SUNRISE, Fla. -- Penguins goalie Sebastien Caron entered last night's game against Florida with an unblemished career record against the Panthers.

Not a single victory, to go with four losses.

Conversely, Caron's goaltending partner, Jocelyn Thibault, reported to the BankAtlantic Center with a career mark of 12-5, with one tie, in 19 appearances against the Panthers. And a 2.13 goals-against average that ranks among his best against any opponent.

Those numbers made a pretty compelling case for coach Eddie Olczyk to use Thibault, and Olczyk was well aware of them. He tends to put considerable weight on past performance when making personnel decisions, such as which goalie to play against a specific team.

Nonetheless, Olczyk opted to start Caron last night, because Caron had been in goal for the Penguins' 5-4 victory against Washington three nights earlier. And as much as Olczyk values precedent, he's even more sold on the concept of sticking with a winning goalie.

He realized Caron gave up a couple of soft goals against the Capitals -- just as Thibault had done in the previous game against Philadelphia -- but, from his perspective, the final score trumps everything else. Especially when victories have been so rare for the Penguins.

"I think I've been consistent all year," Olczyk said. "I don't think I've pulled anybody after they've won a game, regardless of the [career] record.

"Certainly, it's a part of the thought process, but if you're winning four of five or six of eight or three of four, you're able to go to those patterns of how a guy's played before."

Number changes

Penguins forwards Matt Hussey and Michel Ouellet appeared in their second NHL games of the season last night. And did it wearing their second numbers of the season.

Hussey, who wore No. 7 during the Washington game, switched to No. 28. Ouellet had No. 59 against the Capitals, but sported No. 7 last night.

In both cases, the players switched to numbers they had worn while playing for the Penguins' American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre.

Fan backing

South Florida hockey crowds don't have a reputation for being particularly large or loyal.

Nonetheless, Panthers captain Olli Jokinen steered an interview after the game-day skate toward the topic of his team's fans. He was adamant that Florida has an obligation to raise its level of play because of the public support it received during the 0-8-4 slump it took into last night's game.

"We owe it to our fans, and to ourselves, to play better hockey," Jokinen said. "We're pretty lucky. We still have people coming to games."

Built into the system

The Penguins didn't get a victory until their 10th game this season, and it's hard to overstate the significance of such a poor start.

But they are hardly the only club to suffer through a protracted losing streak. Panthers general manager Mike Keenan believes that can be attributed to the league's decision to have a winner declared in every game, even if it must be done in a shootout.

"I think it's part of the new NHL," he told the Sun-Sentinel, a south Florida newspaper. "If you look around the league ... Anaheim set a record for the number of losses for its franchise, Boston [was] on a streak, Edmonton had one earlier in the year. I think you're going to see streaks because they were disguised before as ties."

Relief fund

The sweater Sidney Crosby wore in his second NHL game has attracted the highest bid, $12,000, so far in an online auction being conducted by the NHL and NHL Players' Association to benefit World Vision's Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. The auction, which will continue until 9 p.m. Tuesday, has raised more than $270,000 in its first week. The sweaters of Mario Lemieux and Washington rookie Alexander Ovechkin have drawn bids of more than $4,000.