Tomas Vokoun and Florida Panthers withstand 50 shots against to earn a 4-3 win over the San Jose Sharks

FLORIDA GOALTENDER #29 TOMAS VOKOUN - ARCHIVE FLICKR PHOTO KAATIYA The book on 6-foot-0, 200 pound Florida Panthers goaltender Tomas Vokoun has been similar for a number of years. The 2-time/nhl Allstar (Nashville 2004, Florida 2008) plays a traditional upright butterfly style, covers a lot of the net down low, and relies on a spectacular glove hand to bail him out of certain situations. Former/nhl goaltender and current Atlanta Thrashers analyst Darren Eliot described him as a shotblocker, skilled at making the first save but whose suspect rebound control often leaves him vunerable to second and third scoring opportunities. Also mentioned was his attitude, Vokoun is known as a battler in net, a goaltender who will not give up on a play until the whistle is blown. Head coach Todd McLellan said prior to the start of the game that the coaching staff is not happy with San Jose's defensive performance in recent games. The Sharks again stumbled early en route to a 4-3 loss to the Florida Panthers on Friday night. After an Joe Thornton power play goal 51 seconds into the game (which might have been tipped by Jonathan Cheechoo on the doorstep), the Sharks gave up three unanswered first period goals to Cory Stillman, Richard Zednick, and Nathan Horton. The first two goals came as a result of d-to-d passing at the top of the zone to open up shooting lanes, Stillman executed a slick drop pass to set the table for Horton's third goal. The Panthers afforded Tomas Vokoun a 2-goal lead heading into the final 40 minutes of the game, and the Sharks would test him by piling up 50 shots on goal. The Sharks are the top faceoff team in the/nhl (268-205, 56.7%), and a draw won by center Joe Pavelski directly lead to a second period goal by Ryane Clowe. Pavelski pulled the puck back to Rob Blake on the blueline, who passed it down low to Christian Ehrhoff just outside of the left faceoff circle. A quick Ehrhoff snap shot was directed around Tomas Vokoun by an unchecked Ryane Clowe in front of the net to make the score 3-2 Florida. The Sharks tied the game on an excellent individual effort by Patrick Marleau short handed. Marleau beat Jay Bouwmeester to a loose puck on the boards, and then chipped it past him into the neutral zone. Marleau streaked into the Panthers zone on a 2-on-1 with Mike Grier against center Stephen Weiss. A give-and-go with Grier resulted in Patrick Marleau's 5th goal of the season and a 3-3 game. Last season the Sharks struggled to hold on to leads late in periods and late in games. This season, the Sharks are struggling to keep opponents off the board after they score goals. Again on Friday, Cory Stillman answered Patrick Marleau's tally with his second goal of the game 37 seconds later. The goal would hold up as the game winner. The Sharks were better in three areas: scoring in the first period, registering 2 power play goals on 5 opportunities, and keeping Flordia scoreless on 3 power plays. What hurt the Sharks again were defensive lapses, breakdowns in front of their own net, and loose play. Thomas Plihal skated over a puck along the boards instead of clearing it, leaving it to Stephen Weiss which resulted in the second goal by Zednick. The Florida Panthers were able to set up in front of Evgeni Nabokov too often, and the Panthers almost doubled the Sharks in blocked shots (19-10). There are off nights, and then there are nights that are a sign of a larger problem. The Sharks have work to do to tighen up defensively, and Todd McLellan and the San Jose coaching staff will have a stern test when Stanley Cup finalists Pittsburgh and Detroit travel to San Jose next week. [Update] Sharks dropped by Florida 4-3 - San Jose Mercury News.Source