Red Wings Beat Panthers 4-2 For 4th Straight Win
By Noah Trister, AP Sports Writer
DETROIT (AP) — Anthony Mantha and Gustav Nyquist scored in the third period to lift the Detroit Red Wings to their fourth straight victory, 4-2 over the Florida Panthers on Friday night.
The Red Wings blew a 2-0 lead and had been outplayed for most of the night, but Mantha gave Detroit the lead back on the power play, and Nyquist added a breakaway goal with 4:38 remaining.
Andreas Athanasiou and Tomas Tatar also scored for Detroit. Mike Matheson and Aleksander Barkov scored for the Panthers, who had their game at Boston on Thursday night postponed because of severe weather. They were able to make it from there to Detroit to play Friday's game as scheduled.
Florida outshot the Red Wings 29-11 through two periods but still trailed 2-1. Barkov tied it on a 2-on-1 break, but the Panthers quickly gave Detroit two straight power plays, and the Red Wings converted on the second. Martin Frk's slap shot from the point beat goalie James Reimer to the glove side. Mantha, positioned in front, was credited with the goal on an apparent deflection.
Athanasiou, who scored Detroit's only two goals in an overtime win over Ottawa on Wednesday, gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead just 42 seconds into the game, skating in from the left and backhanding the puck past Reimer. Dylan Larkin made a nice play behind the net to help set up Detroit's next goal in the second period. He got the puck to Athanasiou, who made an easy pass to Tatar in front of the net.
Matheson scored a terrific goal with 1.5 seconds left in the second, collecting the puck near center ice with a nifty spin and then breezing past a defenseman before beating goalie Jimmy Howard.
UP NEXT
Panthers: Visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday.
Red Wings: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday night.
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