"Everyone's saying it's a fresh start here," Panthers forward Carter Verhaeghe said. "There's a lot of new guys, and everyone is coming in and gelling together. It's going well so far, but it's only [eight] games. There's a ton more games. We've still got lots of work to do."
Leading the Panthers with six goals, Verhaeghe netted the game-winner in Friday's 2-1 win over the Predators when he finished off a tic-tac-toe sequence with captain Aleksander Barkov in the second period. Of Verhaeghe's six goals, all of them have been notched while at even strength.
"A smart, hard-fought win," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said.
The backbone of Florida's seventh-ranked offense, the top line of Barkov, Verhaeghe and Anthony Duclair has combined for 26 points (10 goals, 16 assists). Trailing only Jonathan Huberdeau (12), Barkov sits second on the team with 11 points (four goals, seven assists).
Entering tonight's matchup on a four-game point streak, Barkov has three goals in that span.
"The whole team's clicking," said Verhaeghe, who has recorded three multi-point games this season. "If one guy's not going, the other guys are going. It's awesome. The chemistry with me and Barky, he's a great player, so easy to play with... We click pretty well, same with Duke."
Protecting their house in more ways than one, the Panthers, who own a 3-0-1 record on home ice, have also benefited from an uptick in physicality this season - a movement spearheaded by newcomer Radko Gudas. Known as "The Butcher," the tough-as-nails blueliner leads the team and ranks tied for fifth in the NHL with 41 hits, including dishing out 19 over his last two games.
"Our team is going to be harder to play against, and that's a good thing," Quenneville said.
Already their third meeting this season, the Panthers won back-to-back games in Detroit on Jan. 30 and 31, taking both contests by a score of 3-2. Overall, Florida has won each of its last eight games against the Red Wings, while also earning at least one point in each of its last 10 games.
Sitting in last place in the Central Division at 2-8-2, Detroit has dropped each of their last eight games, including a 3-1 loss across the state at Tampa Bay on Friday. During their losing streak, the Red Wings have been outscored 33-13 while scoring more than two goals in just one game.
"We controlled what we could control and we showed up," Detroit captain Dylan Larkin told reporters after the loss to the first-place Lightning. "That's a heck of a hockey team over there."
Larkin leads the Red Wings in scoring with nine points (four goals, five assists), while Anthony Mantha and Tyler Bertuzzi are tied for second with seven points apiece. Bertuzzi, who also leads the team in goals with five, is expected to miss this afternoon's game due to an injury.
With Jonathan Bernier also nursing an injury, Thomas Greiss could potentially make his sixth straight appearance for Detroit. In 13 games this season, the 35-year-old owns a 0-7-2 record - including a pair of losses to Florida - with a 3.27 goals-against average and .892 save percentage. Behind him, backup Calvin Pickard could also potentially get the call to start.
As for the Panthers, it's going to either be Sergei Bobrovsky or Chris Driedger between the pipes against the Red Wings. While both goaltenders boast 3-0-1 records, Driedger holds an advantage in both goals-against average (1.72) and save percentage (.942) over Bobrovsky.
In Friday's win over the Predators, Driedger stopped 24 of 25 shots.
"Every win, every start, every game in this league is just a little more experience to fall back on," said Driedger, who is in his second season with Florida. "I've been fortunate to see some starts here in the first few games. It's been good, and the wins definitely help. It's been a lot of fun."
With no skate this morning, Quenneville will provide updates to the media at 1:15 p.m. ET. Stay tuned to @FlaPanthers and @JamesonCoop on Twitter for pre-game updates.