The Red Wings have seen enough of the Florida Panthers this season.
The Panthers completed the season series against the Wings with a 3-2 overtime victory Thursday on Alexander Wennberg’s goal at 1:26 of the extra session.
Wennberg’s shot from the point beat goaltender Thomas Greiss up high, and kept the Panthers in the race for the lead in the Central Division.
The Wings (12-21-5) ended the season series 2-5-1 against Florida (24-9-4), while also losing their seventh consecutive road game.
After a poor performance Tuesday, the Wings played a stronger game all the way around Thursday.
Anthony Mantha broke a tie early in the third period Thursday, but Florida’s Frank Vatrano tied it just two minutes later with a one-timer on the power play, making it a 2-2 game.
Greiss stopped 33 shots in one of his best games of the season.
Mantha’s goal was his 10th, and his eighth point in 10 games, and gave the Wings a brief lead.
Michael Rasmussen made a fine play along the boards, controlling the puck among three Panthers. Rasmussen fed Mantha ahead, and after Mantha gathered the puck with the help of his skate, snapped a shot over goalie Chris Driedger.
But the Panthers came right back with Vatrano’s 11th goal.
Wings defenseman Jon Merrill’s delay of game penalty (shooting the puck over the glass) came just after Merrill got out of the box for slashing, and put the Wings on the penalty kill again.
Just six seconds after Merrill’s penalty, Carter Verhaeghe (two assists) found Vatrano near the dot and Vatrano blasted a shot past Greiss.
Adam Erne and Florida’s Noel Acciari traded first-period goals.
Erne put the Wings on the board first with career-high seventh goal.
Troy Stecher started the sequence by getting flattened along the boards by Florida’s Riley Stillman.
But the puck got into the Panthers’ zone, and Stecher ultimately got the puck on the point.
Stecher delivered a perfect slap-pass that Erne, in the slot, redirected past goalie Chris Driedger giving the Wings a 1-0 lead at 4:22.
The Panthers rallied, though, with Acciari tying the game.
But it was Verhaeghe who made the play. Verhaeghe received a pass in the high slot, skated through the slot and drew Greiss to the post, then centered a pass in the crease where Acciari poked in his fourth goal at 11:55.
The Panthers have been one of the top teams in the NHL standings all season, and Merrill, speaking in a Zoom media chat after the morning skate, wasn’t surprised.
“They’re all on the same page,” Merrill said. “When the pucks pop out of our zone, they’re ready to come down your throat quickly. Their defense doesn’t waste any time, they just pump it back up to their forwards and they’re right back down on you. They transition really well. They’re probably one of the best rush teams.
“It’s something we want to eliminate, their rush game. We want to grind them in the offensive zone, so they don’t have the energy to get up the ice and play off the rush.”
But the Wings’ weren’t entirely successful, as the Panthers had the better scoring chances through two periods, with Greiss keeping the score 1-1.
Coach Jeff Blashill has talked the past few days about the importance of the Wings being on top of their game defensively, above all else, to be in position to win games.
“Some teams may not be at their best and win, but for us to win when we are not at our best, we have to be great defensively, manage the puck and not give up anything easily,” Blashill said.
Givani Smith, inserted into the lineup Tuesday, brought a spark to the lineup. Smith was busy with two fights, including challenging Riley Stillman early in the third period after Stillman knocked down Dylan Larkin in the second period.