The Florida Panthers secured a 4-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Amerant Bank Arena on March 11, with Carter Verhaeghe scoring twice in the final minutes of regulation. The win marks the Panthers’ second consecutive triumph over Detroit and brings their record to 32-29-3.
The result is significant as it keeps the Panthers in contention with only 18 games left in the season. Verhaeghe said, “There’s only one way to play, and it’s to go out and win games. You’ve got to do your best. Once you start thinking about other stuff, it doesn’t really go well.”
Head coach Paul Maurice addressed the team’s approach moving forward: “It’s just not going to look the same with what we’ve been through, but we have to maintain a certain structure of what we do because it’s hard to get that. It’s hard to establish any kind of identity.”
Goaltender Daniil Tarasov made 25 saves, including 11 in the first period, helping keep Detroit off the scoreboard early. Teammate Niko Mikkola said of Tarasov, “He’s always good. We can count on him every day. A pretty normal game for him.” Vinnie Hinostroza scored in his return game for Florida after being reacquired before the trade deadline, saying, “First game, you get the jitters out of the way. My linemates really helped me out there…that was a fun first game. That was a big win.”
Detroit responded with goals from Patrick Kane and Justin Faulk before Mikkola tied it up for Florida in the third period. Marco Kasper then put Detroit ahead again until Verhaeghe’s two late goals sealed the win for Florida within a span of just over one minute.
Verhaeghe reflected on his performance: “We played a good third…I thought we put pucks to the net and had a lot of zone time…I think we deserved to win that.” Maurice praised Verhaeghe’s effort: “It’s things that we’ve seen before with Carter (Verhaeghe), his ability to find the hole and get a shot off across his body to the far side of the net. Just an elite shot.”
Looking ahead, Florida will conclude its two-game homestand against Columbus Blue Jackets at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.
