RECAP: Panthers 8, Red Wings 1

SUNRISE, Fla. – Cats Culture.

Even with the playoffs out of reach, the Florida Panthers, fueled by an injection of youthful energy from recent call-ups, closed out their season with an absolutely dominant 8-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on Wednesday.

Even though injuries cost them a shot at a third straight Stanley Cup, the Panthers know they’ll be back next season.

“We better just take advantage of this summer and come back with a complete snarl in us that we have to get back to playoffs,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said. “We have to. That’s the only thing that I’m sure we’re going to be talking about next year, building your game and playing playoff hockey all season. We didn’t do it this year. We let each other down. Hopefully this is a one-off. We have too much character in this room to not be playing in late April, May and June.”

Breaking the ice early in the first period, Vinnie Hinostroza took a pass from rookie Wilmer Skoog and buried a long shot to make it 1-0 at 4:57.

Suiting up in just the third game of his career, Skoog earned his first point in the NHL with the lone assist on the goal.

Right after the light went off, Hinostroza made sure to grab the puck out of the net.

Keeping the Red Wings off the board, the Panthers surrendered just one shot on goal during a power play for Detroit.

Even during an injury-plagued campaign, the Panthers have stayed strong on penalty kill, finishing the season at 81.0%.

Doubling the lead in the second period, Luke Kunin one-timed a dish from Tkachuk past John Gibson to make it 2-0 at 5:37.

A moment many years in the making, Kunin and Tkachuk were childhood friends and teammates growing up in St. Louis.

“Very special for me,” Tkachuk said of the goal. “We connected on hundreds of goals in youth hockey, a bunch with the U.S. Team, and now one in the NHL. That goal he scored ended up being the game-winner, too. We got the puck. It’s very special for us. We were smiling. After that goal, I got back to the bench, and I was done with that stick. I’m going to sign it to him and he can put it with the puck. I told him to get rid of his stick, too, so he’ll have both the sticks and the puck from that goal. It’s really special for both of us.”

On the power play, A.J. Greer extended Florida’s lead to 3-0 when he grabbed a rebound and buried a wrap-around goal to make it 3-0 at 8:56.

Joining Skoog in the ceremonial puck department, rookie defenseman Ludvig Jansson earned his first-career assist on the goal.

Two budding prospects, Skoog and Jansson are among eight prospects that will soon head back to Charlotte for the playoffs in the AHL.

“It’s a surreal feeling just being here,” said Jansson, a fourth-round draft pick in 2022. “To score my first point here, in the last game of the season, I just try to gain all this confidence before going back to Charlotte and having a good run there.”

Joining the milestone mania, rookie defenseman Mike Benning fired a shot that went off the glass, bounced of Gibson and went into the net to make it 4-0 at 9:39.

Just over three minutes later, Benning scored again to make it 5-0 at 12:41.

Continuing a family tradition, Benning’s father, Brian, scored seven of his 63 career goals with Florida.

“It was nice,” said Benning a fourth-round draft pick in 2020. “It’s a cherry on top, for sure. Those opportunities will come if you just play the right way.”

Getting the Red Wings on the board, Justin Faulk scored to spoil Daniil Tarasov’s shutout bid and make it 5-1 at 16:12.

Carrying a heavy workload to close out the season, Tarasov finished with 24 saves.

Over his final three starts, the talented young backup went 3-0-0 while surrendering only five total goals.

Not slowing down, the Panthers padded their lead in the third period when Cole Schwindt beat Talbot with a nasty tip to make it 6-1 at 8:56.

On the goal, rookie defenseman Mikulas Hovorka, who was called up from the AHL on Tuesday, recorded his first NHL point with an assist.

“Every win you get in the NHL is huge,” said Hovorka, who’s in his second season in North American after putting himself on Florida’s scouting radar while playing overseas. “Some guys get first points. Me too. It feels pretty good, to be honest. It’s a great experience any time you get to play in the NHL.”

Extending his goal-scoring streak to four games, Cole Reinhardt made it 7-1 at 9:37. Initially, officials thought the Red Wings had saved the goal, but a review showed the puck had crossed the goal line before a Detroit defender swatted it out of harm’s way.

Not letting the Red Wings get up off the mat, Kunin found the back of the second a second time, beating Talbot from the slot to make it 8-1 at 18:12.

Finishing strong with their heads held high, the Panthers wrapped up their season on a three-game winning streak.

“It was nice to have a win like that for our fans,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “We had a bit of a tough year here. There’s nothing on the line. I know people talk about tanking, but we’re not doing any of that. Those guys came out and played their butts off.”

THEY SAID IT

“There’s a lot of great hockey teams in this league. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done. Everything goes back to zero. Everything goes back to zero at playoff time. Everything goes back to zero at the start of the regular season. Just because you’ve won two [Stanley Cups] doesn’t mean you’re Sharpied into the playoffs.” – Matthew Tkachuk

“I think we just went out there and enjoyed the last game. It’s such a special group in here. Of course, a lot of good friends of mine in here. We just went out there and had fun.” – Ludvig Jansson

“There’s no nerves on the line. Everyone was just loose out there and not thinking. It was just playing to our strengths. There was nothing to lose, so it was just going out there and having fun.” – Mike Benning

“I think it’s the culture that we see in here that we’re trying to build in Charlotte, too. So many guys from Charlotte here. We’re just trying to bring what we have and do the things that those guys do when we’re watching them.” – Mikulas Hovorka

CATS STATS

- The Panthers have won 40 games for the 10^th time in franchise history.

- Mike Benning is the first rookie defenseman to score multiple goals in a period for the Panthers.

- The Panthers had three rookies notch multiple points in a game for the first time in franchise history.

- Matthew Tkachuk recorded his 48^th multi-assist game as a Panther, the third most in franchise history.

- The Panthers scored eight-plus goals in a game for the third time this season.

- Luke Kunin posted the eighth multi-goal game of his career.

- A.J. Greer finished the season with a career-high 17 goals.

- Fifteen different Panthers registered at least one point, with six posting multiple points.

WHAT’S NEXT?

That’s a wrap!

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Thank you to everyone for following along this season.