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Anderson makes 37 saves in Panthers' 4-0 win

Sunday, November 30, 2008

NEW YORK —  Stephen Weiss and Gregory Campbell scored 12 seconds apart in the second period and Craig Anderson made 37 saves for his sixth NHL shutout to lift the Florida Panthers to a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers on Sunday.

With Florida leading 1-0 on a breakaway goal earlier in the second by Ville Peltonen, Weiss and Campbell connected in quick-strike fashion to knock out Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist for the second time in three home games.

Anderson, making his second straight start over No. 1 goalie Tomas Vokoun, was steady in his second shutout this season. He stopped 43 shots in Friday's shootout loss to the Rangers.

Rookie center Michael Frolik added a goal and assist for the Panthers.

Lundqvist got the win at Florida at the start of the home-and-home series, but was gone with 3:47 left in the second period after allowing three goals on 23 shots. The Madison Square Garden crowd that came out on a rainy "Kid's Day" booed the Rangers off the ice after they were outshot 16-7 in the period.

Florida won after dropping a pair of consecutive overtime decisions and snapped New York's three-game winning streak. The Rangers (17-8-2) were shut out for the first time.

Peltonen got things going 9:55 into the second, after he was sprung free by a backward pass in the Florida zone by Radek Dvorak. Taking advantage of a pinch by Rangers defenseman Michal Rozsival and a fall by blue line partner Marc Staal, Peltonen streaked down the ice alone. He settled a bouncing puck and snapped a shot over Lundqvist's blocker.

Peltonen had a breakaway earlier in the period, but Lundqvist stopped him with a pad on that backhand chance.

Further Rangers breakdowns turned the tight game into a blowout.

One shift after Weiss limped off the ice after blocking Rozsival's shot during a New York power play, he gave the Panthers a 2-0 lead with his third goal. Rozsival and teammate Blair Betts couldn't control the puck in the corner to Lundqvist's right, and Weiss brought it out front and bounced a shot inside the left post at 16:01.

The Panthers, who totaled 11 goals in their previous five games, kept coming on the next shift. Dvorak beat forward Brandon Dubinsky to a puck in the right corner of the Rangers zone and made a perfect feed to Campbell for the redirection goal at 16:13.

Lundqvist then left in favor of Steve Valiquette. Lundqvist was also yanked during the Rangers' 6-3 loss to Vancouver on Nov. 19 when he gave up five goals on 17 shots. That marked the only time in his last 17 starts _ including Sunday _ that he yielded more than three goals.

Valiquette wasn't treated much better at 1:00 of the third period when Frolik made it 4-0 with his second NHL goal in 20 career games. Weiss and Frolik came in on a 2-on-1, and Weiss fired a shot off Valiquette's arm that left a big rebound. Frolik got to the puck and scored into the open right side.

Anderson preserved his shutout during a Rangers power play when he sprawled on his stomach to block Chris Drury's drive 6 minutes into the third.

Notes:@ The Rangers had won six of eight, with four wins coming in shootouts. ... Anderson made 43 saves in Friday's shootout loss to the Rangers. ... Florida improved to 4-8-1 on the road.

Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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