Retooled Oilers put boot to Florida;Horcoff sends Panthers kicking and screaming into the loss
After earning a victory in their season opener with some pretty goals, the Edmonton Oilers showed they can also win ugly.
Shawn Horcoff had the game winner on a disputed goal and Nikolai Khabibulin made 26 saves as the Oilers scored three times on three straight shots to defeat the Florida Panthers 3-2 Sunday night.
Dustin Penner and Ryan Jones also scored for the new-look Oilers, who are 2-0-0 to start the season.
Edmonton's goal came seven minutes into the second period as rookie Taylor Hall sent a puck in front that looked to have been kicked in by Horcoff. The play survived a video review, earning Hall, the 2010 first overall draft pick, his first NHL point.
The Panthers couldn't believe the goal was allowed.
"It looked like a kick to me," Panthers coach Peter DeBoer said. "The interpretation of that rule, I don't understand. I don't know if you have to take a punter's kick at it in order for it not to count."
Florida goaltender Tomas Vokoun had a better angle on the play than anyone.
"It looked pretty clear to me," he said. "I don't know what else a kicking motion could be described as. It didn't surprise me that they counted it. They are trying to get the scoring up so they are counting everything, I guess."
Oilers head coach Tom Renney credited Khabibulin for giving them the chance to win a match in which they were clearly outplayed at times.
"He was outstanding," Renney said. "He was our best player. It's good to know we have that."
Marty Reasoner had both goals for the Panthers, who were playing their first game of the season.
Newcomer Nathan Horton scored a second-period goal and added an assist, lifting the Boston Bruins to a 3-0 victory over the Phoenix Coyotes in Prague.
The teams split their two-game series to open the season in the Czech capital.
Curtis Glencross scored a short-handed goal and Miikka Kiprusoff made 21 saves as the Calgary Flames won their home opener, 3-1 over the Los Angeles Kings.
The Devils will be without enforder Pierre-Luc Letourneau-LeBlond for Monday's game against the Penguins. The winger drew an automatic one-game suspension for instigating a fight with Washington's Marcus Johansson and will lose one game's salary, $2,822.58 U.S. Devils coach John MacLean was also fined $10,000. Letourneau-LeBlond was assessed 21 penalty minutes in the game.
Atlanta Thrashers goalie Ondrej Pavelec has been released from hospital but there's still no explanation for why he collapsed in the season opener.
The team announced via Twitter that Pavelec was released Sunday after being hospitalized for two nights.
Pavelec, 23, suddenly fell backward in front of the net with just 21/2 minutes into the season opener against Washington on Friday night. He sustained a concussion from hitting his head on the ice, but all tests to determine what caused him to collapse came back normal.
