Panthers’ Slide Continues With 3-1 Loss to Flames

The Florida Panthers continued their late-season swoon, losing, 3-1, to the Calgary Flames on Friday night in Miami as Dave Gagner scored two goals.

The Panthers, a Stanley Cup finalist last season, continued to fade in the Atlantic Division. They have only one win in their last 10 games (1-7-2). Their only consolation was that they ended a two-game scoreless streak. The Panthers finally got a goal when Ray Sheppard scored midway through the second period.

Gagner scored three minutes into the game and added an empty-net goal with 31 seconds left. Mike Sullivan scored for Calgary early in the third period, only his fourth goal of the season.

Hartford 2, Montreal 0--Goaltender Sean Burke stopped 26 shots for his second shutout in a row and third in his last five games as the Whalers won at Hartford to stay in the thick of the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Burke, who has four shutouts this season, made a couple of sharp saves during an earlier Montreal power play to establish a strong presence for the Whalers en route to the 14th shutout of his career.

Hartford broke a scoreless tie late in the first period on a goal by forward Robert Kron. Steve Chiasson, a defensemen obtained from Calgary on Wednesday, also scored for the Whalers, who completed a seven-game home stand at 4-2-1.

The win moved Hartford two points ahead of idle Tampa Bay into seventh place in the conference standings. The Canadiens remained two points out of a playoff berth.

Dallas 2, Edmonton 1--Andy Moog and Arturs Irbe combined to stop 28 shots as the Stars won their fifth game in a row at home, improving their record to 9-1 at Reunion Arena since the All-Star break.

Moog made 17 saves and shut out the Oilers before leaving after two periods because of a sprained ankle. Irbe gave up Mike Grier’s goal with 4:13 to play on a rebound.

Moog, whose injury was being evaluated by Stars after the game, picked up his 354th victory, tops among active goalies.