NHL Panthers hammer Penguins
The 6-3 win snapped Florida's five-game home winless streak.
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) -- The Florida Panthers finally won at home.
Valeri Bure scored two goals to help the Florida Panthers snap a five-game home winless streak with a 6-3 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night.
It was the Panthers first home win since Oct. 9.
Stephen Weiss, Niklas Hagman, Mike Van Ryn and Olli Jokinen also scored, and Roberto Luongo made 18 saves for the Panthers.
"There was a lot of pressure on the team with the distraction of home-ice advantage or disadvantage," Panthers coach Mike Keenan said. "They responded well even with a goal deficit. We kept our composure and kept at it."
Milan Kraft had two goals for Pittsburgh, which played without Mario Lemieux. Rico Fata added a goal for the Penguins, and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 40 shots.
Bure's second goal put Florida ahead 4-3 with 6:39 left, and Van Ryn followed with a power-play goal with 4:16 to go.
"It was a big relief for our club," Bure said. "We wanted to win and showed a lot of character after falling behind."
Most shots
The Panthers had 46 shots, their highest total of the season.
"I do not think they had that many shots on goal," Penguins coach Ed Olczyk said. "I know exactly the kind of [stuff] that he [Keenan] pulls. He just wanted to rub our face in it."
Keenan didn't see it the same way.
"We're going to continue to preach shooting because that's what you have to do in the NHL against goaltending that is exceptional," Keenan said. "It's the shot mentality."
Kraft's second goal put the Penguins ahead 3-2 48 seconds into the third period, but Weiss, recalled from San Antonio on Thursday, tied it at 5:03 with his first goal since March 3.
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