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The Detroit Red Wings won again on Thursday night, securing an impressive 5-2 victory over the defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. And, once again, Patrick Kane was the catalyst.
The star American scored the game-winning goal and added an assist at Amerant Bank Arena in Sunrise, in the process becoming just the fourth U.S.-born player in league history with 80 GWGs, per NHL.com. Only Mike Modano (92), Jeremy Roenick (92) and Zach Parise (83) have called game more than Kane, who is in the midst of a resurgence — along with the Red Wings — in 2024-25.
The Panthers had enjoyed a 13-game point streak (12-0-1) against the Red Wings — the second longest against a single opponent in Florida franchise history — which ended in emphatic fashion on Thursday night.
With that, Detroit is 8-1-0 over its last nine contests and 21-19-4 overall. Although Todd McLellan's club remains in second-last place in the Atlantic Division, the Wings are now just three points back of the Boston Bruins for the final wildcard berth in the Eastern Conference.
Red Wings just keep on winning in 2025
Although McLellan dropped his first game behind the bench after replacing Derek Lalonde at the end of December, he's lost just once since, a 6-3 defeat at the hands of the lowly San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night.
“The win was terrific for our group after what we had against San Jose,” McLellan said after Thursday's triumph, per NHL.com's George Richards. “The task was very difficult and it was very evident they are the champs for a reason. We needed outstanding goaltending, we needed special teams to get hot. We found a way to scrap our way to a win. It wasn’t pretty.”
Kane has been excellent for Detroit as of late, but it's been a full team effort. Cam Talbot was terrific between the pipes on Thursday, making 41 saves — including 23 in the third period.
“A tough building to play in and a veteran team over there. We needed a response after our last game,” Talbot said, per Richards. “We didn’t play up to the standard we have been setting, so I thought we came out and established our game again. It definitely helps when you bury three before the midway point in the game.”
It was Detroit's first regulation win against Florida since February of 2021, and helped the Wings in their continued quest to break a long postseason drought.
Dylan Larkin has also been phenomenal for his club over the past few weeks; the captain scored two goals and added an assist Thursday, in the process becoming the first Detroit player with four consecutive 20-goal campaigns since Henrik Zetterberg.
“Today was business as usual. We focused on Florida and had a great start to the (four-game) trip,” Larkin said, per Richards. “Tonight, we outworked the penalty-killers. They like to pressure, win battles on the boards. We battled back and it was good to see things go well on the first one.”
The Red Wings will look to keep the good times rolling as the road trip continues, with stops in Tampa Bay on Saturday, Dallas on Sunday and Philadelphia on Tuesday.
