Carter Verhaeghe scored the tying and go-ahead goals 1:15 apart in the waning moments of regulation as the Florida Panthers rallied for a 4-3 home victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Fla.
Down 3-2, Florida pulled goaltender Daniil Tarasov (25 saves) for the extra skater, and Verhaeghe sent a drive from the point through plenty of slot traffic and past screened Detroit goalie John Gibson (24 saves) to tie things with 1:30 left in regulation.
Then the Panthers surged into the Detroit zone off a Red Wings turnover, where Matthew Tkachuk, who assisted on Verhaeghe’s tying score, found him again for a successful wrister in the dying seconds.
Residing near the bottom of the Eastern Conference following back-to-back Stanley Cup-winning seasons, the Panthers have beaten the Red Wings twice in a five-day span after losing four straight.
Amid its own playoff push, Detroit is 4-6-2 since Jan. 27.
Florida opened the scoring 9:48 into the game. Vinnie Hinostroza, beginning his second stint with the Panthers after being acquired from Minnesota last week, perfectly timed his cross in front of the net to tip in Jesper Boqvist’s shot.
Detroit recorded 11 shots on goal during the first period, but had nothing to show for it. However, the Red Wings managed to tie it at 3:54 into the second when Patrick Kane tucked in the rebound of Moritz Seider’s shot.
The Red Wings went ahead with 7:01 remaining in the middle frame. Following a faceoff win in the Florida zone, a wide-open Justin Faulk possessed the puck and sent an angled backhander that got past Tarasov.
A little more than a minute after Florida’s Niko Mikkola tied the game at 2-2 in the third, the Red Wings regained the lead. After the Panthers couldn’t possess the puck on the sideboard, Detroit’s Emmitt Finnie chipped it to Marco Kasper, who broke free and went top-shelf to beat Tarasov with 13:28 remaining in regulation.
Detroit’s Andrew Copp, who assisted on Faulk’s goal, exited in the second period with a lower-body injury.
