Panthers ease past Red Wings

SUNRISE, Fla.-- Forward Jonathan Marchessault had a goal and two assists and Colton Sceviour scored the game-winning goal in the first period of the Florida Panthers 4-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at BB&T Center on Saturday.
The Panthers, who defeated the New Jersey Devils 2-1 in overtime on Thursday, last started 2-0-0 in the 2005-06 season. Marchessault and Sceviour were both acquired this past offseason.
"We've got a lot of new guys on our team and to see the way we played the first two games for six periods, I thought we played great hockey," Panthers coach Gerard Gallant said. "It's good to see. I'm sure they're real excited and real happy. It was two good wins for us."

Marchessault has two goals and two assists in his first two games replacing injured left wing Jonathan Huberdeau on the top line with Aleksander Barkov and Jaromir Jagr.
Marchessault assisted on Barkov's goal that made it 3-1 with 2:22 left in the third period before he scored an empty-net goal 59 seconds later.
"I think we had a lot of shots tonight, good chances," Marchessault said. "Obviously when you have good chances, good things happen. A lot of positives."

Roberto Luongo made 21 saves and moved into sole possession of sixth place on the NHL's all-time list with his 438th NHL victory, passing Jacques Plante.
Swiss rookie Denis Malgin had an assist on Sceviour's goal for his first NHL point.
Darren Helm scored for the Red Wings, who lost both games of their season-opening road trip in Florida. They lost 6-4 to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Petr Mrazek made 34 saves and kept Detroit in the game with several key stops in a scoreless second period.
Florida outshot Detroit 38-22.
"We got on our heels early, gave up those two goals, but we can't keep giving up free opportunities like that," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "It's nonsensical. We spent most of the first and second not being quickest to the puck. Their second guy beat our second guy to too many pucks. We've got to be way better than that."

Goal of the game

Sceviour, signed as a free agent in July, gave Florida a 2-0 lead at 10:01 of the first period when he completed made a beautiful pass that began in the defensive zone. Malgin got the puck in the left circle and sent an outlet to Marchessault near the Detroit blue line for a 2-on-1. Marchessault then made a perfect saucer pass to Sceviour, who beat Mrazek with a quick shot to the short side.

Saves of the game

With Florida leading 2-1 midway through the second period, a turnover in the Detroit zone led to two great opportunities to increase the lead. Marchessault found himself alone on Mrazek, who stopped his backhand along the ice. Malgin quickly got the rebound and backhanded the puck, but Mrazek was able to slide his left pad in time to make the save.

Unsung moment of the game

Earlier in the second period, Panthers forward Reilly Smith passed to defenseman Keith Yandle in the slot on an odd-man rush. Instead of shooting, Yandle passed the puck right back to Smith in the right circle. Smith had an open net in front of him, but Detroit defenseman Brendan Smith - Reilly's older brother - got his stick in the way to deflect the shot wide and keep the score 2-1.

Highlight of the game

Malgin came close to adding his first NHL goal to his first assist after a brilliant individual play in the third period. After getting the puck in the neutral zone, he deked past two Red Wings defensemen before coming in alone on Mrazek, who stopped his backhand attempt. "Almost," Malgin said. "I think the first one is always the hardest one. When I get this one, maybe it'll get easier. We'll see."

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They said it

"I'm happy with everything. We got two wins and that's the bottom line, There's nothing I'm upset about right now." -- Panthers coach Gerard Gallant when asked about his team's penalty killing
"I think we've played well. Obviously we've done good things, we've done things we've got to clean up. It's just all about having fun, getting wins." -- Panthers defenseman Keith Yandle
"Not the trip we wanted down here in Florida. These are two really good teams." -- Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader on a 0-2-0 start after road losses against Tampa Bay and Florida
Video: DET@FLA: Trocheck bounces one in off defender's skate

Need to know

Jaromir Jagr had an assist but remained at 749 NHL goals as he seeks to join Wayne Gretzky (894) and Gordie Howe (801) as the only players in history to reach 750. … The Panthers also had 2-0-0 starts in 1996-97, 1998-99 and 1999-2000. They have never started a season 3-0-0. … Detroit is off to its first 0-2-0 start since 2009-10. … After being a healthy scratch in the opener, Andreas Athanasiou skated on Detroit's top line with Frans Nielsen and Henrik Zetterberg. He played 14:59 and had one shot.

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What's next

Red Wings: Home vs. the Ottawa Senators on Monday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-D, RDSI, TSN5, NHL.TV).
Panthers: At the Tampa Bay Lightning on Tuesday (7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, NHL.TV).