In Sunrise, the Florida Panthers’ Aleksander Barkov scored twice on Friday night,including the game-winner in extra time for a 3-2 win over the Detroit red Wings.
The win pushed the Panthers’ record to 8-0-0.
“[Barkov] got a huge face-off win in the [defensive] zone, I got the puck back to him and then I let the big guys get to work,” the Panthers’ MacKenzie Weegar said. “I was just a decoy, watching an incredible pass from [Huberdeau] to [Barkov].”
Sergei Bobrovsky made 28 saves in the Panthers win.
“At this point, every game is big, because we want to keep this streak going,” Bobrovsky said. “But we know this wasn’t easy for [Brunette], so it feels great to get him this win.”
It was the first game without coach Joel Quenneville behind the bench, he resigned earlier in the wake of the Chicago debacle.
Andrew Brunette coached his first game for Florida.
“To be honest, I’m happier for these guys than I am for myself,” Brunette said. “I’m so proud of how well they played after a really tough few days.”
Detroit trailed 0-2 in the game and rallied off goals from Sam Gagner and Pius Suter to force the extra session.
It was the second straight game the Wings rallied from a two-goal deficit.
“That certainly builds our confidence, but I’m disappointed we didn’t get two points tonight,” Detroit head coach Jeff Blashill said. “We got [behind] 2-0 and started playing better hockey.”
Eetu Luostarinen also scored for the Panthers, his goal staked Florida to a 1-0 lead.
“He has really taken a step forward,” Brunette said. “He, [Mason Marchment] and [Sam Reinhart] were probably our best line tonight, both offensively and defensively.”
Alex Nedeljkovic made 30 saves in the Detroit loss.
The Red Wings defense blocked 23 shots on the night.
“That was awesome,” Nedeljkovic said. “The guys were sacrificing their bodies, and the crowd was really getting into it. The fans fed off it and we fed off the fans.”
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