Apr 9, 2009 10:43 pm US/Eastern
Panthers Win 3-2, Eliminated From Playoffs
ATLANTA (CBS4.com) ―
The Florida Panthers were eliminated from the playoff race after they beat the Atlanta Thrashers 3-2 on Thursday night.
David Booth scored with 4:25 left in the third period to lift Florida to a victory it had to have, but the Panthers (91 points) needed more help from around the NHL to stay in the Eastern Conference postseason mix. They didn't get it.
The Rangers' 2-1 victory against Philadelphia gave New York (93 points) a playoff spot, and the Montreal Canadiens (93) locked up a spot when they earned at a point in a 5-4 overtime loss to Boston.
Florida, New York and Montreal all have a game left, but the Canadiens and Rangers hold the tiebreakers with Florida. Nathan Horton and Cory Stillman also scored for Florida.
Defenseman Zach Bogosian scored twice for Atlanta.
The Panthers tied it at 2 when Stillman tipped in a shot by Gregory Campbell early in the third period. Booth scored his 29th goal by knocking in his own rebound past Atlanta goaltender Joahn Hedberg. Stephen Weiss had drew an assist, his second of the game.
Stillman's 17th goal came 50 seconds after Bogosian scored a short-handed goal to give Atlanta a 2-1 lead. Bogosian shot the puck over the left shoulder of Florida goalie Tomas Vokun from 15 feet out after a pass from Marty Reasoner for his ninth of the season.
The Panthers tied it at 1 with 3:20 remaining in the second period on a power play goal by Horton, his 22nd. The play was reviewed by officials and ruled a goal after video showed the shot hit high inside the net past Hedberg and bounced out.
The Thrashers had taken a 1-0 lead at 9:17 of the opening period when Bogosian scored on a power-play, beating Vokoun with a 20-foot shot from the point.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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