The Florida Panthers might want to petition for Joe Louis Arena to stay open beyond this year.
Aleksander Barkov scored the game winner in OT to give the Panthers a 2-1 victory. This is Tom Rowe's first win as an NHL head coach as well as Florida's seventh win in the last eight visits to Detroit.
After taking over duties from former head coach Gerard Gallant, Rowe mentioned two pieces of the Cats’ game he wanted improved: more shots and a tighter, zone based defensive scheme.
To this point, mission accomplished. Over the last two games the Panthers have fired 69 shots on goal and given up 54, including only 21 against the Red Wings.
The Panthers are now 7-2 in extra time including shootouts and 5-0 in games decided in the first overtime period.
That is a remarkable turnaround for a team that won only once in overtime all of last season. Maybe those analytics mean something after all!
Rowe was obviously pleased over the last two games, earning three of four points from Chicago and Detroit. Roberto Luongo was sensational in both games and the speed of the team in transition has been noticeably quicker.
Except for a no-look pass attempt by Aaron Ekblad in the first two minutes of the game that lead to a turnover and the Red Wings only goal, the team looked sound and confident in the systems Rowe is trying to install.
He will be looking for more improvement as the road trip continues to Ottawa, Boston, and Philadelphia.
For almost a dozen games, Barkov has been the best player on the team but couldn’t buy a goal. In fact, is had been 22 games since he last lit the lamp. But a stretch pass from Jonathan Marchessault right on the tape in overtime sent Barkov on a breakaway, beating Mrazek for the winner.
“I don’t remember the last time I scored,” said Barkov. “Of course it feels good but the win feels even better and the feeling of the locker room after winning a game like that is just awesome.”
When a player like Barkov gets the monkey off his back, goals can come in bunches. He certainly has played well enough to score half a dozen times over the last few weeks.
Florida fans have been in wait-and-see mode regarding the mentality of this team after the popular Gallant was let go in a manner many thought to be premature. Two games into the new regime and the vibe in the room seems positive.
Unless they meet in the playoffs this will be the last time for Florida in Joe Louis Arena. But for Barkov and the rest of the team this was possibly a much more important win moving forward to get on track this season.
Dan Spiegel
Florida Panthers Media
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