Another game, another quality start by the goaltender wasted as the ham-fisted Florida Panthers concluded its four-game road trip with a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings.
Head coach Paul Maurice decided to rest Sam Reinhart, Sam Bennett and Gustav Forsling and AHL-ers Jesse Puljujävri, Rasmus Asplund and Mtt Kiersted were inserted into the lineup in their stead.
The Checkerfied Panthers put up a good fight, but couldn’t beat Cam Talbot until 19:20 of the third period when Mackie Samoskevich took a pass from Carter Verhaeghe and snapped a shot off from the left circle that deflected in off of Anton Lundell.
Lundell had a great chance to tie the tilt, but his one-timer with time running out was denied by a sprawling Talbot.
After a scoreless first period, Alex DeBrincat exchanged crossing passes with Lucas Raymond and beat Vitek Vanecek from the left circle 4:37 into the middle frame. Patrick Kane drew the second helper on the power-play goal which came with Verhaeghe off for tripping Dylan Larkin.
J.T. Compher put the Red WIngs up by two at 11:23, solving Vanecek’s glove with the assists going to Marco Kasper and veteran Jeff Petry.
The Panthers are still clinging to third place in the Atlantic Division, but after losing five in a row, the Ottawa Senators are now just two points behind them with five games left on the schedule for both teams.
Florida will open a four-game homestand on Tuesday against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Starts & Stalls
- Cam Talbot earned First Star honors for his sparkling 32-save effort. Talbot posted his 20th win of the season and is 3-0-1 is last four starts, helping Detroit keep its slim playoff hopes alive.
- Carter Verhaeghe couldn’t find the back of the net, but he did set up Florida’s only goal and finished with a game-high seven shots.
- Lucas Raymond’s primary helper on Alex DeBrincat’s goal got him to 75 points for the first time in his career. Raymond leads Detroit in assists and points and is third on the team in goals.
- Jesse Puljujärvi made his Florida debut and registered five shots on goal and was credited with a game-high six hits in 13:01 of ice time.
- Vitek Vanecek finished with 22 saves and lost for the fourth time since shutting out the Buffalo Sabres in his first appearance with the Panthers.
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