Vokoun, Thomas match shutouts until Stillman breaks tie in shootout

By JIMMY GOLEN , Associated Press

Last update: November 12, 2009 - 8:55 PM

BOSTON - Tomas Vokoun stopped 40 shots for his third shutout of the season, and Cory Stillman scored in a shootout to give the Florida Panthers a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins on Thursday night.

Boston's Tim Thomas made 23 saves in regulation and overtime to extend his shutout streak to 172 minutes, 28 seconds. He stopped the first three Florida attempts in the shootout, but Stillman beat him on the glove side to end it.

The Bruins have not lost in regulation on their four-game homestand.

Florida snapped a two-game losing streak.

On a night dedicated to the nation's military, each team played stifling defense.

Boston held Florida to one shot on goal in the second period, and a small ripple of chuckles rose from the crowd when the second-period shots on goal were announced: "Boston 19, Florida 1." It was the fifth time this year that an NHL team has had one shot on goal in a period, according to STATS Inc.

But the score was still 0-0 at the time.

It stayed that way through the third period, with Vokoun stopping Patrice Bergeron on a spin move with less than a minute left. The five-minute overtime produced few chances — Boston outshot the Panthers 4-2 — and the Bruins put their first three shootout attempts off Vokoun's right leg.

Steven Reinprecht nearly gave Florida the advantage on the first shootout attempt when his shot bounced off and over Thomas toward the net. But the Bruins goalie swiped it out of the crease before it could cross the goal line, then Rostislav Olesz and Stephen Weiss shot wide of the net.

Stillman had three goals and three assists in his previous four games.

The Bruins had not won back-to-back games this season before beating Buffalo and Pittsburgh in the past week, shutting out the defending Stanley Cup champions 3-0 on Tuesday night. Thomas, who did not play against Buffalo, has not allowed a goal since the first period against Montreal last Thursday.

Florida's best chance to score in regulation came late in the first period with a 5-on-3 advantage, when Thomas flung himself across the crease to follow a cross-ice pass to Nathan Horton. Horton put the puck on net, but Thomas had the shaft of his stick flat on the ice to block it.

The Bruins, who were off Wednesday on Veterans Day, use the game to recognize members of the military in the crowd and played videos from those stationed overseas.

NOTES: F Milan Lucic practiced with the Bruins on Thursday morning for the first time since breaking right index finger on Oct. 16. But he was not active for the game. ... Florida's Radek Dvorak (knee), Dominic Moore (nasal surgery) and Kamil Kreps (foot) all returned to action.

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