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| Andreas Athanasiou #72 of the Detroit Red Wings pounds gloves with teammates on the bench following his first-period goal during an NHL game against the Florida Panthers at Little Caesars Arena on January 5, 2017, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images) |
The Red Wings made scoring their number one priority at Little Caesars Arena Friday night. Detroit shot very little but made them count in what turned into a runaway beating the Florida Panthers 4-2. It became the Red Wings fourth consecutive victory and the fifth on home ice that had the squad in happy moods.
The late goal from Andreas Athanasiou gave the Red Wings their biggest sense of confidence and winning streak this season. In what was turning into a strong showing of adversity against tough teams in the league now led to a consistency they hoped to finish off with the week with. Standing in the way was their first division rival of the week in the Panthers who have a history of giving the Red Wings a hard time. So far, Detroit had found a way to beat them and despite Florida having won their last six of seven, the missed game in Boston had them relaxed while Detroit was on a mission to come out big.
The 23-year-old picked up where he left off from two nights ago and went for the backhand on his first try to score his ninth of the season just 46 seconds into the game. “I think the puck has been bouncing the right way now and I’m happy with it,” Athanasiou said to Fox Sports Detroit reporter Matt Sheppard.
Detroit had gained the momentum necessary but also push Florida it picked up the pace faster than they imagined. The Panthers didn’t slouch around as the surged to a number of shots at Jimmy Howard that included time on the power play. Detroit’s PK unit took care of business then tried to pick up the pace and catch up with the Panthers.
It was becoming a major struggle for them as Florida gained a lot of time with the puck and had a couple of chances to tie the game. They came very close on a shot from Aaron Ekblad that went off the post while Howard was flat on his stomach unaware of the situation. His defense helped clear away the threat but it wasn’t over. They took a couple more on the Detroit net that did not see the score change due to the great performance that Howard was putting in for the Red Wings. When time came for the period to finish, Detroit remained in control of what mattered despite being outshot 13-5.
The opening minutes of the second period were controlled by the Panthers who pushed their way to try and bring a difference to the score. They surged once more shooting seven at Howard through the first seven minutes of play. Detroit only managed three but the third turned into gold and a step in the right direction. The line with Dylan Larkin getting things going went to Athanasiou in a pass to move the puck towards the crease. It was there he found Tomas Tatar open for a one-timer that went top shelf scoring his 11th.
As the period continued on Detroit was slowly picking up the pace while the Panthers were well ahead of them. The score continued to hold for them as the Red Wings defense was holding strong. They made it even harder for them in the final minute and a half as defenseman Jonathan Ericsson fired a shot from the blue line that hit the glove of forward Justin Abdelkader standing in front of goaltender James Reimer.
The puck flew up high and fell behind Reimer to score a third unanswered. Officials went to check to determine whether Abdelkader hit it deliberately to get the puck in the direction of the net. It was determined that a hi-stick was in play as the puck glided on the stick to negate Ericsson’s scoring chance. Instead of having a two-goal lead, the Red Wings suffered in the final seconds as Mike Matheson scored Florida’s first of the night coming in fast at Howard. He let off his shot before he crashed into the goaltender notching his fourth and putting them down a goal with just 1.5 seconds left in the period.
They outshot the Red Wings 13-6 in the second and picked up the pace once again shooting twice in the first minute of the third. At 3:19 the Panthers tied the game with a two-man play beginning with Jonathan Huberdeau setting up Aleksander Barkov across from him with the puck for a one-timer scoring his 12th on the year.
With Florida in contention for the first time in the game, it had the Red Wings trying to regroup and take back control quickly. Though it took time, they got the job done with a full line effort that concluded Martin Frk rifling the puck that hit the stick of Anthony Mantha during their second power play chance giving Mantha his 14th. The last thing that the Red Wings needed to do was keep the score and get through the last 12 minutes of play.
A good amount of it was taken care of with good defense against Florida who were on the gas firing away. With four minutes to go, Detroit got a huge chance with captain Henrik Zetterberg getting his 600th career assist as he stretch passed it to Gustav Nyquist who went in on Reimer alone scoring his 13th.
The Panthers went for the extra man taking Reimer out of the equation but with a Detroit penalty to Abdelkader, he was brought back in the net. He left again with 1:14 left making it 5 on 4 but that didn’t help them as Detroit surged by getting the puck into the Florida zone. A flip of the puck from Mike Green set up Darren Helm and Frans Nielsen into the area where a couple of passes ended with Nielsen scoring them empty-netter for their fifth goal of the night.
Officials went back to look at the play and saw that Green was offside on the play and negated Nielsen’s goal. The taking back of the goal didn’t matter much as they carried the win with the margin being enough to go out with a fourth win in a row and five in a row at home. Howard was official on the best run that he constantly wants in every season he plays. During the last five starts, the New York netminder has average a save percentage of .960 and made 38 saves against Florida.
“He’s been lights out for us,” Athanasiou said about Howard. “It’s such a huge thing when you have a brick wall behind you back there and its one way to build momentum.”
Sunday would be their final game before a five-day vacation for them where they would play the Tampa Bay Lightning. “Anytime you can get four to happen hopefully, we can keep it going before the break.”
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