SUNRISE, Fla. – Journey said it best.
Don’t stop believing.
Erasing a 4-1 deficit, the Florida Panthers scored three goals in the third period to secure two huge points with a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
"It's big games and every game matters," said forward Anton Lundell, who netted the game-winning goal late in regulation. "It doesn't matter if it's now or Game 80, it's still two points."
Just one game removed from claiming second place on the franchise’s all-time goal-scoring list, Sam Reinhart stayed hot and put the Panthers up 1-0 at 3:52 of the first period.
With that strike, the two-way sniper became the second player to reach 200 goals as a Panther, joining Aleksander Barkov.
Trailing for only 15 seconds, the Red Wings responded quickly when J.T. Compher got behind the defense and beat Akira Schmid with a nifty move on a breakaway to make it 1-1 at 4:07.
At 13:14, Andreas Englund put Detroit up 2-1 when his point shot was tipped in.
“It's going to bounce bad for you sometimes,” defenseman Gustav Forsling said of not catching a break early in the game. “You’ve just got to stick with it. I think we stuck to our game plan. When a team wins a game this way, what can that do?”
With the bounces still going their way, the Red Wings extended their lead to 3-1 just 17 seconds into the second period when a shot from Lucas Raymond, who’d never scored in his career against Florida, went off a Panthers skater and past Schmid.
Later in the period, Marcos Kasper tipped in goal for Detroit to make it 4-1 at 12:08.
Giving the Panthers a much-needed spark just before the second intermission, Forsling beat John Gibson with a wicked shot to slice the deficit down to a manageable 4-2 at 19:42.
In that moment, the Panthers felt the winds shift.
“I think getting one at the end of the second there in the last minute definitely gave us some momentum going into the third,” said forward Carter Verhaeghe, who dished out three assists. “It definitely gave us something to build on right away.”
Taking that energy and making it a one-goal game early in the third period, Lundell, a few ticks of the clock after a power play had expired for the Panthers, tucked in a loose puck after a shot from Verhaeghe was blocked right in front to make it 4-3 at 2:32.
Continuing his outstanding first season with the Panthers, veteran Lars Eller, only a few games removed from his 1,200th game in the NHL, went to the net and batted in a pass from Niko Mikkola, who made a fantastic play, to tie the game 4-4 at 16:29.
After seeing the red light go off, the crowd exploded.
“I thought Niko was good all night,” head coach Paul Maurice said. “I thought he was the guy who didn't look like he was showing a lot of fatigue. Sometimes you don't have the juice, you need it from somewhere else. The crowd got going for us there. They were great.”
Not content just to make it to overtime, the push continued.
Finding the back of the net yet again, Lundell, who’s now scored five goals in his last five games, took a dazzling no-look pass from Brady Tkachuk and beat Gibson to make it 5-4 at 17:20.
On his highlight-reel dish, Tkachuk backhanded the puck to Lundell through some heavy traffic while falling to the ice.
“I’m sure that's going to be on ESPN’s to plays,” Lundell smiled.
Improving to 11-7-2, the Panthers, who've earned two multi-goal, third-period comeback victories this season, have won six of their last nine games as they start to find a steady groove.
“That was a challenge,” Lundell said of tonight’s win. “We felt like we have a great chance to win the game. All we needed was one goal, and we got that in the second period. And after that, we went all out or all in and just believed that we could come and win the game.”
THEY SAID IT
“I mean, end of the period there, I think we got some juice from that, and we brought it into the third.” – Gustav Forsling on his late goal in the second period
“If I think we got lots in the tank and it's a brain thing, then then they hear it. But that wasn't the message between the second and third [periods]. I was strictly the first two periods don't matter. We got twenty minutes and all we need is one to tilt this thing.” – Paul Maurice on Florida’s belief heading into the third period
“Everyone contributes in different ways. I think it definitely helps the team and the confidence a little bit. Yeah, it just feels good to come home and get a win.” – Carter Verhaeghe on the full-team effort in tonight’s win
CATS STATS
- Matthew Tkachuk has recorded an assist in six straight games.
- Ten different Panthers registered at least one point in tonight’s win.
- Lars Eller posted a team-high +4 plus/minus rating.
- Carter Verhaeghe recorded his 17th three-point game as a Panther.
- The Panthers led 12-4 in scoring chances in the third period.
- Akira Schmid made seven high-danger saves, per NaturalStatTrick.com.
WHAT’S NEXT?
More road games!
Getting used to living out of their suitcases, the Panthers will kick off a road back-to-back with a matchup against the St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
To watch on Panthers Plus, click HERE.
