Panthers’ penalty kill dominant against Red Wings. Is the group finally turning the corner?
It was an understandable storyline for the Florida Panthers’ game against the Detroit Red Wings.
Detroit’s power play had been one of the best in the league, entering Thursday night’s game with the fourth-highest success rate in the NHL on the man advantage. Florida’s penalty kill, meanwhile, was dead last.
So, naturally, the Panthers shut down the Red Wings’ lethal power-play unit en route to a 2-0 shutout win over Detroit at Little Caesars Arena.
The Red Wings went 0 for 5 on the power play and landed just seven shots on goal when Florida was playing a man down.
“I knew we were good,” Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov said of the Panthers’ penalty-killing success. “We just needed some confidence.”
That confidence has been coming over the course of Florida’s current four-game point streak. Dating back to the Panthers’ win over the San Jose Sharks on Oct. 24, Florida (5-3-1) has successfully killed off nine of its 10 penalties. In that stretch, the Panthers have allowed just 14 shots against, eight scoring chances and two high-danger chances — both of which came in the San Jose game.
“We’ve got our trigger points, and I thought our guys did great with the pressure,” Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky said. “They took away the time and space from their top guys. It’s huge for us.”
Bobrovsky, who played in his 650th career game and earned his 39th career shutout, was instrumental in Florida’s success on Thursday. He stopped everything that came his way, highlighted by his pad save on an Alex DeBrincat between-the-legs shot attempt on the Red Wings’ third power-play attempt in the second period.
“Obviously the best penalty killer is our goalie,” Kulikov said. “Bob was unbelievable.”
Added forward Steven Lorentz, who scored Florida’s first goal with less than a minute left in the second period: “Bobby stood on his head. That is a team with a lot of offensive firepower, so it was great to see guys laying out and blocking shots, but at the same time, he was as solid as a rock back there.”
The Panthers’ defense in front of him is doing its part, too. On Thursday, Florida blocked 11 shots and logged three takeaways. The Panthers held Detroit to fewer than 10 shots on goal in each period, clogging lanes and limiting the Red Wings’ ability to get a lot of Grade A chances against Bobrovsky.
It was a matter of time until the Panthers got to this point. With top defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Brandon Montour still sidelined after offseason shoulder surgery, Florida has four new defensemen in its lineup from last season and all three defense pairings are different from the Stanley Cup Final run. The Panthers needed time to create chemistry on its blue line.
It’s starting to show up.
“We have learned how to battle, grind, keep games tight and not give as much up,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “We are a pretty good defensive team right now with a lot of new faces in our lineup, so we’re pretty pleased with where we’re at.”
This and that
▪ With the primary assist on Lorentz’s goal, defenseman Niko Mikkola now has points in three consecutive games. It’s the first time in Mikkola’s NHL career that he has a point streak longer than two games.
▪ While the Panthers were strong on the penalty kill, results remain elusive on the power play. Florida went 0 for 5 on the man advantage on Thursday and is 26th in the NHL overall with a 12.1 percent success rate on the power play early this season.
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