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Flyers fall to Panthers in shootout

Twelve nights after they routed the Panthers in Florida, the Flyers had to huff and puff to try to get a victory in a rematch Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Twelve nights after they routed the Panthers in Florida, the Flyers had to huff and puff to try to get a victory in a rematch Thursday night at the Wells Fargo Center.

Didn't happen.

Florida jolted the Flyers in a shootout, 3-2, and ended the home team's two-game winning streak.

In the shootout, Jonathan Huberdeau and Peter Mueller easily beat goalie Ilya Bryzgalov.

Down at the other end, Florida goalie Jose Theodore stopped Matt Read and Claude Giroux, making the Flyers 23-42 all-time in shootouts.

"It's frustrating to lose a point," winger Mike Knuble said. "If it's an 80-game season, you don't sweat it as much, but when you're trying to climb the ladder, you need everything you can get."

Led by Sean Couturier, the Flyers (4-6-1) dominated the overtime, getting all five shots in the extra five minutes. But Theodore had all the answers, forcing the shootout.

Florida tied it at 2 on Stephen Weiss' power-play goal with 11 minutes, 25 seconds left in regulation. The Flyers had killed 17 of 18 penalties in the last three games before Weiss scored from deep inside the right circle. The Flyers have been outscored, 12-5, in the third period this season.

The Flyers had two power plays after Weiss' goal, but they managed a total of one shot during those four minutes.

"That was our chance to win the game," defenseman Kimmo Timonen said.

Read gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead early in the second period. In two games against the Panthers this season, Read has four goals, including his first career hat trick in a 7-1 win Jan. 26.

"Give credit to my linemates," Read said.

Last night, no one did more work on Read's goal than Knuble, the 40-year-old who refuses to show his age.

With the score tied at 1, Knuble tried to score on a wraparound. He took several whacks at the puck - Theodore argued that he had it frozen and that play should have been whistled dead - before it squirted out to Read, who lifted it high into the net with 17:18 left in the second period.

"That goal," Read said, "was all Knuble. It was just sitting there, and I put it in."

Florida had taken a 1-0 first-period lead as Jack Skille fired a shot from the high slot that went past Timonen, caromed off Bryzgalov, and trickled into the net.

Less than a minute later, Jakub Voracek hesitated before his shot from the right circle appeared to deflect off the stick of defenseman Brian Campbell and past Theodore on the short side. Screening forward Tye McGinn blocked Theodore's view, and the game was tied with 8:16 left in the first period. It was the Flyers' fourth power-play goal in their last six chances over three games.

Overall, the Flyers weren't happy with their play in the opening 20 minutes.

"We didn't put a lot of pucks on the net, and we were second on every puck in the first period," Voracek said.

"I don't know what it is or how to fix it, but we've been coming out flat every game," Read said.