Detroit Red Wings show some fight, but settle for 3-2 shootout loss to…
[ad_1]
SUNRISE, Fla. — In a possible first-round NHL playoff matchup – should they make the it – the Detroit Red Wings showed some mettle.
They scored in the first period and withstood a late charge Saturday by the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena, ultimately settling for a 3-2 loss in a shootout.
“It’s definitely tough,” Wings’ David 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.”
The game was physical, but the Wings pushed back, and did so without taking penalties. It was the Panthers who were shorthanded for the sixth time of the game a minute into overtime, and who were in the penalty box when Robby Fabbri scored in the first period and Dylan Larkin in the third.
“We played hard and blocked a lot of shots,” Larkin said. “Guys were battling through the flu. We got a tough bounce on their second goal and we responded. Just didn’t get it done in overtime.”
Larkin scored with four minutes left in regulation, less than a minute after Aleksander Barkov celebrated his second goal of the day when Moritz Seider accidentally tipped the puck into his own net. That’s the kind of composure needed from a team desperate for points.
“Loved it,” coach Derek Lalonde said. “And the way that goal went in, it would be easy to get down. But you could see it, they were engaged – stay in it, nothing changes. It was actually impressive to watch.”
The Wings are trying to edge into the playoff picture. The Panthers already have clinched, but they’re battling the Boston Bruins for first place in the Atlantic Division and the Bruins, New York Rangers and Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the East. That could potentially…
[ad_2]
