Florida Panthers

The Panthers are in the midst of playing their best hockey of the season -- and their timing couldn't be better.

Saturday's impressive 3-2 victory over the Rangers at Madison Square Garden was Florida's eighth win in its last 11 games. The Panthers concluded a crucial three-game road trip with wins in all three games as Florida won at Buffalo, at Detroit and vs. the Rangers at New York.

The Panthers have moved to within a point of eighth place in the Eastern Conference despite a horrid start in which they won just two of their first 10. The Panthers are also just three points out of fifth place in the East -- only this is no time to slow down.

The Panthers open up a three-game Thanksgiving homestand Monday against the Penguins, with the Rangers and Maple Leafs also coming to Sunrise. The Panthers are in the midst of a rough stretch in which they play every other day until Christmas.

So far, the team has lost wingers Cory Stillman and Gregory Campbell for an undetermined amount of time -- and with no time to heal, the Panthers are going to need help from other players.

With Saturday's win, the Panthers climbed above .500 in the win column at 10-9-2.

PANTHERS 3, RANGERS 2: The Panthers took the game to the host Rangers and held a 3-1 lead in the third period before having to hold off the home squad. Florida, coming off a 2-1 overtime win in Detroit the night before, outshot the Rangers 12-7 in the opening period and never let off the gas.

Down 1-0 in the first period despite dominating play, the Panthers got on the board early in the second as Steven Reinprecht jumped on a loose puck in the slot and beat Henrik Lundqvist. Later, defenseman Jordan Leopold scored off a goofy goal as he lofted a shot toward the net just trying to work the puck in low. Instead, the puck skipped off the ice and somehow got past Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Nathan Horton continued his hot streak in the third by scoring off a Stephen Weiss rebound to make it 3-1.

Marian Gaborik scored to bring the Rangers within one during the third, but Tomas Vokoun held on to win for the fourth time in five starts. Vokoun made 32 saves in the win.

• The Panthers are getting more and more banged up as their schedule intensifies.

  Wingers Cory Stillman and Gregory Campbell missing Saturday night's game in New York. Stillman injured his left knee in Friday's win in Detroit, and the severity of the injury still was not known Saturday. Campbell has undisclosed upper body injuries, although after Saturday's game he told reporters he was fine. Coach Pete DeBoer said the coaching staff had to keep Campbell out because he has "a bunch of little things going on."

  The Panthers team doctors will look at Stillman on Sunday upon the team's return to South Florida. Stillman traveled with the team from Detroit to New York and was icing the knee.

  DeBoer said he doesn't think the Stillman injury "is minor, but I don't think it's surgery-major," he said. Radek Dvorak injured his left knee on Oct. 24 but returned in less than three weeks without surgery. The Panthers are hoping for that kind of news on Stillman.

  Florida is also playing without 2008-09 goal leader David Booth, out with a concussion since being blindsided by Philadelphia's Mike Richards on Oct. 24.

  Booth was cleared to do some exercises but was shut down when he started having headaches. While he could return in a few weeks, the Panthers say there is no timetable on his return.

• With Stillman and Campbell out, the Panthers brought up Michael Repik and Shawn Matthias from AHL Rochester. Matthias played, Repik didn't.

  "I thought Matthias gave us some good minutes tonight," DeBoer said afterward. "All three of those kids (Matthias, Kenndal McArdle and Victor Oreskovich) played with a lot of energy. They are big guys. They skate well."

  The Panthers played seven defensemen on Saturday, putting Ville Koistinen back in the lineup for the first time since Nov. 7.

• Panthers winger Nathan Horton hopes people back home have been watching his team. Not only have the Panthers won eight of 11, they have done so in some pretty tough buildings. Friday, Florida won in Detroit for the first time since 1996. Saturday, the Panthers won in New York.

  "We want people to notice," he said. "We want to put things together and keep winning. We're having a lot of fun and want to keep it going."

• Horton has a five-game scoring streak. Horton, who scored the game-winner against the Rangers on Saturday, has two goals and four assists in that time frame.

• Linemates Stephen Weiss and Horton got on the scoresheet for both of Florida's goals on Friday. Weiss scored the first goal off a pass from Horton, and both assisted on Bryan McCabe's overtime winner. Saturday, the two teamed up for the game-winner as Weiss' shot was blocked by Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist and followed up by Horton.

• D Jordan Leopold scored a crazy goal Saturday, one that helped the Panthers upend the Rangers. With 9:51 left in the second period, Leopold—standing along the boards above the right circle—shoveled the puck backhanded toward the net.

  The shot was high, hit the ice and somehow skipped past goalie Henrik Lundqvist.

  "It's up there with one where you bounce it off the glass, the goalie comes out to play it and it goes in," Leopold said. "It went in, it counts and it's on the scoresheet. It got us a big win. It's great. I was just throwing it down to get something going down low."

  Said Lundqvist: "I just lost it. Guys were waving their sticks and it just bounced in front of me."

• D Bryan Allen played a strong game Saturday against the Rangers, his 21:55 of ice time leading both teams. Allen is coming off major knee surgery that cost him all but two games last season. The Panthers were keeping him out of back-to-back games earlier in the season but now are only restricting his practice time. "He was a warrior out there tonight," coach Pete DeBoer said.

• The last time the Panthers won in Detroit, they were fresh off a trip to the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals. Seem like a long time? Current Panthers winger Radek Dvorak was in his second season with the Panthers. He scored the game-winner for the Panthers in their last victory at Joe Louis Arena on Dec. 1, 1996.

• D Bryan McCabe was credited with Florida's fourth goal scored in Wednesday's win at Buffalo. The goal originally went to Michael Frolik.

Quote To Note:

"It's early in the season. I think the key to an NHL season is riding the tide of the highs and lows. In the first 10 games of the season I wasn't ready to jump off a bridge and now I'm not ready to plan any parades."

—Coach Pete DeBoer, whose team has won eight of 11 and swept a three-game road trip through Buffalo, Detroit and New York.

Goaltenders:

Tomas Vokoun, Scott Clemmensen

Defensemen:

Bryan McCabe, Keith Ballard, Jordan Leopold, Dennis Seidenberg, Bryan Allen, Dmitry Kulikov, Ville Koistinen

First Line:

Michael Frolik-Stephen Weiss-Nathan Horton

Second Line:

Rostislav Olesz-Steven Reinprecht-Radek Dvorak

Third Line:

Kenndal McArdle-Dominic Moore-Victor Oreskovich

Fourth Line:

Kamil Kreps-Shawn Matthias-Michal Repik

Player Notes:

• G Tomas Vokoun made 32 saves in Saturday's win over the Rangers and was named the game's third star. Vokoun has won four of his last five starts, the lone loss coming in a shootout Nov. 16 against the Kings.

• C Stephen Weiss has scored in four of his last five games and got the first assist on Saturday's game-winner as well as the assist on Friday's winner. Weiss has three goals and four assists in his streak.

• RW Nathan Horton had two assists in Friday's win over the Red Wings and a goal Saturday against the Rangers. He has two goals and four assists in his last five games.

• C Steven Reinprecht got his first goal since Nov. 4 against Carolina on Saturday against the Rangers.

• D Jordan Leopold's goal Saturday was his first since Oct. 30 at Dallas.

Medical Watch:

• LW Cory Stillman injured his left knee in Friday's win against the Red Wings, but the severity of the injury is not known. Coach Pete DeBoer said he could "be out awhile."

• LW Gregory Campbell missed Saturday's game with an undisclosed upper body injury.

• LW David Booth spent Oct. 24 in a Philadelphia hospital after being knocked out in the second period against the Flyers. His return date is not known.

• LW Nick Tarnasky had facial surgery after being injured in Florida's preseason opener against Ottawa. Tarnasky is on injured reserve.