Point salvaged: David Perron says the Detroit Red Wings gave it their best effort in today’s shootout setback against the powerful Florida Panthers.
The Detroit Red Wings earned a point this afternoon, but it came with mixed emotions. Despite taking a lead into the 3rd period, they couldn’t protect it, and their inability to convert on a power play in overtime led to a 3-2 shootout loss to the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise. And in the words of veteran David Perron, his team put forward their best effort.
The Detroit Red Wings had the lead, lost it, then fought back
The Red Wings secured a 1-0 lead midway through the first period courtesy of a power play goal by Robby Fabbri. This broke the shutout streak of goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky against Detroit, as he held them scoreless at Little Caesars Arena on March 2.
Former Panthers goaltender Alex Lyon delivered a stellar performance throughout the game, making 36 saves against his former team. However, his shutout bid was disrupted past the midway point of the third period. Defenseman Moritz Seider couldn’t contain Aaron Ekblad, who had just exited the penalty box. Ekblad then set up Aleksander Barkov, who scored to even the game. Shortly after, an unfortunate bounce off Seider’s skate led to the puck barely crossing the goal line behind Lyon, giving Florida the lead.
Despite the setback, the Red Wings capitalized on a late-period power play. Dylan Larkin roofed a shot past Bobrovsky to knot the score and enable the Red Wings to earn a point in the tightly contested postseason race.
Unfortunately, that’s as close as they’d get. Detroit failed to capitalize on the man advantage in overtime, with their best chance from Alex DeBrincat ringing off the post. With no goals in the five-minute extra session, the game headed to a shootout. Sam Reinhart was the lone player to score in the skills contest, while Bobrovsky turned aside attempts from Lucas Raymond, Patrick Kane, and Larkin.
David Perron says Red Wings “gave it all we had”
Despite the disappointing ultimate result, Perron feels that his team can hang their hats on the fact that they didn’t give up despite losing the lead in the 3rd period.
“It’s definitely tough,” Perron said. “I think we gave it all we had, played a really solid team game. It’s a big point. We knew it was going to be a hard battle.”
However, it’s still not the outcome that the Red Wings, who are now 0-2-2 on this five-game road trip, wanted.
“This one stings,” defenseman Jeff Petry said. “We wanted two points.”
“I think our team game is growing,” Petry continued. “If we bring that effort and compete every night from here on out, we’re gonna put ourselves in a good spot.”
TL;DR (too long didn’t read)
- The Detroit Red Wings suffered a 3-2 shootout loss against the Florida Panthers this afternoon.
- Despite initially holding the lead, the Red Wings were unable to maintain it in the third period. However, Dylan Larkin’s effort helped them tie the game.
- While Detroit managed to secure a point in the standings, they still trail the Washington Capitals by a point for the final Wild Card playoff spot.
Bottom Line: Road trip wraps up on Monday
The Red Wings stay mathematically in contention in the standings following today’s point, but their path to the playoffs becomes increasingly challenging. Their struggles persisted through March, closing the month with a disappointing 3-9-1 record.
Next, Detroit faces the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday night at Amalie Arena in downtown Tampa Bay. The game is set to start at 7:00 PM.
