RECAP: Barkov makes history, Panthers beat Detroit to claim playoff spot

DETROIT -- The Panthers are in a playoff spot.
No need to count games in hand.
No need to check the scores before going to bed.
With the Penguins suffering a 2-1 loss to the Senators just a few minutes after the Panthers cruised to a 5-2 win over the Red Wings, the Panthers hopped over Pittsburgh to claim the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference with just 12 games left on their schedule.

Improving to 36-27-7, Florida owns a 6-0-1 record over its last seven games.
"That's amazing," forward Carter Verhaeghe said after being told the news in the locker room after the win. "That's what we're going for. We always believed in ourselves. The job's not done yet. We clawed back, but we still have a lot of work to do. We have the right guys in the room."
Turning defense into offense, the Panthers broke the ice when Sam Bennett intercepted a pass from Lucas Raymond in the offensive zone before setting up Matthew Tkachuk for a one-timer from the right of the net to make it 1-0 at 7:28 of the first period with his 33rd goal of the season.
Doubling the lead soon after, Verhaeghe fired a point shot through traffic and past Ville Husso, who was blinded by an outstanding screen from Bennett, to make it 2-0 at 12:28. The Red Wings challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld by officials after a brief review.
Shortly after killing off the power play that came as a result of the failed challenge, the Red Wings got on the board when, after Sergei Bobrovsky sprawled out to deny David Perron, Pius Suter pounced on the loose puck in the paint and deposited it to make it 2-1 at 14:37.
With the top line applying seemingly endless pressure in the offensive zone, the Panthers pushed their lead to 3-1 in the second period when Gustav Forsling teed up a Sam Reinhart pass from off the boards and blasted a one-timer past Husso from beyond the left circle at 11:33.
Notching the secondary assist on the play, Aleksander Barkov recorded the 614th point of his career to overtake Jonathan Huberdeau for first place on the franchise's all-time scoring list.

"It's a huge honor," said Barkov, who was selected by the Panthers with the second-overall pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. "After my career I'm going to realize even more what that means, but right now everything happens so fast. We won the game, we're in a playoff race, so you don't think about that too much. But obviously it's a huge honor to play for this organization. I'm really happy."
From one captain to another, Dylan Larkin cut Detroit's deficit to a single goal when he took a pass from Raymond and scored from a sharp angle to make it 3-2 at 7:53 of the third period.
With Bobrovsky, who made his 13th straight appearance between the pipes, making five of his 20 saves in the final frame, the Panthers gave their goaltender some breathing room when Anthony Duclair set up Eric Staal for a goal on a 2-on-0 rush to make it 4-2 at 16:08.
On the power play, Verhaeghe locked in the win with his second goal to make it 5-2 at 18:37.
"It's a road win for us," head coach Paul Maurice said. "We've got to keep it going."

CATS QUOTES

"He's maybe the most humble man that I've ever met, certainly the most-humble elite player that I've ever met. He feels, as the all-time leading scorer, that the 13th forward and seventh defenseman, in his eyes, are just as important to the team. He treats people like that every day." - Paul Maurice on Aleksander Barkov
"He's been a force all season. He stepped right in and led our team. He's done a heck of a job all season long. It's fun playing with him right now." - Sam Bennett on Matthew Tkachuk
"A solid 60-minute road game for us. Everyone played really well. We didn't do anything special. We just played our own way as hard as possible and got the win." - Aleksander Barkov on tonight's win

CATS NOTES

• Matthew Tkachuk has tied the franchise record for the most multi-point games in a season with 31.
  - Matthew Tkachuk has produced at least three points in four of his last five contests.
  - Carter Verhaeghe is just the fifth player in franchise history to score 35 goals in a season.
  - Carter Verhaeghe recorded his ninth multi-goal game of the season.
  - Brandon Montour led the Panthers with four blocked shots.
  - Eetu Luostarinen skated in his 200th NHL game.
  - Florida led 12-2 in scoring chances when Josh Mahura was on the ice at 5-on-5.
  - Sam Bennett left the game with an injury and did not return. No immediate update on his status was available after the game. More information is expected to come tomorrow.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (36-27-7) will attempt to fortify their newfound playoff spot when they close out their back-to-back with a matchup against the Flyers (25-32-12) at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET.