the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-3. Dave Andreychuk scored a pair of powerplay goals for Tampa Bay, giving him 265 in his NHL career, two more than Brett Hull for first place on the all-time list. Buffalo now has one more win than it had all of last season.
In Phoenix, Daymond Langkow scored with 19 seconds left in the third period to give the Coyotes a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jean-Marc Pelletier made 26 saves to get the win in just his fourth NHL game. Jeff Taffe added a goal and an assist for Phoenix.
In Anaheim, Scott Walker scored a 3:34 of overtime to give the Nashville Predators a 3-2 win over the Mighty Ducks. Walker also had two assists. Steve Sullivan added a goal and an assist for Nashville.
Avalanche Acquire Defenseman Boughner
The Colorado Avalanche, missing All-Star defenseman Rob Blake, acquired Bob Boughner from the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday.
