Red Wings 5, Panthers 3
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Luke Glendening scored the game-winning goal in the third period as Detroit rallied for a 5-3 win over the Florida Panthers at BB&T Center.
Pavel Datsyuk scored a pair, and Tomas Tatar and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit (36-25-11).
Niklas Kronwall and Justin Abdelkader had a pair of assists.
Brad Richards, Mike Green, Datsyuk, Larkin, Gustav Nyquist and Jonathan Ericsson also recorded assists.
Nick Bjugstad, Vincent Trocheck and Teddy Purcell scored for Florida (40-23-9).
Jiri Hudler, Reilly Smith, Bjugstad and Jussi Jokinen also had assists.
Starting his second straight game, goaltender Jimmy Howard made 23 saves for the Red Wings.
Florida's Roberto Luongo had 25 saves.
Glendening deflected in a wrist shot by Larkin from along the boards at 8:39 of the third for his sixth goal.
Datsyuk added an empty-net goal for the final margin at 19:23.
It was reviewed for a possible high-stick, but the call on the ice stood to give Detroit its first lead.
Clinging to the Eastern Conference's last playoff spot, Detroit received good news earlier in the day when Pittsburgh won 4-1 over Philadelphia. The Flyers trail the Red Wings by one point in pursuit of the second wild card.
However, Florida broke a 1-1 tie in the second period when Jokinen stole the puck from Datsyuk just outside Florida's offensive zone.
Jokinen slipped a pass by defenseman Brendan Smith to Trocheck, who deked Howard and slid a backhander between the goalie's legs for his 22nd goal and a 2-1 lead at 7:08.
Purcell made it 3-1 when he recorded his 13th goal and 100th of his career by putting in his own rebound on a carom shot off Howard at 12:48.
Datsyuk trimmed Florida's lead to 3-2 when he scored his 15th goal -- Detroit's second on the power play -- from the low slot with Abdelkader screening Luongo at 19:49.
The Red Wings tied it when Larkin scored his 21st goal by beating Luongo on the short side at 3:52 of the third.
Detroit controlled play early in the first period and outshot Florida 6-0, but the Panthers tallied on their third shot at 10:49 after a turnover by Ericsson.
Bjugstad stole Ericsson's clearing attempt and started a give-and-go with Hudler, who fed Bjugstad for his 13th goal and a 1-0 lead.
Detroit answered on the power play at 1:35 -- just four seconds into the man advantage after former Red Wing defenseman Jakub Kindl was called for hooking -- when Tatar tipped in Richards' long shot for his 20th goal to tie it 1-1.
Clinging to the Eastern Conference's last playoff spot, Detroit received good news earlier in the day when Pittsburgh won 4-1 over Philadelphia. The Flyers trail the Red Wings by one point in pursuit of the second wild card.
However, Florida broke a 1-1 tie in the second period when Jokinen stole the puck from Datsyuk just outside Florida's offensive zone.
Jokinen slipped a pass by defenseman Brendan Smith to Trocheck, who deked Howard and slid a backhander between the goalie's legs for his 22nd goal and a 2-1 lead at 7:08.
Purcell made it 3-1 when he recorded his 13th goal and 100th of his career by putting in his own rebound on a carom shot off Howard at 12:48.
Datsyuk trimmed Florida's lead to 3-2 at when he scored his 15th goal -- Detroit's second on the power play -- from the low slot with Abdelkader screening Luongo at 19:49.
Detroit controlled play early in the first period and outshot Florida 6-0, but the Panthers tallied on their third shot at 10:49 after a turnover by Ericsson.
Bjugstad stole Ericsson's clearing attempt and started a give-and-go with Hudler, who fed Bjugstad for his 13th goal and a 1-0 lead.
Detroit answered on the power play at 1:35 -- just four seconds into the man-advantage after former Red Wing defenseman Jakub Kindl was called for hooking -- when Tatar tipped in Richards' long shot for his 20th goal to tie it 1-1.
NOTES: Detroit scratched RW Tomas Jurco, LW Teemu Pulkkinen, D Alexey Marchenko and G Petr Mrazek. ... Mrazek (flu), missing his second game, shut out the Panthers 3-0 on Feb. 8. Jared Coreau, the team's goalie at American Hockey League affiliate Grand Rapids, again served as starter Jimmy Howard's backup. ... D Niklas Kronwall returned to the lineup after missing three games because of a sprained knee. ... Florida scratched Cs Derek MacKenzie and Quinton Howden, plus LW Shawn Thornton and D Erik Gudbranson. Coach Gerard Gallant said neither Gudbranson nor MacKenzie, both injured blocking shots, would be with the Panthers on their upcoming trip. ... The Panthers were playing a lone home game sandwiched between six road matches. They play at the New York Rangers, Boston and Tampa Bay next week.