Carrying a six-game point streak into the Motor City, Barkov has also terrorized the Red Wings over the past decade, racking up 41 points (14 goals, 27 assists) across 37 career contests.
"It means a lot," said Barkov, who was selected by the Panthers with the second-overall pick in the 2012 NHL Draft. "I was drafted by this organization. I've been playing here for 10 years and would love to play here forever. It means a lot to me. I really appreciate every day I spend here."
Helping the Panthers push their point streak to six games, Barkov ignited Florida's third-period comeback in a 4-2 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Improving to 35-27-7 with the win, the Panthers currently trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by just one point for the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
In a 2-0 hole against the Devils coming out of the second intermission, Barkov, Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk all scored within a span of just 2:30 to put the Panthers up 3-2. Shutting the door, Sergei Bobrovsky stopped all 12 shots he faced in the period to keep that lead intact.
With 21 seconds left in regulation, Reinhart, who enters tonight's tilt riding a four-game goal streak, put the game away when he buried an empty-net goal to lock down the 4-2 victory.
Feeding off the fans, the Panthers finished their seven-game homestand with a 5-1-1 record.
"We're on our way," Panthers head coach Paul Maurice said. "We've still got more players that can push harder and grind better, but all of them have taken a major step forward [this season]."
After shaking up the lines just a bit in the third period against the Devils, Maurice said that Reinhart will remain on the top line alongside Eetu Luostarinen and Barkov in Detroit. Sliding down to the third, Anthony Duclair will join Anton Lundell and Ryan Lomberg on a line built around speed.
Making his 13th straight start, Bobrovsky will man the crease for the Panthers. Over his last 16 appearances, he's gone 11-4-1 with a .916 save percentage. Always on top of his game in this matchup, he's posted a 23-6-1 record with a .937 save percentage in his career against the Red Wings.
Recalled from the AHL on Sunday, Alex Lyon, who stopped 34 of 35 shots over the course of back-to-back wins over the weekend with the Checkers, is expected to see action at some point down the homestretch as the Panthers play a pretty jampacked schedule the rest of the way.
"With eight games in under two weeks, Alex is going to play in probably two of them," Maurice said. "We've got a plan. There's strong consideration for him playing tomorrow in Philadelphia."
Falling out of the playoff race in a hurry, the Red Wings have lost nine of their last 11 games, including a 5-1 loss to the Colorado Avalanche on Saturday to drop to 30-29-9 in the standings.
During that 11-game stretch, Detroit has averaged a league-worst 2.00 goals per game.
"We didn't capitalize on our power-play chances," Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin told reporters following the loss to the Avalanche. "When we had a power play with it 3-1, we give up a shorty and another goal right after that. That's just a lapse and we left Huss (Ville Husso) out to dry."
Larkin, who was inked to an eight-year extension earlier this month, leads Detroit in goals (25), assists (40) and points (65). David Perron ranks second on the team in scoring with 41 points (16 goals, 25 assists). After that duo, no other players on the team have hit 40 points yet.
Giving up five goals on 21 shots before being pulled against Colorado, Husso is expected to return to the crease against the Panthers for his fourth straight start. In 50 appearances this season, he's posted a 25-18-6 record with a .901 save percentage and three shutouts.
Facing off for the third and final time this season, the Panthers have come out on top in each of their two previous meetings with the Red Wings in 2022-23 by a combined score of 8-3. Dating back to March 30, 2021, the Panthers have won each of their past eight games against Detroit.
Overall, Florida has gone 18-2-0 in its last 20 head-to-head matchups against the Red Wings.
"It's going to be really, really fast right from the start," Maurice said. "They've got a team that can skate and move the puck. They were very good in their first period against Colorado. We have to be prepared to match that. I like the way we're playing right now. We're playing fast. We're playing really smart, but hard hockey and fast hockey. We've just got to keep that going."
