OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Byron Ritchie was relieved after scoring his first goal in 18 months. Lee Goren was ecstatic.
Ritchie snapped a tie 7:16 into the third period as the Florida Panthers made the most of their chances en route to a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators.
Playing just his sixth game of the season, Ritchie streaked over the blue line and into the left faceoff circle, where he put a snap shot through the pads of goaltender Patrick Lalime to break a 2-2 tie.
"It was quite a relief," the 27-year-old Vancouver native said. "I had a chance in the first period and I didn't get a good shot off. In the third, I had it on my mind to get it on net and fortunately, it went in."
"He was coming down the left wing on his own, but it's all about timing," Lalime said. "You move one way and they shoot the other way. I have to make those saves. I won't be hiding, I know I'm responsible."
It was just the sixth goal in 100 NHL games and the first since April 12, 2002 for Ritchie, a healthy scratch in five straight games before Wednesday night's 5-1 loss in Philadelphia.
"I just want to keep working hard and stay positive," said the speedy Ritchie, who seven years ago scored 126 points in a 63-game junior season. "I've gotten my chance the last couple of games and I just want to play my game. Tonight, things went well."
"Hopefully, it'll jump-start his confidence," Panthers coach Mike Keenan said. "He was an offensive player in junior, so I tried to give him more of an offensive duty tonight."
The only player happier than Ritchie after the game may have been Goren. Recalled earlier in the day from San Antonio of the American Hockey League, Goren gave away a puck early in the third period, helping Ottawa take a 2-1 lead.
"I can't tell you how concerned I was about it," Goren said. "I told Byron he saved me."
Florida recorded just three shots in the first 15 minutes of the third period but scored on two of them. Defenseman Mike Van Ryn scored a power-play goal 2:33 into the period to tie it at 2-2.
Just 79 seconds earlier, Vaclav Varada capitalized on Goren's terrible pass up the middle, batting a rebound into a wide-open net following Bryan Smolinski's slap shot from the high slot.
The teams traded power-play goals in the first period. Olli Jokinen opened the scoring for Florida at 11:43 and Marian Hossa tied it at 16:26.
Steve Shields made 30 saves for the Panthers, who finished a 2-1-0 road trip. Shields' main concern was dealing with the highly skilled skaters on the Senators, like Hossa and Martin Havlat.
"I just tried to be patient," said Shields, who has won both of his starts this season. "They have a lot of skill over there and they wait for something to open up at a good chance."
The Senators had won their previous four games by a combined score of 18-4.
"We may have caught them a little off-guard tonight," Shields said. "They weren't skating as well as they usually do, but I think we had a lot to do with that."
