Bobrovsky gets first shutout with Panthers in win against Red Wings
Makes 22 saves; Huberdeau has two goals, assist for Florida
by Alain Poupart / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
SUNRISE, Fla. -- Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves for his first shutout with the Florida Panthers in a 4-0 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at BB&T Center on Saturday.
Bobrovsky, who agreed to a seven-year contract with the Panthers as a free agent July 1, hadn't allowed fewer than two goals in his first 11 games this season.
"It was definitely a fun game to play," said Bobrovsky, who came in with a 3.70 goals-against average and an .873 save percentage. "I thought our guys did a great job offensively, smart puck management and defensively they did the smart thing. It was fun to be part of this game for sure."
[WATCH: All Red Wings vs. Panthers highlights]
Jonathan Huberdeau had two goals and an assist, and Aleksander Barkov had a goal and an assist for the Panthers (7-3-4). Huberdeau has nine goals in his past nine games; Barkov has two goals and 12 assists in that same span.
Brett Connolly scored, and Keith Yandle had two assists for Florida, off to its best start through 14 games since 1996-97 (9-1-4).
"It's amazing," Barkov said. "We love winning, and the atmosphere here in the locker rooms after the game is the best thing you can have in hockey. We just love to do that. We're a confident group, and we love working for each other."
Video: DET@FLA: Huberdeau fires in a wrister to extend lead
Jonathan Bernier made 37 saves for the Red Wings (4-10-1), who are 1-9-1 in their past 11 games. They have been outscored 28-8 while losing their past six road games.
Detroit was shut out for the second time this season; the Red Wings lost 2-0 at home to the Buffalo Sabres on Oct. 25.
"Some of our high-skill players didn't compete hard enough tonight," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "We didn't have enough of our A-game players tonight. A lot of young guys weren't good enough tonight."
Connolly gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 3:05 of the first period, three seconds after the end of a power play. He scored with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle.
Barkov made it 2-0 at 16:54 with a power-play goal on a rebound after Bernier stopped Huberdeau's wrist shot.
Huberdeau made it 3-0 at 6:45 of the second period when his shot went off Detroit defenseman Trevor Daley's skate. Defenseman Anton Stralman got his 200th NHL assist on the play.
Huberdeau scored again at 10:46 of the third period when he went to the left post and redirected Yandle's pass from the slot into a wide-open net.
It was Huberdeau's 18th two-goal game in the NHL, his third this season and his second in two games. He came close to getting his first NHL hat trick later in the third period, but Bernier made a pad save on his redirection.
"Obviously, I was looking to shoot a little bit more," Huberdeau said. "Obviously, I want my first hat trick at some point. I think [someone] was saying, like, 18 games with two goals. That's too many. Hopefully, it's going to come, but I'm just happy that we got the win."
Bobrovsky didn't face more than eight shots in any period of his 34th NHL shutout.
"Very happy for him," Barkov said. "He's been unreal for us this season and finally gets the shutout and a lot of confidence from that. We're a confident group right now. We're going to keep working hard and keep playing hard."
Video: DET@FLA: Yandle sets up Huberdeau's second goal
They said it
"There's no doubt we've been fragile. We better dig in. We control our confidence. We have to learn from this thing and regroup Monday and play a real game." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
"I thought it was a real good game. We had the puck a lot, generated some offense. Everybody was contributing doing the right things and [Bobrovsky] did a good job in net as well. Across the board, it was one of those nights you're pleased." -- Panthers coach Joel Quenneville
Video: Pepsi Shutouts: Rittich, Kuemper, Varlamov, Bobrovsky
Need to know
Daley left the game early in the third period with an undisclosed injury. … Detroit defenseman Mike Green missed the game because of illness. … The Red Wings had a season-low 22 shots on goal. … Panthers defenseman Mark Pysyk was used at right wing in the absence of forwards Vincent Trocheck (lower-body injury) and Jayce Hawryluk (upper-body injury). He had one shot on goal and one blocked shot in 11:00. Hawryluk is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, and Trocheck could return against the Washington Capitals on Thursday. … Bobrovsky has 23 shutouts since the start of the 2015-16 season, the most in the NHL in that span. … The 1996-97 Panthers finished in third place in the Atlantic Division with a 35-28-19 record and made the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
What's next
Red Wings: Host the Nashville Predators on Monday (7:30 p.m.; ESPN+, FS-D+, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Panthers: Host the Washington Capitals on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; FS-F, NBCSWA, NHL.TV)