Kane helps Red Wings defeat Panthers for 3rd win in row

DETROIT -- Patrick Kane had the go-ahead goal, and Mason Appleton scored twice to help the Detroit Red Wings win their third straight game, 4-1 against the Florida Panthers at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.

Michael Rasmussen had a goal and an assist, and Dylan Larkin and Alex DeBrincat each had two assists for Detroit (3-1-0), which is undefeated since a 5-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens in its season opener.

“I think we’ve been much smarter than we were on the first night,” said Larkin the Red Wings captain. “We’re still aggressive and we still have speed. It’s early, but this is a good response, especially against the back-to-back champs.”

Cam Talbot made 20 saves and has won all three of his starts this season.

“When we picked up [goalie John Gibson] in the summer, I was really excited about having those two guys back there,” Larkin said. “We’re going to need both of them this year, but Cam has been huge the last three nights.

“When he’s hot, he’s one of the top goalies in the League.”

Detroit played without forward Lucas Raymond, who is day to day with an upper-body injury.

Brad Marchand scored for Florida (3-2-0), which has lost two straight. Sergei Bobrovsky made 21 saves.

“We’ve got a couple of areas we need to work on,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “There were some things in transition tonight that could have been better and I didn’t think we were fully engaged on the forecheck.”

Appleton, playing on the top line in Raymond’s spot, gave the Red Wings a 1-0 lead at 2:09 of the second period. He scored with a one-timer from the inside edge of the right face-off circle.

“I’m just trying to play simple, fast hockey,” said Appleton, who scored the winning goal in a 3-2 victory at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. “I don’t change my game when I go to the first line. I work hard and try to get into good positions.”

Kane made it 2-0 at 9:36, scoring on a 5-on-3 power play for his 494th NHL goal.

“There are nights when special teams will have to win a game for you, and this was a good example of that,” Red Wings coach Todd McLellan said. “Other nights, it will be goaltending, and [Talbot] was outstanding again tonight.”

Kane’s wrist shot from the right circle deflected off the stick of Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling and beat Bobrovsky to the glove side.

“Obviously, a 5-on-3 goal is always going to hurt you, but I liked our game after that,” Maurice said.

Marchand cut it to 2-1 at 14:05, beating Kane around the net and scoring on a wraparound from the right side.

Appleton pushed the lead to 3-1 with an empty-net goal at 18:02 of the third period, and Rasmussen scored into an empty net at 19:42 for the 4-1 final.

NOTES: Kane has five points (two goals, three assists) in four games to start the season. He’s six goals from becoming the sixth American player to reach 500, and his 82nd game-winning goal in the NHL moved him within one of Zach Parise (83) for the fourth-most by an American player, behind Brett Hull (110), Mike Modano (92) and Jeremy Roenick (92). … Panthers forward Anton Lundell, playing his 300th NHL game, assisted on Marchand’s goal. Each extended his point streak to four games and has five points in that span; Lundell has two goals and three assists, and Marchand has three goals and two assists.