Panthers get past Red Wings for fourth straight win

Sergei Bobrovsky made 27 saves in his return, and the Florida Panthers won their fourth straight game with a 4-1 victory against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday.

Bobrovsky missed the previous two games because of an upper-body injury.
"I only missed two games, but it felt like I was couldn't play for a month," Bobrovsky said. "It felt great to be playing hockey again."
WATCH: [All Panthers vs. Red Wings highlights]
Jonathan Huberdeau and Frank Vatrano each had two assists for Florida (26-16-5), which went 7-for-7 on the penalty kill and has won eight of its past 11 games.
"I thought the PK was pretty good," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said. "We did a lot of good things -- blocked some shots, disrupted their entries and kept them out of the danger zones -- but [Bobrovsky] was really good. He was our best killer all night."

Dylan Larkin scored his 100th NHL goal for Detroit (12-33-4), which has lost four in a row (0-3-1).
"I dreamed about scoring one goal in the NHL, so I guess it is good to get that one, but it doesn't feel great right now," Larkin said. "We've got to find more ways to score and we have to start converting on the power play."
Jimmy Howard made 34 saves and is 0-12-2 in his past 14 games. He made 35 saves in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
"I'm just playing," said Howard, who last won Oct. 29. "I'm playing free and not thinking out there. I don't know how much worse it could get, so I'm trying to build some momentum and win a game for the guys."
Evgenii Dadonov gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead at 17:15 of the first period on a breakaway after receiving a stretch pass from Huberdeau, who has 27 points (seven goals, 20 assists) in his past 15 games.
Mark Pysyk made it 2-0 at 18:40, tapping in his own rebound inside the left post for his fourth goal of the season. Pysyk played on Florida's fourth line at even strength but shifted to defenseman on the penalty kill.
"He was outstanding, I thought he had a great night," Quenneville said. "He did everything right in every part of the game and he obviously scored a huge goal. He's one of those Swiss Army guys."
Larkin pulled the Red Wings to within 2-1 at 5:15 of the second period, exiting the penalty box and receiving a stretch pass from Darren Helm before scoring on a breakaway.
"[Helm] made a great pass," Larkin said. "I had to slow down to stay onside and then get on my horse to make sure their defensemen couldn't catch me."
Frans Nielsen, who has the most shootout goals in NHL history (49), was stopped twice on a breakaway at 8:14 of the third period before Howard stopped Aleksander Barkov twice on a breakaway 11 seconds later.
"I made the first save, but I didn't know where the puck was," Bobrovsky said. "The second shot was really the most dangerous one."
Barkov redirected Keith Yandle's pass short side on the power play to make it 3-1 at 13:05, and Denis Malgin made it 4-1 at 18:12 with an empty-net goal.

They said it

"It is kind of weird, but I'm starting to get used to it a little more. [Assistant coach Mike Kitchen] grabbed me about 10 minutes before a game and told me I might be playing a little defense on the penalty kill, and since then he's had some confidence in me which has helped my own confidence." -- Panthers forward/defenseman Mark Pysyk on his dual role

"They scored a power-play goal and we had seven chances and couldn't get one. We've talked to the guys about needing to shoot the puck and we had at least one power play where we really shot it and had some good looks, but we overcomplicated it after that. We have to take what's given and make plays." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill

Need to know

Malgin's goal, which came on his 23rd birthday, was his first point in 20 games. … Detroit played its first back-to-back at home since the final two games at Joe Louis Arena on April 8-9, 2017. … Red Wings center Valtteri Filppula left the game in the first period with a lower-body injury, but Blashill doesn't expect him to miss any games.

What's next

Panthers:At the Minnesota Wild on Monday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN, TVAS, FS-WI, FS-N+, FS-F, NHL.TV)
Red Wings:At the Colorado Avalanche on Monday (3 p.m. ET; NHLN, ALT, FS-D, NHL.TV)