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Sunrise, FL – Jason LaBarbera watched the first two periods on the bench before he was called upon to relieve an injured Mike Smith early in the third.
LaBarbera turned aside all eight shots he faced, including a penalty shot by Florida's Stephen Weiss with 25 seconds to play, to preserve a 2-1 victory for the Phoenix Coyotes.
Smith suffered a possible groin injury while stretching to stop a shot by Panthers defenseman Jason Garrison at the 3:29 mark.
Florida pressed for the equalizer and were awarded a penalty shot after a pair of Coyotes players pushed the net off its moorings. Weiss' shot trickled through LaBarbera but slid to a stop as it reached the goal line.
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