Panthers hobble home from Detroit after fifth straight loss

By LARRY LAGE

DETROIT (AP) — Alex DeBrincat and J.T. Compher scored in the second period and Cam Talbot finished with 32 saves to help the Detroit Red Wings keep their fading playoff hopes alive with a 2-1 win over the Florida Panthers on Sunday night.

The Panthers put their goaltender on the bench to add an extra skater and Anton Lundell scored with 39.9 seconds to pull them within a goal.

The defending Stanley Cup champions lost their fifth game in a row and, combined with Ottawa’s win on Sunday, are only two points ahead of the Senators, who are in the first wild-card position.

Detroit has just six games remaining in the regular season to rally into a wild card to end a nine-year postseason drought.

The defending champion and short-handed Panthers have lost five straight for the first time since 2017.

Following a sluggish first period, DeBrincat scored on a power play for his 35th goal of the season and Compher put Detroit up 2-0 midway through the period.

Vitek Vanecek stopped 22 saves and gave Sergei Bobrovsky the night off one day after he made 19 saves in a 3-0 loss at Ottawa.

The Panthers had a flurry of shots late, but couldn’t put the puck past Talbot to tie the game.

Takeaways

Panthers: After clinching a spot in the postseason on Saturday, the team hopes star forward Matthew Tkachuk has enough time to get healthy and play for the first time since he was injured playing for the United States at the 4 Nations on Feb. 15

Red Wings: A four-game point streak with three wins has allowed the franchise to preserve its slim playoff chances.

Key moment

DeBrincat missed an open net early in the second period and made the most of another chance on the same shift to score.

Key moment

Talbot stopped 10 shots in the opening period, keeping Florida scoreless before the pivotal second period.

Up Next

Florida hosts Toronto on Tuesday.

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AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl