Panthers score in final seconds to edge Wings
Jonathan Huberdeau scored on a rebound from the top of the crease with 7.7 seconds left as the Florida Panthers defeated the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Saturday night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Fla.
Huberdeau was shoved into Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek by Red Wings defenseman Mike Green, and the goal was reviewed for interference. However, the goal was allowed -- Huberdeau’s 18th score of the season.
Rookie goalie Harri Sateri made 26 saves to win his third consecutive start. He has three career wins, all this week.
Defenseman Aaron Ekblad and 2018 All-Star center Aleksander Barkov also scored for the Panthers. It was Ekblad’s 10th goal of the season, the fourth consecutive year he has reached that milestone in the 21-year-old’s fourth season in the league.
Sateri, a 28-year-old career minor-leaguer, made his sixth consecutive start. However, he soon may return to the American Hockey League because future Hall of Famer Roberto Luongo and “1-A starter” James Reimer are set to return to practice on Monday as they recover from right leg injuries.
If this was it for Sateri, he can leave knowing he gave his team quite a lift. He allowed just the two goals against Detroit, both by Danny DeKeyser, who has four goals this season -- three in roughly 24 hours.
Mrazek made 30 saves and is 4-2-0 in his past six starts as he has apparently beaten out long-time starter Jimmy Howard.
However, Mrazek was beaten early in this game as Ekblad’s goal just 3:16 into the first period opened the scoring.
After a centering pass from Huberdeau, Ekblad flicked a high backhander that caromed off the left post and barely crossed the line before exiting without ever touching the net. The horn did not go off, but it was correctly ruled a goal after a brief review.
Detroit tied the score with 8:51 expired in the second period. The Red Wings caught the Panthers in a line change and turned it into an odd-man rush. Frans Nielsen sent a centering pass to DeKeyser, who scored from the slot.
Florida went ahead 2-1 with 13:38 expired in the second period. Evgenii Dadonov’s brilliant pass from the neutral zone sprung Barkov, catching him in full stride. Barkov never slowed down, beating Mrazek stick-side for his 16th goal of the season.
Detroit tied the score 2-2 with 3:00 expired in the third period as DeKeyser pounced on a rebound to an open right side of the net. The puck went in off of DeKeyser’s right skate, but it was not deemed a kicking motion and thus was a valid goal, his fourth of the season.
--Field Level Media