5 TAKEAWAYS: Panthers 3, Red Wings 2

DETROIT -- The Florida Panthers are starting to build up some confidence after picking up their second straight win with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.
Getting back to .500, Florida now sits at 18-18-4 in the standings.
"Two in a row," said Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad, who scored a pair of important goals on the power play against Detroit. "We've struggled to do that this year. There's a myriad of reasons for that], but we all believe in each other, and we feel like we can get on a roll."
For a quick recap of the game, click
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To read up on five key takeaways for the Cats, continue below.

1. BOB'S BIG SAVES

Sergei Bobrovsky received some high praise following his performance in the Motor City.
"He stole the game, for sure," Ekblad said of Bobrovsky, who finished with 29 saves on 31 shots. "They had some fantastic chances, and he came up huge."
Coming up with one of his best showings of the season, Bobrovsky was dialed in from start to finish against Detroit. After giving up a goal on the first shot he faced -- a tricky tip from Jonatan Berggren -- he went on to stop 29 of the next 30 shots to backstop the Panthers to a big two points.
Of his seven high-danger saves, there were two in particular that stood out.
The first was his blocker save on Adam Erne's breakaway in the second period that kept the Panthers on top 2-1 heading into the third period. Not long after that, his other biggest stop came when he flashed leather early in the third period to rob Dylan Larkin of a would-be goal from right on top of the crease.

"To be honest, I can't really remember them," Bobrovsky smiled when asked to recount what he saw on those two game-changing saves following the win. "The moments go and -- goals or saves -- you don't really pay attention. Maybe it'll feel good tomorrow."
Over his last eight starts, Bobrosky has gone 4-4-0 with a .917 save percentage.

2. TWO FOR EK

Good things come in pairs, especially when you're talking about goals.
Helping the Panthers go a perfect 2-for-2 on the power play, Ekblad struck twice on the man advantage against the Red Wings. After beating Ville Husso from the slot to put Florida up 2-1 in the second period, he then cashed in on a rebound in the third period to extend the lead to 3-1.
On both goals, Aleksander Barkov recorded the primary assist.

"Barky gave a pass to almost set up a breakaway in front of the net [on the first goal], and the second one was just a pass off the pads -- a wide-open net," Ekblad said of his two goals. "I really can't take much credit for either of them. The guys got it done."
Since Oct. 27, the Panthers have operated at 25.2% on the power play.
"It's a good power play, and [Ekblad's] been an important part of that," Maurice said. "I thought his game against Arizona was really important. You may not have noticed it because he wasn't on the scoresheet, but he played a really smart, strong skating, hard-gap game. I think that gave him the confidence today."
In 29 games this season, Ekblad has notched 16 points (six goals, 10 assists).

3. AN EARLY RESPONSE

Thanks to Gustav Forsling, Detroit's only lead of the game was very short-lived.
Just 1:29 after Berggren opened the scoring for the Red Wings in the first period, Forsling wired a shot past Husso, who was blinded by a screen from Givani Smith, to get the game tied at 1-1.
With the primary assist on the goal, Eric Staal earned the 600th helper of his career.

Starting to earn a reputation as one of the most-underrated defensemen in the NHL, Forsling was on top of his game against the Red Wings. Skating a team-high 25:40 in the win -- including 5:01 on the penalty kill -- he showcased his stellar stick, elite speed and more.
In 46 games this season, Forsling has compiled 26 points (six goals, 20 assists) and a +14 rating.

4. KILLING 'EM SOFTLY

The penalty kill has been an area of focus for the Panthers this season.
In Detroit, all that hard work came to fruition.
Going a perfect 5-on-5 on the penalty kill, the Panthers surrendered just seven shots on goal to Detroit's power play, with Bobrovsky turning aside all of them. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, Florida also gave up just eight shot attempts and two scoring chances when at a 5-on-4 disadvantage.
When asked about the PK's success, Maurice said he liked its aggressiveness.
"There's no difference between the power play lacking confidence or the penalty kill," Maurice said. "I know you don't have the puck [on the penalty kill], but when you're confident with your reads, you don't second guess your reads. That makes you faster. When you're struggling on the kill, you second guess everything you do and that makes you slow."
Overall, Ekblad viewed the win as a big step forward for the Panthers in multiple areas.
"So much potential," Ekblad said. "There's a lot of urgency, no doubt. Especially in a game like tonight -- a division game, the old cliché that it's four points -- it's so important. We're chasing these guys. We're chasing a lot of different teams. We've got to put ourselves in a good position to have meaningful games down the stretch, and this is the first step toward that."

5. LOCKING IT DOWN

Of those five aforementioned penalty kills, the biggest came in crunch time.
With the Panthers clinging to a 3-2 lead, the Red Wings earned a power play with 39.5 seconds left in regulation and subsequently pulled their goaltender to turn that 5-on-4 advantage into a dangerous 6-on-4.
Tasked with shutting things down, Forsling, Barkov, Radko Gudas and Eetu Luostarinen were sent out onto the ice for the Panthers. Getting the job done, all four of those players rewarded that trust with big plays, while Bobrovsky stopped the only two shots that made it to his net.
Putting his body on the line, Luostarinen laid out to block a shot from Filip Hronek to kill off the final four seconds left on the clock.
"That was good intensity, a good push by them," Bobrovsky said of the dramatic finish. "I thought we protected the middle very well, protected the rebounds and seams. It was good hockey."