Ekblad scores twice on power play, Panthers hold off Red Wings

DETROIT -- Aaron Ekblad scored two power-play goals, and the Florida Panthers held on to defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.

"He's really important for us on the power play; he scores goals because he gets into the slot so fast," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said of Ekblad. "We need those pucks to go in, and he's been great."
Gustav Forsling scored, Aleksander Barkov had two assists and Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves for Florida (18-18-4), which won its second straight after losing five of six (1-5-0).
"They made a good push, but I thought the guys protected the net very well," Bobrovsky said. "They protected the rebounds and the seams."

Jonatan Berggren and Robby Fabbri scored for the Red Wings (16-14-7), who have lost three of four (1-3-0). Ville Husso made 17 saves.
Detroit went 0-for-5 on the power play and allowed Ekblad's two goals while short-handed.
"If we get any execution on special teams, I wouldn't say it is an easy win, but it is a winnable game," Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. "We've been very good at even-strength in the last two games, but we haven't gotten anything out of it."
Ekblad's first goal put the Panthers ahead 2-1 at 6:28 of the second period.

The Red Wings had two breakaways in the period, but Jake Walman shot over the net in the first minute, and Bobrovsky made a blocker save against Adam Erne at 13:55.
Walman later hit the post, and Bobrovsky made three point-blank saves on Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond in the first minute of the third period.
"[Bobrovsky] stole the game," Lalonde said. "He was the First Star, Second Star and Third Star. He made some unbelievable saves on the breakaways and the shots from the edge of the crease. After that, you're wondering how it isn't 2-2."
Ekblad extended Florida's lead to 3-1 at 8:11 of the third after knocking in a rebound. It was the fifth multigoal game of his career and the second time he had scored twice on the power play.
Fabbri, playing his second game after missing 10 months with a knee injury, scored at 16:17 for the 3-2 final.

Both teams scored on their first shot of the game.
Berggren gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 1:04 of the first period, tipping in Ben Chiarot's point shot.
Forsling tied it 1-1 at 2:33 with a shot through traffic on an assist from Eric Staal, the 600th of his NHL career.
"We have so much potential, and we had some extra urgency tonight with a divisional game," Staal said. "We're chasing these guys and a lot of other teams, and this is a good first step toward playing meaningful games down the stretch."
NOTES: Larkin and Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk were selected Thursday to represent the Atlantic Division at the
2023 Honda NHL All-Star Game
on Feb. 4. ... Bobrovsky's 23 wins and 1.87 goals-against average against the Red Wings are both his best against any opponent. … Lalonde said he doesn't expect Fabbri or Husso to play against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday, Detroit's third game in four nights.