Red Wings Beat Panthers, Move Into Third in Atlantic

Extending their point streak to seven games (6-0-1), the Detroit Red Wings exorcised another demon from their recent years of failure.

With captain Dylan Larkin scoring on the power play 1:09 into overtime, Detroit edged the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Wednesday. It was the first win by the Red Wings in 11 games against the Panthers and the team’s first win in seven games at Florida.

THIS. TEAM. #LGRW pic.twitter.com/9Xyy25p5zq

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) January 18, 2024

“This team has had our number the past couple of years,” Larkin told Bally Sports Detroit. “It’s huge to get a win.”

Resilient Red Wings Battle Back Again

It was also the second game in a row that Detroit would rally from a 2-1 third-period deficit for a victory. On Sunday at Toronto, the Red Wings came roaring back for a 4-2 triumph over the Maple Leafs.

Very similar to the other night,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “We gave ourselves a chance going into the third down 2-1 and found a way.

“It’s very hard to win in this league, very hard to win when trailing going into the third, especially against some of these elite teams, so I give our guys a ton of credit for battling throughout. Just a really good road win against a top echelon team.”

Wednesday, Detroit put Toronto in the rear-view mirror. The win over the Panthers was also vaulting the Red Wings into third spot in the Atlantic Division, one point ahead of the Maple Leafs. Detroit hasn’t qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs since the 2015-16 season.

Larkin Atones For Giveaway

Larkin’s game winner on the power play made up for his first-period giveaway on another Detroit power play, resulting in Sam Reinhart’s shorthanded tally.

Both the Panthers (Aleksander Barkov) and Red Wings (Patrick Kane) were missing key players due to lower-body injuries. In fact, when Larkin was netting the game winner, he was doing so while filling Kane’s role on the power play.

“With Kaner out, that spot where he likes to do his thing, I was put over there,” Larkin explained. “I was supposed to slide down to the goal line. But they were kind of playing a diamond. We were trying to get it through.

CAPTAIN CLUTCH! @Dylanlarkin39 buries the game-winning goal in overtime, completing the comeback! 🚨#LGRW pic.twitter.com/uZCpbZQP5m

— Bally Sports Detroit (@BallySportsDET) January 18, 2024

“We had some looks but I saw that the defenseman was kind of out of position, caught high and I could use him as a screen.”

Michael Rasmussen counted a goal and assist for Detroit. His tally was Rasmussen’s 10th of the season. It’s the third season in a row that he’s hit double digits in the goals column. Rasmussen also became the sixth Red Wings player with at least 10 goals so far this season.

Defenseman Olli Maatta was dishing out a pair of assists on the night.He also collected two assists Nov. 16 against Ottawa.

Red Wings Goalie Lyon Beats Old Team

Last season, Alex Lyon was helping the Panthers grab the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Wednesday with 32 saves, he was moving the Red Wings to within six points of Florida in the standings.

“Obviously, it always feel good to beat the team you played for last year, but a lot of respect for those guys and they got a fantastic team,” Lyon said. “They played really well tonight.”

Lyon improved to 6-1-1 in his last eight games. Meanwhile, the Red Wings were beating Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky for jjust the second time over the last 22 games. It was the first time in 14 games that Detroit put more than two pucks behind Bobrovsky.