Hotstove: NHL's 2014 Winter Classic a 'huge success'

Video

Panel also discusses Dion Phaneuf's future with Leafs

CBC Sports Posted: Nov 23, 2013 8:08 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 23, 2013 8:09 PM ET

In the latest segment of Hotstove Tonight on Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday, the panel discussed the 2014 NHL Winter Classic and why the event has been so successful over the years. 

Commentator Glenn Healy said there are very few tickets left for the game between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings at at Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor, Michigan on January 1st.

Healy mentioned that he wasn't sure about outdoor games 10 years ago, but now realizes it has been one of the league's best ideas.  

The panel also examined what the NHL Board of Governors will be discussing in December, as well as Dion Phaneuf's future with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

For more on the story, watch the full segment in the video above.

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Coach's Corner: Praise for Clarke MacArthur

Video

Ottawa Senators forward has productive week

CBC Sports Posted: Nov 23, 2013 9:04 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 23, 2013 9:07 PM ET

Ottawa Senators forward Clarke MacArthur has caught Don Cherry's attention.

The Hockey Night in Canada commentator applauded MacArthur Saturday for his impressive moves this past week, including a between-the-legs, highlight-reel pass.

Watch the full Coach's Corner segment in the video above.

Comments on this story are pre-moderated. Before they appear, comments are reviewed by moderators to ensure they meet our submission guidelines. Comments are open and welcome for three days after the story is published. We reserve the right to close comments before then.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Pacioretty scores twice to lift Canadiens past Penguins

Tomas Plekanec had no problem Saturday night shutting down Sidney Crosby.

Plekanec was matched up with Crosby, and kept the Penguins star without a point as the Montreal Canadiens edged Pittsburgh 3-2 at the Bell Centre.

"You want to make sure he's not on the score sheet, and that's what we've done," said Plekanec. "When he's not on his game, when the game doesn't go his way, he's frustrated.

"That's what you want to accomplish. We wanted to get under his skin and make sure he wasn't on his game. When Crosby's slashing guys, jumping guys, you know he's off his game." 

'We wanted to get under his skin and make sure he wasn't on his game. When Crosby's slashing guys, jumping guys, you know he's off his game.'- Canadiens centre Tomas Plekanec

Crosby had four shots on the night, a minus-1 rating, and finished with a 22 per cent success rate from the face off circle.

Plekanec said Crosby trash-talked all game long.

"He was talking all the time," said Plekanec. "I didn't say anything. I was just listening. I'm a good listener."

Unlike Crosby, the Czech forward scored on the night, his seventh of the year, and finished 16 for 21 from the face-off circle.

"Every aspect of his game was excellent," said head coach Michel Therrien of Plekanec's performance. "He's a smart player. He's playing the right way. He's always in a good position on the ice. He's doing a lot of good things. I'm confident putting guys like that on the ice.

"It's always a challenge to face the league's best player, but he was up for the challenge."

Pacioretty scored twice for the Canadiens (13-9-2) to extend their win streak to three games, and Carey Price made 29 saves, including a big one on Crosby early in the first period.

"When you make a couple of stops early, it definitely helps you get comfortable," said Price, who now has a 2.05 goals-against-average and a .935 save percentage. "We're just trying to get a win. In order to do that, we have to play well against (Crosby). But they have a lot of other guys who can put the puck in the net."

Pittsburgh's (15-9-0) James Neal, beat Price twice in the third period.

With the score 3-0 early in the final period, Neal reduced the deficit when he rifled a shot over Price's glove and into the roof of the net on the power play.

He added another late in the game, sidestepping Price and sliding his fourth of the year in the back of the net on the backhand at 17:07.

Despite the two third-period goals, Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma thought Price was the difference in the end.

"In the third period, in the last four minutes, we had some flurries around the net, some pucks in there, and he was strong," said Bylsma. "We weren't able to crack him there. In the first period, he gave us three or four real good saves that we're the difference."

After a scoreless first period, Pacioretty scored his sixth of the year at 1:53 of the second to put the Habs ahead 1-0.

Pacioretty intercepted a weak clearance by Pens defenceman Olli Maatta in the neutral zone, skated across the blue-line, and snapped a quick, low shot off the post and in.

"They go in sometimes, and sometimes they don't," said Pacioretty. "And when you're feeling good, they do. I have that shot in my bag, and when I'm doubting myself, it probably doesn't go in. But I'm feeling good right now."

Plekanec added to the Canadiens' lead when his wrist shot beat Marc-Andre Fleury between the legs, and Pacioretty scored his second of the game, the eventual game-winner, a minute later after stealing a bouncing puck from Evgeni Malkin on the Pens' blue-line.

Fleury made 26 saves for the Penguins.

Montreal has now outscored its opponents 12-6 during its three-game win streak. The Habs are coming off a 3-2 victory against the Capitals on Friday in which they scored three times in less than five minutes in the first period to secure the victory.

The Canadiens travel to Buffalo to face the Sabres on Wednesday.

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Clarke MacArthur leads Senators in win over Red Wings

Clarke MacArthur and the Ottawa Senators snapped their three-game losing streak in an unlikely venue.

MacArthur scored two goals, and the Senators outlasted Detroit in a testy third period to beat the Red Wings 4-2 on Saturday night.

Ottawa won for the first time in four games, and the Senators have also taken two in a row at Joe Louis Arena for only the second time. They beat the Red Wings 6-1 in Detroit on Oct. 23. 

'Coming here is never easy. You've lost three in a row and you come in here and get a win.'- Senators winger Clarke MacArthur

Bobby Ryan scored the tiebreaking goal on a two-man advantage with 16:09 remaining for the Senators, and MacArthur added an insurance goal later in the third period. Chris Neil also scored for Ottawa."Coming here is never easy," MacArthur said. "You've lost three in a row and you come in here and get a win."

Pavel Datsyuk tied it at 2 early in the third — with the Red Wings enjoying a 5-on-3 power play. But Ottawa took advantage of its own opportunity when Detroit was down two men, going back ahead on Ryan's goal.

Detroit's Daniel Alfredsson was out of the lineup against his former team because of a groin injury.

Ottawa's only other back-to-back wins at Detroit were separated by nearly 18 months. The Senators beat the Red Wings 2-1 on Oct. 24, 1995, then beat them 3-2 on April 11, 1997.

Darren Helm scored in the first period for the Red Wings, who have won only one of their last nine games — although they have earned points in six thanks to a string of games that went beyond regulation. Detroit is 4-4-6 at home this season.

Datsyuk tied this one just over a minute into the third period. He sent what looked like a pass across the goal mouth, but the puck caromed off the left skate of Ottawa defenceman Jared Cowen and past goalie Robin Lehner for Datsyuk's 12th goal.

But with Helm in the box for hooking, Detroit's Kyle Quincey received a four-minute, high-sticking penalty, giving Ottawa a 5-on-3 edge for 81 seconds.

The Senators needed all but 5 seconds, but Ryan finally one-timed a shot past goalie Jimmy Howard from a sharp angle to the left of the net. It was his 11th goal of the season.

Ottawa Senators' Clarke MacArthur during the game Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013. (The Associated Press)

It wasn't long before the Red Wings were up two men again — their third 5-on-3 of the game. This one lasted 92 seconds. Ottawa killed it, although moments after one of the penalties expired, Detroit's Johan Franzen batted a rebound into the net with his left hand. The goal was immediately disallowed.

"We don't want to give up three or four 5-on-3s," MacArthur said. "I don't know if their skates were sharpened but they went down really easy a couple of times."

MacArthur's power-play goal with 4:02 to play made it 4-2.

Lehner had 34 saves. Howard stopped 25 shots.

Neil and Detroit's Brendan Smith fought in the second period, and the third period was full of skirmishes and penalties. There were nine minor penalties called in the third, in addition to Quincey's double minor. Detroit's Niklas Kronwall, Gustav Nyquist and Howard were all called for penalties in the final 5:51, limiting any chance of a comeback.

"I didn't like the Kronwall penalty. I thought it was an awful call, but other than that, you deserve what you get," Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "You can't be in the box all night. No one gets into rhythm like that."

The Senators led 2-1 after the first period despite being outshot 17-7. Detroit controlled the early stages and had the game's first eight shots. The Red Wings finally took the lead on a power-play goal by Helm.

Ottawa answered with two goals in 2:21. MacArthur was able to lift the puck into the net after a scramble in front of Howard, and the Senators took the lead on Neil's goal.

"We're a desperate team right now. We need every win and to get on a roll," Lehner said. "A lot of things went right after the first 10 minutes. It was a really good game."

Detroit had a two-man advantage for 1:33 in the second, but Ottawa killed it, to the delight of a group of Senators fans high above the goal Ottawa was defending.

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Blackhawks down Canucks with quick goals

The Vancouver Canucks made mistakes on back-to-back shifts against a team that knows a thing or two about scoring in quick succession.

It cost them dearly on Saturday night.

Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger scored nine seconds apart early in the third period and Corey Crawford made 36 saves as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated Vancouver 2-1 to send the Canucks to their sixth loss in seven games.

Saturday's barrage from the Blackhawks was eerily reminiscent of their Stanley Cup-clinching two goals in 17 seconds late in Game 6 of June's final against the Boston Bruins.

"It can turn around pretty quick if we get some chances, especially the opportunities we got," said Crawford, who outduelled fellow Canadian Olympic hopeful Roberto Luongo. "They were A-plus chances and usually we bury those and we did tonight."

Shaw redirected a pass from Patrick Kane in front of Luongo to tie the score 1-1 at 4:40 of the final period, moments after Chicago's Patrick Sharp ripped a shot on a power play that went off the crossbar and both posts but stayed out.

The Canucks then somehow gave up a 2-on-1 seconds after the ensuing faceoff, with Kruger firing a shot that went right through Luongo to give Chicago (16-4-4) its second straight victory.

"We got a greasy goal, a lucky one there to get us going, and then a big response the following shift. It was a big comeback," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, whose team has scored a league-high 87 goals this season. "We haven't had many games like this. Tight, tight games going into the third period so it's nice to find a way."

One night after his team exploded for a 6-2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets to snap a five-game losing streak that included just six Vancouver goals, Canucks head coach John Tortorella lamented the two lapses in concentration.

"I think we beat ourselves there, and teams like Chicago will capitalize on that," he said. "We kill a penalty, we get our guy on the ice and we throw the puck away — ends up in our net. A faceoff (play) we run and how we forecheck off a faceoff every time, we decide to go off the map with it and we give up an odd-man rush — it's in our net.

"That's a big part of the game."

Ryan Kesler scored on a 5-on-3 man advantage in the first period for Vancouver (12-9-4), which has been held to one goal in 10 of its 25 games so far this season.

The Canucks are 0-9-3 when scoring two goals or less and 12-0-1 when scoring three times or more.

Despite Vancouver's struggles to find offence, Luongo said his team can't forget about its own end.

"We have to learn how to win some games 1-0, 2-1," said Luongo, who played on consecutive nights for the first time since November 2011 and finished with 27 saves. "That's the way the league is right now. We can't just focus on the offence. If you look around the league, it's all low-scoring games. We have to find a way to win those."

After Chicago took the lead, Vancouver's Dale Weise had a great chance to tie things up but saw Crawford smother his backhand chance with under eight minutes to go.

The Canucks continued to press late, with Alexandre Burrows fanning on a shot in front off a pass with Luongo on the bench for the extra attacker before Daniel Sedin also failed to connect from the slot.

"We have to put pucks away. It can't just be one game and then you're off again," said Canucks captain Henrik Sedin. "It's about getting that feeling when you're going to score goals. Right now it's not happening."

Trailing 1-0 after the first period despite carrying the majority of the play, Chicago was thwarted by both Luongo and a lack of accuracy in front of goal in the second.

Johnny Oduya ripped a shot wide from the slot early in the period before Luongo stopped a Shaw deflection and made a pad save on Brandon Saad.

Vancouver's No. 1-ranked penalty killing then fought off Chicago's first power-play opportunity of the night, with the Blackhawks' best chance coming when Jonathan Toews fired a shot wide from the slot.

Burrows, who has not scored in any of his 14 games this season, then had a chance on a wraparound but couldn't find the range to beat Crawford.

"The most frustrating part is that you feel you're letting your teammates down," Burrows said of his slump. "They're counting on you to score some goals and you're not getting the job done."

Kesler opened the scoring late in the first period when Vancouver's 29th-ranked power play connected on a two-man advantage against Chicago's equally feeble 29th-ranked penalty killing unit. Jason Garrison's one-timer from the point rebounded right out to Kesler, who settled himself before burying his 10th of the season and first in eight games.

"I feel like we owned that first period and they come out on top, but we didn't get down on ourselves," said Shaw. "We kept working and stuck to it all game and it just took nine seconds."

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Canadiens survive Alex Ovechkin, Capitals

After David Desharnais had scored his long-awaited first goal of the season, after his team had taken a three-goal lead that prompted Washington Capitals coach Adam Oates to call out his veterans, and after Alex Ovechkin had scored twice to take the solo lead among NHL goal-scorers, there was still a lead for the Montreal Canadiens to preserve in the closing minutes.

And, for a few hectic seconds, Peter Budaj had to do it without his stick.

The Canadiens goaltender lost his stick in a crowd while the Capitals were pressing in the offensive zone. He started to reach down and pick it up, but everything was happening too fast. Finally, he used his pads to stop a close-range shot from Martin Erat and smothered the puck with about three minutes remaining, and Montreal held on for a 3-2 win Friday night.

"You feel kind of naked without it," Budaj said. "They had a couple of shots, but the guys, they knew that I had lost the stick and they were blocking shots, and then they had one from the corner there. I wanted to pick it up but then I was, like, I might as well not. I don't want to be getting scored on while I'm looking at the stick. I've just got to focus on the puck."

Budaj finished with 25 saves in place of usual starter Carey Price, and Travis Moen and Daniel Briere also scored for the Canadiens, who have won two straight thanks to a resurgence of Desharnais and linemate Max Pacioretty. Desharnais assisted on two of Pacioretty's three goals in Tuesday's 6-2 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin (8) battles for the puck with Montreal Canadiens defenseman P.K. Subban (76) and Canadiens centre Daniel Briere (48) in the second period Friday. (Geoff Burke/USA TODAY Sports/Reuters)

Desharnais' struggles had attracted the attention of Montreal's new mayor, who suggested on Twitter earlier this month than the forward be sent to the minors. Desharnais finally scored when he perched in front of the net to redirect Josh Gorges' drive, a goal that stood after a video review to determine whether it was scored with a high stick.

It was part of an outburst in which the Canadiens netted three goals on their first 12 shots, putting the Capitals in a 3-0 hole on the heels of their 4-0 drubbing by rival Pittsburgh on Wednesday.

Ovechkin scored on a late first-period power play and again in the third period to give him 19 goals, two ahead of Alexander Steen of the St. Louis Blues, but that wasn't enough to appease Oates, who emphasized a video review over on-ice practice after the Penguins loss.

"You know what? When you go on a losing streak, you always end up saying the same thing," Oates said. "Tomorrow morning on the video I will show the same stuff, I know it. ... Tonight I'm a little bit more mad at some of the older guys, to help the young kids out. We all watch our shifts, we all watch video, we have a simple formula, and when we don't do it, (the opponents) get chances."

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Athletes get psyched up on superstitions

Before Brian Bulcke hits the field, Tom Cruise must first go to battle.

The Hamilton Tiger-Cats defensive lineman says popping in the 2003 action flick The Last Samurai is one of his longest-running pre-game superstitions.

But as CBC News sports reporter Peter Armstrong finds out, superstitions aren't just quirky rituals athletes have. 

Watch the full video above for more on the psychology behind sports superstitions.

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Sedins power Canucks past Blue Jackets

Daniel Sedin ended his longest pointless skid in a decade with a bang Friday night.

He scored a goal and assisted on two by his twin brother Henrik as the Vancouver Canucks thumped the Columbus Blue Jackets 6-2.

Daniel Sedin's points were his first in seven games and helped the Canucks get their offence going after they suffered from a goal drought during a five-game losing skid. He had not had a similar six-game pointless streak since 2002-03.

"Six games feels like forever," said Daniel Sedin. "it's about the process, but in the end it's about scoring."

The Canucks (12-8-4)are fifth in the Pacific Division, while the Blue Jackets (8-12-3) lost for the fifth time in seven outings, good for seventh in the Metropolitan. Vancouver's goal total Friday matched its output during the losing skid.

"It does a lot for the confidence for a lot of guys and for the team knowing we can score," said Daniel Sedin.

Alex Edler, Zack Kassian, and Jeremy Welsh, with his first career NHL goal, also scored for the Canucks.

Matt Calvert — on the Blue Jackets' first shot of the game — and Artem Anisimov replied for the Blue Jackets. Columbus saw its fortunes change quickly after Daniel Sedin scored with 16 seconds left in the first period.

"They scored first. We were pretty upbeat, but the tying goal was key," said Daniel Sedin. "Coming in here [to the dressing room] with a tie instead of being down was huge, especially where we were as a team. From that moment on, I thought we played really well." 

'Coming in here [to the dressing room] with a tie instead of being down was huge, especially where we were as a team. From that moment on, I thought we played really well.'- Canucks forward Daniel Sedin

Kassian, Henrik Sedin and Edler iced the victory in the second by scoring two minutes and 10 seconds apart. Henrik Sedin and Edler scored just 16 seconds apart.

"It happened fast," said Columbus coach Todd Richards. "They do a really good job of forcing you and pressuring you, and I think the first period kind of carried over into the second and then they were able to finish, and a couple of quick goals against a good team like that is tough to recover from."

During their losing skid, the Canucks were held to one goal in four games and only managed two in the other.

"We didn't play a terrible game, but we lost the game in a couple minutes there in the second period," said Columbus defenceman Jack Johnson.

In a bid to get more scoring, Canucks coach John Tortorella split up the Sedins at times, and played them together at others. The moves worked as Vancouver outshot Columbus by a wide margin in the first 19 minutes and were finally rewarded with Daniel's goal in the closing seconds of the first period.

"It's a relief to get a win and to get rewarded with the forechecking that I thought was pretty good tonight," said Tortorella.

The Canucks responded well after an embarrassing 3-2 loss to the lowly Florida Panthers three nights earlier. But Tortorella and Henrik Sedin contended that the only difference from recent outings was the fact the puck went in more often.

"I don't think we played a whole lot better tonight than we have in the past three games, apart from the Florida game maybe," said Henrik Sedin. "But in the end, we got the goals people are standing and talking about a nice win instead of losing 2-1. That's a huge difference for us."

Canucks goaltender Roberto Luongo only had to make 14 saves as Vancouver outshot Columbus 35-16.

"I don't know what to tell you guys," Luongo said about letting in the first shot.

"I knew it was going to be that type of game, they are not a team that throws a lot of pucks a the net. Unfortunately they scored right away, so that's even tougher to stay in the game and battle. But we did a good job, We got some goals and it was easier to relax after that."

Blue Jackets goalie Sergei Bobrovsky recorded 29 saves in a losing cause, while the Canucks were blanked on five power plays and Columbus was denied on four man-advantage opportunities that generated few chances.

"It's nice to win a game where you don't have to go down to the wire and grind one out," said Luongo.

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Lions GM Wally Buono heads 2014 Canadian Football HOF class

He's the winningest coach in CFL history, a seven-time Grey Cup champion and one of the league's longest-serving and most respected executives.

And now, Wally Buono is a Hall of Famer.

The B.C. Lions general manager and vice-president of football operations headlines the class of 2014, which was unveiled Friday night by the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.

Also named for induction were former CFL players Ben Cahoon, Uzooma Okeke, Maurice (Moe) Racine and Charles Roberts as well as builder Larry Haylor (longtime CIS head coach) and former Ottawa Gee-Gees star running back Neil Lumsden.

Buono, 63, a native of Potenza, Italy, who grew up in Montreal, has the most career wins (254) of any CFL coach. Buono served as head coach and GM of the Calgary Stampeders from 1990-'02 before moving over to the B.C. Lions, remaining on the sidelines through the 2011 when he retired from coaching after the last of his record-tying five Grey Cup victories as a head coach to concentrate full-time on his GM duties.

Buono also won two Grey Cups as a player with the Montreal Alouettes before retiring in '83 to become an assistant coach with the Concordes. Four times he's received the Annis Stukus Trophy as the CFL's coach of the year.

Buono is also the all-time CFL coaching leader in career Grey Cup appearances (nine), seasons (22), first-place finishes (13) and games (396).

Cahoon, a 41-year-old Utah native who grew up in Alberta, spent his illustrious 13-year CFL career with the Montreal Alouettes. The sure-handed slotback, regarded as one of the league's best receivers ever, was twice the outstanding Canadian ('02, '03) and played in seven Grey Cup games, winning three.

Cahoon retired following the 2010 season as the CFL's all-time leading receiver with 1,017 career catches, a record Saskatchewan Roughriders star Geroy Simon surpassed this season. Cahoon recorded nine career 1,000-yard campaigns with Montreal.

Okeke, 43, of Beaumont, Tex., played 13 CFL seasons as an offensive lineman with Shreveport, Ottawa and Montreal. He appeared in 163 games over 10 years with the Alouettes and played in five Grey Cup games, winning in '02. Okeke, currently working in the Alouettes' front office, was also named the league's top lineman in '99 and was a seven-time all-star.

Roberts, 34, of Montclair, Calif., spent seven-plus seasons of his eight-year CFL career with Winnipeg, establishing club records for yards (9,987), 1,000-yard seasons (six), 100-yard games (37), carries (1,853), yards in a season (1,624) and all-time rushing TDs (64). A two-time CFL all-star, Roberts was the league's top special-teams player in '01 and appeared in two Grey Cup games with the Bombers ('01, '07) before finishing his career with the B.C. Lions in '08.

Lumsden, 60, of London, Ont., enjoyed a stellar college career at Ottawa and in '75 helped the Gee-Gees go 11-0 and capture the Vanier Cup. Lumsden ended his collegiate tenure as the Vanier Cup MVP. He left school first in all-time CIS scoring (410 points) and his 148 points in '75 was second all-time. That season, Lumsden scored 37 points — including five TDs — in a single game.

Lumsden played in the CFL from '76 to '85 with Toronto, Hamilton and Edmonton, winning three Grey Cups with the Eskimos (1980-'82) and being named the top Canadian in the '81 contest. Lumsden was also in the Ticats' front office when they won their last league title in '99.

Racine, 76, a native of Cornwall, Ont., was an offensive lineman and kicker with Ottawa from 1958-'74, appearing in five Grey Cup games and winning four times. He played 201 career games with the Rough Riders and was an East all-star three times. The franchise retired his No. 62 jersey upon his retirement.

Haylor, 67, of Prince Albert, Sask., spent 25 seasons as a Canadian university head coach (1971-'73 at Saskatchewan, 1984-'06 at Western). Seven times he was the OUA coach of the year and twice ('90, '98) received the Frank Tindall Award as the CIS's top coach.

Under Haylor, Western won the Yates Cup eight times and twice captured the Vanier Cup as Canadian university football's top squad. He retired in '06 with a 178-43-4 career record.

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Sean Monahan's SO winner lifts Flames over Panthers

For the second time in five days, Sean Monahan scored the game-deciding goal in a shootout to lead the Calgary Flames to victory.

After scoring in the eighth round on Monday to earn Calgary a 5-4 shootout win on the road over the Winnipeg Jets, Monahan duplicated that feat in the sixth round on Friday at home as the Flames edged the Florida Panthers 4-3.

"We've got to dig deep," said Monahan, who has eight goals and six assists in 23 games so far in his rookie season with the Flames. "We're trying to do whatever we can to get points right now. It feels good. We want wins. I guess putting those in helped the team get some wins."

Monahan snapped a hard shot just inside the far post over the right pad of Florida goalie Tim Thomas to earn Calgary the win.

"Just kind of outwaiting the goalie and shooting hard," said Monahan of the key to his success in the shootout. "It's something I tried to do and it worked."

Joe Colborne had a goal and an assist in regulation for his first multiple-point game with the Flames (8-11-4) since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the off-season for a fourth round pick in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.

"It's nice just to get a few wins in here and lighten the mood a bit," said Colborne, who also scored on Wednesday during Calgary's 2-1 overtime loss at home to the Columbus Blue Jackets. "We have obviously a very proud group in here. It's nice to have some music going in the dressing room and some guys who are smiling again. It's just a big team win."

Sven Baertschi and Blair Jones also scored for the Flames, who have now collected points in three straight games going 2-0-1 in that span.

Playing in his sixth straight game in net for the Flames, Reto Berra stopped 23 shots to improve his record to 3-4-2 in his first NHL season. Berra also stopped Florida forward Nick Bjugstad in the sixth round of the shootout to preserve the victory after Monahan scored.

Tom Gilbert, Jimmy Hayes and Marcel Goc scored for the Panthers (6-13-5), who finished up their five-game road trip with a 2-2-1 record.

"I've got to be real proud of the way the guys reacted," said Florida coach Peter Horachek. "Good road trip. From that standpoint, going .500 and all tough games, I think that's really positive."

Thomas, who played in his eighth straight game for the Panthers, finished with 21 saves.

"We showed a lot of character and a lot of good things, which we've done in the past and we did it again," said Thomas, who was hoping to outduel Berra in the shootout after the Panthers rallied from a 3-1 deficit with two goals in the third period. "When I see the team responding and stepping up like that I want them to get the two points."

Neither team mustered a shot on net until 5:41 of the first period when Thomas easily stopped and smothered a point blast off the stick of Calgary defenceman Chris Butler.

The Panthers took a 1-0 lead at 15:14 of the first on Gilbert's first goal of the season. Bjugstad won the faceoff back to Gilbert, who let go a shot from the point through traffic that fooled Berra and found the back of the net.

At the nine-minute mark of the second period, Colborne scored his third of the season to pull the Flames even. Lance Bouma did a good job of forechecking to force Florida defenceman Mike Mottau to turn the puck over. The puck bounced off of Calgary forward David Jones right to Colborne, who wired a perfect shot from the slot into the top corner over the outstretched glove of Thomas.

"It was more of a reaction," Colborne said. "When you get a puck in that area, you don't have much time and I just got it on my stick and tried to get it in the top corner."

Baertschi then broke out of a 15-game goal-less drought when he scored a power-play goal at 12:04 of the second to put the Flames up 2-1. Thomas gave up a big rebound of a point shot by T.J. Brodie that was tipped by Colborne and the puck bounced right to Baertschi, who swatted it into the back of the net.

Jones gave Calgary a 3-1 lead at 5:40 of the third when he converted a feed from Bouma for his first goal in his first game of the season with the Flames.

Just 82 seconds later, Hayes took advantage of a turnover by Berra to score his first of the season to pull the Panthers within a goal. Berra ventured out of his net in an attempt to poke check the puck away from Florida forward Shawn Matthias, but it went right to Hayes, who shot it into a wide-open net.

Goc scored at 14:01 of the third to force overtime when he outwaited Berra before snapping a shot that snuck under the Calgary goalie's left arm and into the net.

"They seem to respond every time," Horachek said. "We wanted to come back out in the third and do what we have to do and they scored and (we) didn't drop their heads."

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