RECAP: Red Wings feel confidence brewing, extend point streak to seven games with 3-2 overtime victory at Panthers

SUNRISE, Fla. -- For the second consecutive game, the Detroit Red Wings tapped into their resilience and overcame another one-goal deficit, setting the stage for captain Dylan Larkin’s power-play goal at 1:09 of overtime to seal a 3-2 win against the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday night.

“I give the guys credit,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “It’s very hard to win in this league. It’s very hard to win on the road. It’s very hard to beat a top-echelon team, especially trailing going into the third. Really good on our guys.”

Earning its third straight victory, Detroit (23-16-5; 51 points) extended its point streak to a season-high seven consecutive games and moved into third in the Atlantic Division. Florida (27-13-4; 58 points) picked up a point in the loss, but is winless in its last three games.

“Obviously it always feels good to beat the team that you played for last year, but I have a lot of respect for those guys,” said Red Wings goalie Alex Lyon, who made 32 saves against the Panthers. “They have a fantastic team over there. Just super happy for the boys and proud of the way we battled back.”

The first period between Detroit and Florida was scoreless but chippy, with several post-whistle altercations.

“We woke them up a little bit,” Larkin said. “They like to scrum it up. Benny (Ben Chiarot) did a great job with (Matthew) Tkachuk and they had a battle going all night. Similar to a playoff game, there was a lot of individual side battles that people wouldn’t really notice. That’s huge for us. It’s not always about fighting someone.”

Sam Reinhart put the Panthers ahead, 1-0, at 5:38 of the second period with a shorthanded goal for his 500th career NHL point. Notching his 33rd goal of the season, Reinhart also set a new Florida franchise record by extending his goal streak to eight consecutive games.

Detroit tied the game (1-1) at 11:40 of the second period when Michael Rasmussen tipped Olli Maatta’s shot past opposing netminder Sergei Bobrovsky, who stopped 26-of-29 shots on Wednesday. Andrew Copp pushed his point streak to five straight games with the other assist on Rasmussen’s 10th goal of the season.

Taking the lead back for the Panthers just 16 seconds later, Gustav Forsling fired a shot from the high slot that was stopped by Lyon, but the defenseman followed up and scored his sixth goal of the season to make it 2-1.

With 13:45 remaining in regulation, Robby Fabbri scored his 13th goal of the season to tie the game at 2-2. Fabbri was assisted by Rasmussen and Maatta. 

“Hard work by all of us,” Rasmussen said about Fabbri’s game-tying goal. “We talk about offensive zone changes all the time. A great change by Fisch (Christian Fischer) to great a fresh guy on. Just a good shot.”

Larkin's power-play goal marked his eighth career NHL overtime goal, tying Pavel Datsyuk for the fourth-most in Red Wings franchise history. Only Sergei Fedorov (12), Steve Yzerman (nine) and Brendan Shanahan (nine) have scored more.

“(The Panthers) are a good hockey team, but that was a big confidence boost for us in this building,” said Larkin, who extended his point streak to six straight games. “Even when we played them at home, we played them pretty solid. Both games were similar to playoff games.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will conclude its three-game road trip Friday night against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on why the Red Wings' defense is playing well of late

“It’s practice. I know it sounds very simple, but it’s just part of our schedule. We’ve had an opportunity to practice and detail out that part of our game. Good on the guys for translating it. In this current streak, it’s been three, two or less (goals) throughout. But you can just see we’re not giving up the odd mans and easy offense. These are really hard teams to defend against, so give the credit to the guys.”

Larkin on the confidence level in the club's dressing room

“It’s pretty high. The way we’ve come together kind of started on the West Coast trip. We got healthy after Christmas. West Coast trip, we got hot and on a roll, got our identity going. It’s just been great. You’re a confident team when your goaltender is playing like that. Huge win. Copper’s line was unbelievable tonight, but there were some lines that weren’t as intense as (in) Toronto but it’s hard to have it every night. But that’s what good teams do, is find ways to win.”

Larkin on whether Detroit is keeping an eye on the standings

“You look at it. We talk about it, but still got to play. There’s a lot of hockey left. You need some luck with your team, but we look at it. I believe we’re right where we deserve to be.”

Rasmussen on the importance of Wednesday’s overtime win

“It’s a good win, a divisional win. Obviously need those. Back-to-back comeback divisional wins, so gives us some confidence. It’s good to know those are possible for us.”