RECAP: Red Wings 3, Panthers 2 (OT)

SUNRISE, Fla. – A questionable call late in the third period might’ve cost the Florida Panthers an extra point in 3-2 overtime loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.

With the game tied 2-2 and just over five minutes left in regulation, what should’ve been a power play for the Panthers instead turned into two minutes of 4-on-4 action when Evan Rodrigues was whistled for embellishment after being hooked by Robby Fabbri.

As it has been for some time, embellishment calls remain head scratchers in the NHL.

“I felt like we played pretty good day,” Panthers forward Anton Lundell said. “Maybe the penalties, you know, that was on both sides, close, maybe could’ve been called. But it is what it is. I think we battled good. We’re going to improve some stuff.”

Despite the loss, the Panthers still remain in second place in the Atlantic Division with an impressive record of 27-13-4 and have picked up points in 11 of their last 12 games.

“I don’t think we’re giving up a whole heck of a lot,” Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said of his team’s performance. “We’re not finishing around the net as much we’d like, but [these are] hard games. The other team’s battling hard. It was an unusual game.”

The first period came and went with no goals, but quite a few fireworks.

Over the course of the first 20 minutes, there were multiple scrums that resulted in five combined roughing penalties.

Between the pipes, neither goaltender gave up an inch early. Alex Lyon stopped nine shots in the first period for the Red Wings, while Sergei Bobrovsky made 10 saves.

During the first TV timeout, Lyon, who played an integral role in helping push the Panthers into the playoffs at the end of last season, received a nice tribute video.

On the penalty kill in the second period, the Panthers took the lead when Sam Reinhart took a pass from Lundell -- who did a great job filling in for injured captain Aleksander Barkov – and beat Lyon from the slot for a shorthanded goal to make it 1-0 at 5:38.

On the play, multiple milestones were hit.

Netting his team-leading 33^rd goal of the season, Reinhart has now matched his previous career-high total. Lighting the lamp for the eighth straight game, he’s also surpassed Pavel Bure (2000-01) for the longest goal streak in franchise history.

“I think any time you’re in the conversation with Pavel Bure, that’s pretty cool,” Reinhart said.

Extending his own NHL record, the shorthanded goal -- his second in as many games -- also marked his eighth consecutive game scoring a goal on special teams.

Last but not least, the goal was Reinhart’s 500^th point in the NHL.

“Reinhart’s just been the best forward in so many ways for us,” Maurice said.

Just 16 seconds after Michael Rasmussen beat Bobrovsky with a nifty tip to even the score for the Red Wings and make it 1-1 at 11:40, Gustav Forsling quickly put the Panthers back on top when he buried a rebound to make it 2-1 at 11:56.

In the third period, the Red Wings tied the game when Fabbri took a pass from Rasmussen -- who made a great play to keep the play alive in the offensive zone -- and fired a short-side shot from just inside the left circle into the cage to make it 2-2 at 6:15.

Not long after the aforementioned embellishment incident, the Red Wings were sent to the power play with 39 seconds left in regulation. Thanks to some stalwart defense from Kevin Stenlund and Eetu Luostarinen on the penalty kill, the Panthers survived to get to overtime.

But with the Red Wings still on the man advantage -- now a 4-on-3 -- in the extra frame, Dylan Larkin lit the lamp at 1:09 to secure the 3-2 win and the extra point for Detroit.

In defeat, the Panthers led 36-10 in scoring chances, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

“We take pride in being a tough team to play against, especially late in games when we’ve got the lead,” Reinhart said. “We didn’t give them much, but they capitalized. We’ve got to do a better job of holding on to it. We’re going to learn from it and come back stronger.

THEY SAID IT

“We’re not far off our game. I really believe that.” – Paul Maurice

“It felt really good. It felt like we didn’t do that much mistakes as we did in the Anaheim game. We played much tighter as a team as well. A great battle. Two good teams. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the win today.” – Anton Lundell

“I think tonight was a pretty tight game for the most part. Two teams playing solid defensively. Give it up for Lyon, he played a great game. It seems we had more looks offensively, and they just capitalized late.” – Sam Reinhart

CATS STATS

- Sam Reinhart has joined Hall of Famer Pavel Bure (24 in 2000-01) as the second player in franchise history to score at least 20 special-teams goals in a single season.

- The Panthers led 77-50 in shot attempts.

- Sergei Bobrovsky made four high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.

- Kevin Stenlund went 12-for-17 (70.6%) in the faceoff circle.

- Matthew Tkachuk and Gustav Forsling each had three hits.

- Every Panthers defenseman recorded at least one blocked shot.

WHAT’S NEXT?

A long time ago in an arena not so far away …

The Panthers will celebrate their annual Star Wars Night when they host the Minnesota Wild for an intergalactic matchup at Amerant Bank Arena on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

For tickets, click HERE.