Panther Home Victory One for the Road

Maybe it was the uniforms.

The Florida Panthers, who have struggled at home this season, began 1998 by wearing their red road uniforms Thursday instead of their usual white at Miami Arena and the result was a 2-1 overtime victory over the New Jersey Devils.

Rob Niedermayer scored two goals, including the game-winner 1:53 into overtime, to give the Panthers only their fifth victory in 22 games at home. The Panthers are 10-7-2 on the road.

Said Panther defenseman Gord Murphy: “It seems every time we put the red on, we do well.”

Ottawa 0, Boston 0--The Senators, with Damian Rhodes making 24 saves, tied the Bruins at Boston for the franchise’s first scoreless tie.

Boston’s Byron Dafoe made 27 saves as the Bruins played their first scoreless tie since 1970 and their first at home since 1955.

The Senators, shut out by Buffalo’s Dominik Hasek in their last game, have now gone 147 minutes without a goal. Boston has won only once in its last eight games.

Toronto 3, Chicago 3--Alex Zhamnov and James Black scored on rebounds in a 45-second span late in the third period to rally the Blackhawks to a tie at Chicago.

The Maple Leafs had taken a 3-1 lead with 10:54 left in regulation on Mats Sundin’s goal. That was the Maple Leafs’ first power-play score in 15 games and 59 attempts. Toronto had gone zero for 51 with the man advantage in December, last scoring on the power play Nov. 29.

NHL Notes

The Pittsburgh Penguins may not be able to sign holdout center Petr Nedved until he clears NHL waivers or the season ends. Penguin General Manager Craig Patrick was prepared to make a new offer until he learned Nedved apparently played four games in a lower-tier league in his native Czech Republic. Under NHL rules, a player who competes outside North America after the league’s regular season starts must clear waivers before he can return. Nedved’s agent, Tony Kondel, said he consulted the NHL Players Assn. before advising Nedved he could play because the Czech team, Novy Jicin, isn’t a professional team. He plans to ask the union to intervene on Nedved’s behalf.