Red Wings at Panthers preview
Florida looks to keep rolling; Detroit 1-8-1 in past 10 games
by Alain Poupart / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
RED WINGS (4-9-1) at PANTHERS (6-3-4)
7 p.m. ET; FS-F, FS-D+, NHL.TV
The Game
The Florida Panthers look for their fifth victory in seven games when they play the Detroit Red Wings at BB&T Center on Saturday.
The Panthers are 4-1-1 in their past six games and were 2-1-1 on their just-completed Western road trip that ended with a 4-3 overtime victory at the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday.
The Red Wings are 1-8-1 in their past 10 games, including a 7-3 loss at the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday. Goalie Jimmy Howard was pulled in the second period after allowing five goals on 21 shots.
Players to watch
Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha's two goals against Carolina on Friday made him the first player to score nine goals in Detroit's first 14 games since Henrik Zetterberg in 2008-09.
Panthers forward Jonathan Huberdeau has seven goals in his past eight games.
They said it
"[Anthony Mantha is] really strong on his stick, strong down low. He really can do it everywhere. It kind of reminds me of a lot of … (former Red Wings forward) Johan Franzen, how he was big and strong, could skate and shoot. [Mantha] can play any type of game needed. Hopefully he can continue to have a shoot-first mentality, because his shot is so good." -- Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader
"When he's played there, he gives us a lot of predictability. He's aware. I think positionally he does the right things, keeps himself in play, got some quickness in his game. There's more of a defensive responsibility on that line." -- Panthers coach Joel Quenneville on using defenseman Mark Pysyk at right wing
Red Wings projected lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Darren Helm
Andreas Athanasiou -- Valtteri Filppula -- Anthony Mantha
Brendan Perlini -- Frans Nielsen -- Taro Hirose
Justin Abdelkader -- Jacob de la Rose -- Adam Erne
Patrik Nemeth -- Filip Hronek
Mike Green -- Joe Hicketts
Trevor Daley -- Madison Bowey
Jonathan Bernier
Jimmy Howard
Scratched: Christoffer Ehn, Alex Biega, Dennis Cholowski
Injured: Luke Glendening (upper body), Danny DeKeyser (lower body)
Panthers projected lineup
Jonathan Huberdeau -- Aleksander Barkov -- Evgenii Dadonov
Mike Hoffman -- Brian Boyle -- Brett Connolly
Frank Vatrano -- Denis Malgin -- Mark Pysyk
Dryden Hunt -- Noel Acciari -- Colton Sceviour
MacKenzie Weegar -- Aaron Ekblad
Riley Stillman -- Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle -- Josh Brown
Sergei Bobrovsky
Sam Montembeault
Scratched: None
Injured: Mike Matheson (lower body), Vincent Trocheck (lower body), Jayce Hawryluk (upper body)
Status report
Detroit did not have a morning skate. … Abdelkader played 12:00 against Carolina on Friday after being activated from injured reserve earlier in the day. … Hawryluk is expected to miss 3-4 weeks after being injured against Colorado. … Matheson and Trocheck could return in the Panthers' next game, Thursday against the Washington Capitals.
Stat pack
Perlini played 13:46 and had three shots against Carolina in his first game since being acquired in a trade with the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday. … Filppula needs one point to reach 500 in the NHL. … Detroit has been outscored 24-8 while losing its past five road games after starting 2-0 on the road. … Barkov has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in his past eight games. … The Panthers are 5-0-2 this season when scoring first.