RECAP: Panthers cruise to win over Red Wings in Barkov's return

SUNRISE, Fla. -- With Aleksander Barkov getting back into the lineup, the Florida Panthers cruised to an impressive 5-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at FLA Live Arena on Thursday.
"It felt good getting back into the game," said Barkov, who missed the previous six games due to a non-COVID illness. "Playing with these guys is always fun. I'm happy and happy to be back."
An important early-season matchup in the Atlantic Division, the Panthers (13-10-4) now trail the Red Wings (13-8-5) by just one point for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.

Overall, Florida has won three of its last four games.
"It's no secret that not having Barky for that road trip made things more difficult than the road trip already was going to be," Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "That was a very tough one for us. I thought we played solid for the most part on that road trip, and getting Barky back tonight was very important. I thought we did a really good job from the start. It's just nice to come back home and play that way in front of our fans and just take care of home ice."
Recalled from the AHL on Monday, Chris Tierney netted his first NHL goal of the season and broke the ice for the Panthers when he took a pass from Marc Staal, cut through the defense and slipped a backhand shot past Alex Nedeljkovic to make it 1-0 at 18:05 of the first period.
Starting strong, Florida led 15-5 in shots on goal after 20 minutes.
"I feel good," said Tierney, a veteran of 563 NHL games. "I've been playing a lot [in the AHL], so I've kind of built the confidence up. I came up here feeling good about my game. It's nice to contribute on the scoresheet."
Carrying that momentum into the second period, the Panthers quickly doubled their lead to 2-0 when Eetu Luostarinen deftly tipped a shot from Barkov into the cage to make it 2-0 at 1:47. Less than a minute later, Josh Mahura crashed the crease following a shot from Sam Bennett and fired the rebound past Nedeljkovic to extend Florida's lead to a commanding 3-0 at 2:45.
Getting the Red Wings on the board, Jonatan Berggren pounced on a rebound and sent the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky just before Detroit's power play had expired to make it 3-1 at 8:09.
Swinging momentum back in Florida's favor, Matt Kiersted boxed out a defender in front of the net before burying a rebound after a shot from Nick Cousins to make it 4-1 at 14:52. Just 48 seconds later, Tkachuk beat Nedeljkovic with a filthy move to make it 5-1 at 15:37.
With a goal and an assist in the win, Tkachuk earned his 13th multi-point game of the season.

"I was just looking for Benny the whole time on the 2-on-1," Tkachuk said of his highlight-reel goal. "They did a good job and backchecked pretty hard and kind of turned it into a little bit of a 2-on-2. I was able to get around and the only way I was able to shoot it without getting blocked was if I did it really quick. I didn't really pick a spot, I just tried to go far-side as quick as I could."
Standing tall in net, Bobrovsky stopped 19 of 20 shots.
"It's a real challenge coming back from the West Coast and playing the next day," Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. "We've had two of them now and played very well in both. I think tonight was really a continuation. Three of our last four [games] have been really strong and looked almost identical. Really stingy off the rush and battled real hard defensively with real quick counters and attack plays. It was good. We felt that on the road trip we started to build somthin that we really liked and then had a tough one in Winnipeg. To get back on it in an important game ... Yeah, it's December, but those division games are critical. It's a great effort tonight."

KEY QUOTES

"He's a smart player. He's good with the puck. He's pretty quick. A bright future for him." -- Marc Staal on Matt Kiersted
"It was awesome. He just settles everything down for us and changes our team completely. He's not only the best player on our team, but one of the best in the league. Getting a guy like that back is huge for us." -- Matthew Tkachuk on Aleksander Barkov's return
"I do think it has something to do with that room. It's incredibly inclusive. They welcome these guy in and they're on the team. They make them feel a part of it and they talk on the bench. It's a close-knit group. These guys go out and truly play for each other even if they're not regularly on our team. They've been good, and we need those legs." -- Paul Maurice on Florida's call-ups finding success

CATS NOTES

• Florida's four goals in the second period were the most by the team in a period this season.
  - Carter Verhaeghe skated in his 200th career NHL game.
  - Sam Reinhart recorded a team-high seven shots on goal.
  - Marc Staal finished with a team-best +3 rating.
  - The Panthers had 13 different skaters record at least one point.
  - The Panthers led 13-2 in high-danger shot attempts at 5-on-5, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Panthers (13-10-4) will face another tough divisional test when they travel across the state to battle the rival Tampa Bay Lightning (16-8-1) at Amalie Arena on Thursday at 4:30 p.m. ET.