The Florida Panthers lost to the Edmonton Oilers on Friday night in a shootout at Bank Atlantic Center. Jose Theodore stopped 20 of 21 shots for the Cats but the offense could not solve Edmonton's Devan Dubnyk on the other end. The Oilers broke the scoreless tie less than two minutes into the second period when Ryan Jones took a feed from Jordan Eberle and beat Theodore for his 16 goal of the season.
The Oilers would not have the lead for long, however, as Jason Garrison evened it up just three minutes later with his 16th goal of the season. But that would be it as both goalies stood tall over the final twenty minutes and overtime to force a shootout. The netminders continued their impressive play in the shootout, stuffing the first six shots in the first three rounds. But in the bottom of the fourth round, the young and dynamic Ryan Nugent-Hopkins would seal the Edmonton win, finally breaking through in the shootout. The Cats maintained their lead in the division over Washington, who lost at home in overtime to Winnipeg. They now travel to New York to face the Islanders on Sunday evening.
For more news, analysis, and discussion on the Panthers, visit Litter Box Cats, SB Nation's Panthers blog. For the perspective from the other side, be sure to check out The Copper & Blue, SB Nation's Edmonton Oilers blog. For all your NHL news as the playoffs approach, check out SB Nation's NHL hub page.