The Panthers will attempt to extend their season-opening point streak to five games when they kick off a back-to-back set against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.
After opening up their season with a franchise-record three consecutive wins, the Panthers suffered their first loss on Thursday, falling 3-2 to the Blue Jackets in a shootout on the road.

"On the road against a team we know works hard, we came in and had two great comebacks in the third period," Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad said after splitting the two-game series against Columbus. "We really showed our resiliency as a team. A lot of positives to take out of [the games], and a lot of things we can work on. All in all, we're really excited to get to Detroit."
Trailing 2-1 in the third period against the Blue Jackets, rookie Eetu Luostarinen cashed in on a rebound to tie the game 2-2 and force overtime. Following a scoreless extra frame, Alexandre Texier deposited a tricky goal in Round 4 of the skills competition to lift Columbus to a 3-2 win.
Despite taking the loss, backup goaltender Chris Driedger was excellent in net. Making just his second start of the season - and getting his first taste of action in 11 days - the 26-year-old denied 29 of 31 shots in regulation and overtime before stopping three of four in the shootout.
In two starts this season, Driedger is 1-0-1 with a .934 save percentage.
"I thought he was real good," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of Driedger's performance after Thursday's loss. "I thought he was rock solid. Would have been real nice to get him a win."
Heading back into the blue paint, Sergei Bobrovsky is expected to start for the Panthers tonight, looking to build upon his 2-0-0 record. His last time out, the 32-year-old veteran shook off a slow to start and came up in the clutch late in a 4-3 shootout win over the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
A puck-stopping demon against Detroit, Bobrovsky owns a 15-5-1 record behind a .936 save percentage, 1.36 goals-against average and three shutouts in his career against the Red Wings.
Earning at least one point in every game so far this season, Carter Verhaeghe leads Florida in scoring with six points and is tied with Patric Hornqvist for the most goals (4). Joining the team as a free agent during the offseason, the 25-year-old forward is really starting to come into his own with the Panthers while teaming up on a line with Aleksander Barkov and Anthony Duclair.
Leading the charge on offense, that trio has combined for 15 points (five goals, 10 assists).
"We like what he's doing," Quenneville said of Verhaeghe. "That line's been very dangerous every game. They all do a little bit something different, but certainly you like his consistency."
From proven scorers to a potential NHL debut, there appears to be a chance we'll see 2017 second-round pick Aleksi Heponiemi slot into the lineup tonight. In the midst of his second professional season, the 22-year-old forward has been on the taxi squad since camp ended.
"I'm more than excited," said Heponiemi, who competed in 49 games with Florida's AHL affiliate last season. "I'm happy to get on the ice. I've been working hard for a couple months now without games. I'm just excited about it and I'll try to enjoy it."
In the months leading up to the start of this season, Heponiemi said he managed to stay sharp while playing for Modo Hockey of Sweden's HockeyAllsvenskan. In 16 games, he produced 14 points (six goals, eight assists) while earning playing time both at 5-on-5 and on special teams.
"I think it helped a lot, just having the ability to train with the team," Heponiemi said. "We had a nice team there that gave me a chance to play some games. It was huge for me. I'm just trying to keep that up and work hard."
Heading in the opposite direction of the Panthers, the Red Wings have dropped each of their last four games to tumble down to last place in the Central Division. Over that four-game slide, Detroit has been outscored 19-7, including suffering a lopsided 7-3 loss at Dallas on Thursday.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Bobby Ryan lead the Red Wings with four goals apiece, while Bertuzzi is also tied with Dylan Larkin for the team-scoring lead with six points. Over his last five games, Bertuzzi has been the team's most-dangerous forward, finding the back of the net four times.
"I think we took a real step back on this trip," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told reporters after the team's 0-3-1 road trip wrapped up in Dallas. "It isn't just results, we didn't play good hockey. We've got to find a way to regroup because we need a lot of guys to play way better than this."
Between the pipes, Jonathan Bernier (.881 save percentage) and Thomas Greiss (.899 save percentage) have been splitting time for Detroit. Despite alternating starts through the first eight games of the season, Greiss could start tonight after Bernier left Thursday's loss with an injury.
Historically, Greiss has also been a thorn in Florida's side for a long time. While suiting up for the Islanders, the 35-year-old veteran posted a 5-2-1 record with a 2.10 goals-against average and .930 save percentage against the Panthers, not including some heroics in the postseason.
But with seven out of eight points in the bank to open their season already, the Panthers aren't concerned with who their opponent is, they just want to keep building on what they've started.
"Never being satisfied is what makes you better and more successful," Ekblad said.
Overall, the Panthers have won each of their last six games against Detroit.

TEAM RECORDS

FLA: 3-0-1, 7 PTS
DET: 2-5-1, 5 PTS
FLA all-time vs. DET: 23-17-5-6

PANTHERS NOTES

-- Aleksander Barkov has recorded four points (one goal, three assists) in four games this season. With one more goal, the 25-year-old will move into a tie with Scott Mellanby (157) for the second-most in franchise history. In 17 career games against Columbus, he has six goals.
-- After pacing the Panthers with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) in 2019-20, Jonathan Huberdeau has recorded one goal and three assists in four games this season. In 24 career games against Detroit, the 26-year-old winger has recorded 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists).
-- Aaron Ekblad has posted three points (one goal, two assists) and ranks fifth in the NHL in average ice time per game (26:52) through four contests this season. In 22 career games against Detroit, the 24-year-old defenseman has notched 14 points (two goals, 12 assists).
-- Patric Hornqvist has lit the lamp in three of four games to start the season, pushing his team-leading (tied) goal total to four. Off to a great start in his first season with the Panthers, the 34-year-old veteran also leads the team in goals (2) and points (3) on the power play.
-- Anthony Duclair leads Florida with five assists.
-- Radko Gudas leads the Panthers in hits (15); Noel Acciari has the most blocked shots (7).
-- Florida has gone 8-for-9 (88.9 percent) on the penalty kill over the last two games.

PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano - Eetu Luostarinen - Brett Connolly
Aleksi Heponiemi - Juho Lammikko - Noel Acciari
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Markus Nutivaara - Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Sergei Bobrovsky
Chris Driedger

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

Jan. 30: F Aleksi Heponiemi and F Owen Tippett were added to Panthers active roster; F Ryan Lomberg was assigned to Florida's taxi squad; D Gustav Forsling was placed on IR
- Jan. 28: D Markus Nutivaara was added to the Panthers active roster.
- Jan. 28: F Owen Tippet was assigned to Florida's taxi squad.
- Jan. 23: D Brady Keeper and D Riley Stillman were assigned from Florida's Taxi Squad to Syracuse (AHL).
- Jan. 22: F Juho Lammikko was added to the Panthers active roster.

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When: Saturday, Jan. 30, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where:Little Caesars Arena
TV: FOX Sports Florida
Stream:
FOX Sports GO
Radio: 560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 640 WMEN (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys); 107.9/1370 WZTA (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming 932
Pre-Game Listen:Check out the latest episode of the Territory Talk podcast featuring Noel Acciari!
Territory Talk: Florida Panthers Podcast
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