RECAP: Bobrovsky, special teams shine in win over Red Wings

DETROIT -- The Florida Panthers feel they've added another building block to their season.
Helping the Panthers get back to .500 and start their important four-game road trip off on the right foot, Sergei Bobrovsky stood on his head while stopping 29 of 31 shots during a thrilling 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.
Also playing a big role in the win, Florida went 2-for-2 on the power play and 5-for-5 on the penalty kill.
"It was a hard game," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "I thought Detroit played really, really well. I've watched them play a little bit. Pieces of the game are so important, especially on the road. Your special teams have to good, but your goaltender's got to be good, too. For me, the story is Sergei Bobrovsky's third period, our penalty kill next and then our power play third."

Jumping out to an early lead in their own barn, the Red Wings opened the scoring on their first shot on goal of the game when Jonatan Berggren tipped a point shot from Ben Chiarot past Bobrovsky to make it 1-0 just 1:04 after the puck had dropped in the first period.
Pushing back for the Panthers just 1:29 later, Gustav Forsling threaded a shot through traffic and past Ville Husso, who was blinded by a screen from Givani Smith, to make it 1-1 at 2:33.
With the primary helper on the play, Eric Staal registered the 600th assist of his NHL career.
Not long after keeping Detroit off the board with a strong penalty kill, the Panthers struck on a power play of their own when Aaron Ekblad collected a centering feed from Aleksander Barkov, skated down the slot and fired a shot past Husso to make it 2-1 at 6:28 of the second period.
Keeping that lead intact, Bobrovsky made one of his biggest stops of game when he denied Adam Erne on a breakaway with a blocker save with just over six minutes left in the period.
Not done there, Bobrovsky came up in the clutch again when he flashed leather to rob Dylan Larkin of what looked like a surefire goal from the slot less than a minute into the third period.

Staying hot on special teams, the Panthers successfully killed off part of a power play for the Red Wings before drawing a penalty to negate the rest. After a brief 4-on-4, Ekblad then lit the lamp a second time on the power play when he buried a rebound to make it 3-1 at 8:11.
"Barky gave a pass to give me almost a breakaway in front of the net, and the second one was just a pass off the pads -- a wide-open net," Ekblad said when asked about his two goals. "I really can't take much credit for either of them. The guys got it done."
Providing some late-game drama, Robby Fabbri fired a shot from the right circle that caught a piece of Bobrovsky before sailing into the net to cut Detroit's deficit down to 3-2 at 16:17.
After the Panthers took a late penalty, Bobrovsky made a few more big saves and the penalty kill came up with some key blocks while killing off 39.5 seconds of a 6-on-4 advantage for Detroit to lock in the win.
"That was good intensity, a good push by them," Bobrovsky said when asked about the game's wild finish. "I thought we protected the middle very well, protected the rebounds and seams. It was good hockey game. A good overall 60-minute effort by our team. A big two points for us."

CATS QUOTES

"The special teams were great tonight. The power play was great and the PK was great. We just have to build from it." - Sergei Bobrovsky
"Incredible. He stole the game, for sure. They had some fantastic chances, and he came up huge." - Aaron Ekblad on Sergei Bobrovsky
"If they get one early there, you've got a different animal. They're going to push hard. We're both kind of fighting for our playoff lives in January. They were coming hard early, and then he gives you a calm on the bench. Sometimes a goaltender can just settle your entire team down." - Paul Maurice on Sergei Bobrovsky's saves early in the third period

CATS NOTES

• Eric Staal is one of eight active NHL players with at least 600 career assists.
  - The Panthers are tied for second in the NHL in goals by defensemen with 24.
  - Aaron Ekblad's five multi-goal games are tied for the most by a defenseman in franchise history.
  - Aleksander Barkov dished out two assists against the Red Wings.
  - Aaron Ekblad blocked a team-high four shots on goal.
  - Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all seven shots he faced on the penalty kill.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (18-18-4) will continue their road trip with a visit to the Lone Star State for a matchup against the Dallas Stars (23-11-6) at American Airlines Center on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. ET.