Preview: Panthers Preparing for Tight Game in Detroit

The Panthers will have an opportunity to tighten their grip on first place in the Central Division when they kick off a back-to-back set against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Friday.
Already their fifth meeting of the season, Florida owns a 3-1-0 record against Detroit, including a 2-1 win in their last meeting back on Feb. 9 in Sunrise. Fighting tooth and nail to collect points in those matchups, three of those four head-to-head battles have been decided by just a one goal.

Over their last 10 games against the Red Wings, the Panthers have gone 10-1-1.
"The games have been all close," Panthers coach Joel Quenneville said of the season series against the boys from the Motor City. "They could have gone either way. They're competitive and tight checked. You have to fight for everything you get. That's the kind of game we expect. They've been in a lot of low-scoring games. I think timely goals are going to be important."
Off to their best start in franchise history, the Panthers (10-2-2) have been on an outstanding run as of late. Fresh off taking two of three games from the defending Stanley Cup champion Lightning, they stormed into Carolina and came away with a 4-3 overtime win on Wednesday.
"The one thing we tried to stress going into the season is that we need a big start," Quenneville said. "That's a good start. The standard has been enhanced based on play. I think expectations internally should be in the right place to push us further. Let's keep trying to strive for better."
Leading the charge against the Hurricanes, Jonathan Huberdeau netted the game-winning goal in overtime after racking up a pair of assists in regulation, including an eye-popping, no-look set up on Alex Wennberg's game-tying goal in the third period that made SportsCenter's top plays.
After leading the Panthers with 78 points (23 goals, 55 assists) last season, Huberdeau once again finds himself atop Florida's scoring list. Pacing the Panthers and ranking tied for eighth in the NHL, the 27-year-old winger has compiled 20 points (seven goals, 13 assists) in 14 games.

"It's a hell of a pass right there," Wennberg said of Huberdeau's epic dish in Carolina. "He's one of those players where you could just tell it was coming. It was just wait and wait. A no-look, spin-o-rama is unbelievable. He made it easy for me. It was just a tap-in, pretty much."
Coming off a 32-save performance against the Hurricanes, Chris Driedger will make his third straight start for the Panthers tonight. Manning the crease in seven contests thus far, the 26-year-old owns a 5-1-1 record with a 2.39 goals-against average and .924 save percentage.
In two starts against Detroit this season, Driedger has stopped 67 of 72 shots (.931%).
"He's been really good every game he's played," Huberdeau said of Driedger.
After opening up their campaign with two wins over their first four games, the Red Wings have struggled mightily, losing 12 of their last 14 games - including a 2-0 defeat at the hands of the Blackhawks on Wednesday -- to quickly tumble all the way down to the bottom of the division.
Anthony Mantha, Dylan Larkin and Filip Hronek are tied for the most points on the team with (9), while Mantha is also tied with Tyler Bertuzzi for the most goals (5). Working his way back from an upper-body injury suffered on Jan. 30 against Florida, Bertuzzi isn't expected to play tonight.
"We can't be satisfied with close losses, but we have to look at the process and see what we are doing good and what we can do better," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill told reporters after the shutout loss to Chicago. "That's just the reality of it. I don't want to be satisfied with the fact that we've played fairly good in the last few games, but we've got to find ways to win."
If the Red Wings continue to alternate starts between Jonathan Bernier and Thomas Greiss like they have over the last four games, then the Cats can expect to face Greiss tonight in net. In 13 games this season, the 34-year-old goaltender has gone 1-9-3 behind a .899 save percentage.
A thorn in Florida's side, Greiss is 6-4-2 with a .927 save percentage in his career against the Panthers.
"Let's stay focused on doing the right things," Quenneville said. "I think we're doing a little more of the right things more often. I think that adds up to success. That's some progress there."
The Panthers own a 5-0-1 record on the road this season.

TEAM RECORDS

FLA:10-2-2, 22 PTS
DET:4-11-3, 11 PTS
FLA all-time vs. DET:26-18-5-6

PANTHERS NOTES

-- Aaron Ekblad is tied for first among Florida's defenseman with nine points (four goals, five assists) while also averaging a team-high 24:59 of ice time per game. The 25-year-old needs one power-play goal to pass Robert Svehla (26) for the most by a blueliner in franchise history.
-- Carter Verhaeghe leads the Panthers in even-strength goals (7) and points (12).
-- Aleksander Barkov ranks second on Florida in scoring with 15 points (five goals, 10 assists). In 29 career games against Detroit, the 25-year-old has tallied 27 points (10 goals, 17 assists).
-- Patric Hornqvist leads the Cats with four power-play goals. The 34-year-old also ranks third on the team in total goals (6). Over his last five contests, he's tallied one goal and four assists.
-- Radko Gudas ranks second in the NHL with 76 hits.
-- Alex Wennberg has scored four goals over his last six games. In 14 games this season, the 26-year-old center has posted seven points (four goals, three assists), with all of them coming at even-strength.
-- Brett Connolly is one goal away from his 100th in the NHL.

PROJECTED LINEUP (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)

Forwards
Carter Verhaeghe - Aleksander Barkov - Anthony Duclair
Jonathan Huberdeau - Alex Wennberg - Patric Hornqvist
Frank Vatrano - Eetu Luostarinen - Owen Tippett
Ryan Lomberg - Juho Lammikko - Brett Connolly
Defensemen
MacKenzie Weegar - Aaron Ekblad
Gustav Forsling - Anton Stralman
Keith Yandle - Radko Gudas
Goaltenders
Chris Driedger Sergei Bobrovsky
Scratches: Vinnie Hinostroza, Markus Nutivaara, Noah Juulsen
Taxi squad: Mason Marchment, Kevin Connauton, Scott Wilson, Philippe Desrosiers
Injured reserve: Noel Acciari (upper body)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS

• Feb. 17: D Gustav Forsling was activated from IR and F Noel Acciari was placed on IR.
  - Feb. 9: F Ryan Lomberg was added to Florida's active roster from the taxi squad.
  - Feb. 8: F Mason Marchment was assigned to Florida's taxi squad.

HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN

When:Friday, Feb. 19, 7:00 p.m. ET
Where:Little Caesars Arena - Detroit, MI
TV: FOX Sports Florida, ESPN+
Stream: FOX Sports GO
Radio:560 WQAM (Dade/Broward); 850 WFTL (Palm Beach); 100.3 WCTH (Florida Keys) 107.9 FM/1370 AM WZTA (Treasure Coast); SiriusXM Streaming Ch. 932