Preview: Panthers at Red Wings

PANTHERS (11-10-2) at RED WINGS (11-10-2)
7:30 p.m. ET; FS-F, FS-D, NHL.TV

Panthers team scope

The Florida Panthers will play their second game under new coach Tom Rowe after a 2-1 shootout loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday. "I was very happy with the way we played in Chicago," Rowe said. "We competed and we went hard to the net. Those are the things we are focusing on right now." Forward Vincent Trocheck said the players aren't worried about the change from Gerard Gallant to Rowe. "We've got the same players and we're playing the same game," he said. "It's never good to have a coaching change, but we just need to play." Florida is making its final regular-season visit to Joe Louis Arena, where Rowe finished his NHL career in 1983. "I have a lot of great memories from my season playing here," he said. "That was the year that Mike Ilitch bought the team and that turned this franchise around."

Red Wings team scope

After a 2-8-1 slump, the Detroit Red Wings are 3-0-1 in their past four. "We've maintained a very narrow focus on the next game and on improving the process," coach Jeff Blashill said. "You can have good process and lose, but you won't win without it." Florida has won its first two games against Detroit this season and the Red Wings know they can't afford a third loss to a division rival. "We weren't good in the first two games against them, but we are playing much better hockey right now," forward Tomas Tatar said. "We have to keep that going." The Red Wings' game Thursday is their third in four nights, so they held an optional morning skate.

Panthers projected lineup

Jonathan Marchessault -- Aleksander Barkov -- Jaromir Jagr
Jussi Jokinen -- Vincent Trocheck -- Reilly Smith
Seth Griffith -- Denis Malgin -- Nick Bjugstad
Kyle Rau-- Derek MacKenzie -- Colton Sceviour
Keith Yandle -- Jason Demers
Jakub Kindl -- Aaron Ekblad
Mike Matheson -- Mark Pysyk
Roberto Luongo
James Reimer
Scratched:Shawn Thornton, Dylan McIlrath
Injured:Jonathan Huberdeau (lower leg), Alexander Petrovic (ankle)

Red Wings projected lineup

Anthony Mantha -- Henrik Zetterberg -- Tomas Tatar
Gustav Nyquist -- Dylan Larkin -- Thomas Vanek
Luke Glendening -- Frans Nielsen -- Justin Abdelkader
Tomas Jurco -- Riley Sheahan -- Steve Ott
Danny DeKeyser -- Mike Green
Jonathan Ericsson -- Ryan Sproul
Niklas Kronwall -- Xavier Ouellet
Petr Mrazek
Jared Coreau
Scratched:Drew Miller
Injured:Darren Helm (upper body), Andreas Athanasiou (lower body), Jimmy Howard (groin), Brendan Smith (lower body), Tyler Bertuzzi (ankle), Alexey Marchenko (upper body)

Status report

Though Rowe is emphasizing a more attacking offensive system, he doesn't want to change things with his defense pairs. "We're happy with the way we have those six paired right now," he said. "It is tough for defensemen to build chemistry, so we don't want to change things for the sake of change." … With no new injuries in a 3-1 win against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday, the Red Wings are expected to use the same lines and defense pairs for a second straight game. "It's a lot easier to play when you aren't trying to find chemistry with new linemates every night," Tatar said.

Who's hot

Trocheck has six goals and 10 points in nine games against the Red Wings. … Jagr has two goals and an assist in his past three games. … Nielsen has two goals and three assists in his past three games. … Mrazek has stopped 56 of 59 shots (.949) in two games since replacing Howard (groin) as the No. 1 goalie.