POSTGAME: NO GALLANT, NO PROBLEM

Playing the Panthers hasn’t gone well for the Wings this season. They’ve been stomped 4-1 and 5-2 in the previous two meetings early this season and haven’t fared much better against other division rivals. 3-0-1 in their last four games but this was an important two points on a night that had Boston and Buffalo coming away with wins. Sadly, they weren’t able to put this one away.

In less time than it took Gerrard Gallant to hail a cab in Carolina, the Detroit Red Wings found themselves up early in the game and off to the start they were looking for. A good forecheck forces a turnover and with that much time on the backhand, you knew the captain was going to put it away:

The first half of the period the team kept up this pace. Generated shots, went in hard on the forecheck and generated some penalties because of it. Some decent looks on the PP but nothing to show for it. 

Florida went to work on some power-plays of their own. Close call on a goal by Trocheck but thankfully it was overturned after a coaches challenge ruled the play offside. TFW your dad saw Demers jump the line before that puck got in the zone:

One hell of a shot though:

After an errand high-sticking call in the offensive zone on the PP, we went to some 4v4 hockey where a bad face-off ended up in the back of the net:

The Wings still found themselves outshot in the frame 11-7, but not a bad start against a team that has given them issues this year already. 

Pretty uneventful in the goal category. We’d leave the period tied at one still but the Panthers really put the pressure on. Mrazek was good, juggling his rebounds a little bit but positionally solid and keeping the team in the game. The shots tell this story as the Panthers put up 12 to Detroit’s 6 and controlled a lot of the play. The kill was good for Detroit, killing off another 2 penalties in the frame but their PP still struggled against the league’s best penalty kill. Lucky to leave the frame tied still but some positives in there.

The third looked a lot more like the first. A little more back and forth, both teams getting some good looks. Some posts, some crossbars and some good defensive plays from both sides. Larkin spent a lot of the night matched up against Trocheck which actually worked well. Larkin was all over him, delivering checks and keeping pace with the kid who has traditionally buried the Wings. But again, we left the third tied at one with Detroit finishing regulation by getting outshot 30-21.

Both teams were hesitant to start this one. Zetterberg had an incredible look off a fantastic Mantha feed but Luongo came up huge:

 Only a few seconds later the Panthers sent it the other way with Detroit getting caught on a bad line change:

Barkov put away the game on his third of the season. 

This one makes the Wings 3-0-2 in their last five games but that was a bad point to give up on a night that had division and wild-card rivals all getting points. The Wings have the Pens and the Isles in back-to-backs this weekend. Both teams are coming off some hot play as of late and it will no doubt be a bit of a skate. Jets midweek and a Friday game vs an unexpectedly good Blue Jackets team. We’ll see what happens with the roster as Abdelkader left the game early and never returned. Should he miss some time the Wings are running out of call ups.