Red Wings at Panthers
The Florida Panthers have showed signs of life in two road wins since the All-Star break and look to build off that when they begin a three-game homestand Saturday against the Detroit Red Wings. The Panthers knocked off the New York Islanders 4-1 on Tuesday before holding on for a 4-2 triumph at Buffalo two nights later as they sit on the edge of playoff contention in the Eastern Conference.
“Our ice was slanted in the second half of the game, and I think our brains turned off a little bit,” Florida coach Bob Boughner told reporters after Thursday’s win. “We were making mental mistakes, maybe some tired mistakes, but all in all, you can’t complain. You get two points and won two in a row on the road.” The Panthers are eight points back in the race for the second wild card in the East while Detroit is 3-1-1 in its last five contests after posting a 4-1 victory at Carolina on Friday to move within six of the final playoff spot. Petr Mrazek, who could sit in the second game of the Red Wings' back-to-back set in favor of Jimmy Howard, has allowed just six goals over his last six games. Detroit has won three straight on the road, allowing a total of one goal, and on Friday started a stretch during which it plays six of eight away from home.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, FS Detroit Plus, FS Florida
ABOUT THE RED WINGS (21-21-8): Defenseman Trevor Daley scored his third goal in four games and fifth of the season on Friday while Darren Helm snapped his five-game point drought with a tally and two assists versus Carolina. The top scorers for Detroit have been cold of late as Dylan Larkin has gone four games without adding to his team-leading total of 38 points while captain Henrik Zetterberg has notched just two of his 33 over the last seven contests. All-Star defenseman Mike Green (five goals, 16 assists) also has gone five games without a point and Gustav Nyquist ended his six-game point drought on Friday with his 15th tally.
ABOUT THE PANTHERS (21-22-6): With top two goaltenders Roberto Luongo and James Reimer still recovering from injuries, Harri Sateri has allowed just three goals on 65 shots over the last two games en route to his first two NHL wins. “It’s nice to see him rolling with a little confidence and getting his second win,” Boughner told reporters on Thursday, “and it’s nice to keep getting these wins with the depth of our goaltending.” Jonathan Huberdeau has registered three of his team-leading 49 points in the last three contests while Vincent Trocheck has notched four assists in a three-game span to push his point total to 47.
OVERTIME
1. Zetterberg moved into fifth place on the franchise list on Friday with his 605th assist and is three away from tying Ted Lindsay (335) for fifth in goals.
2. Florida D Keith Yandle has registered two goals and two assists in his last two games and needs one point to reach 30 for the 10th straight season.
3. The Red Wings have earned at least one point in each of the first three meetings (2-0-1) this campaign, including a 3-2 shootout win at Florida on Oct. 28.