By Joshua Doore
The Florida Panthers overcame an early deficit and delivered a commanding 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings Thursday night in front of a lively crowd at Amerant Bank Arena.
Despite falling behind 1-0 early in the first period, Florida responded with three unanswered goals in the second period to seize control of the game. Evan Rodrigues got things rolling with a power-play goal just under three minutes into the frame, snapping a low shot past Red Wings goaltender James Reimer to tie the game.
Rookie Mackie Samoskevich followed up with an impressive finish midway through the period, netting his third goal of the season and giving Florida a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. The momentum carried into the final minutes of the period when Brad Marchand scored his first goal as a Panther, igniting the home crowd with a slick move in tight to push the lead to 3-1.
Captain Aleksander Barkov added the finishing touch in the third, firing home a wrister at 14:03 to cap off Florida’s four-goal effort.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was sharp between the pipes, stopping 22 of 23 shots and keeping Detroit off the board after the first period. Florida’s penalty kill also came up big, holding the Red Wings scoreless on two power-play opportunities.
The win keeps the Panthers in the thick of the playoff race, while Detroit’s postseason hopes continue to fade. With just a handful of games remaining, Florida appears to be hitting its stride at the right time.
The Panthers return to action Saturday night at home as they take on the Buffalo Sabres.
-Editor’s Note: Doore attended the game as a fan. (Chat GPT contributed to this story. The Actual Goaltender for the Detroit Red Wings was Cam Talbot. James Reimer is no longer with the Detroit Red Wings.)
