Florida @ Detroit preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 28, 2019 ) Detroit 4, Florida 5

The Florida Panthers hope to continue their offensive surge as they embark on a three-game road trip that leads into the All-Star break, starting with a matchup against the NHL-worst Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night. The Panthers, who also play at Minnesota and Chicago on the trip, have scored 17 times while winning three in a row after holding on for a 4-3 victory over Los Angeles on Thursday.

“These are important games for us,” Florida coach Joel Quenneville told reporters after the Panthers survived a late rally by the Kings. “We’ve got to play, for the most part, like we did on the end of this homestand. Every game is going to be important and the value of those points is going to be huge for us.” Florida is one point out of a playoff position in the Eastern Conference and has won five straight against the Red Wings, including two this season by a combined 9-4 with four points apiece from leading scorers Jonathan Huberdeau and captain Aleksander Barkov. The Red Wings had won two straight games before losing the last three, including a 2-1 overtime setback to Pittsburgh on Friday as Sidney Crosby scored on the power play to win it. Detroit will be taking a long look at its young players down the stretch and 20-year-old right wing Filip Zadina, who was the sixth overall pick in the 2018 draft, will get plenty of ice time after notching his sixth goal and 12th point in 23 games this season during Friday’s setback.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS Florida, FS Detroit Plus

ABOUT THE PANTHERS (25-16-5): Huberdeau tops the team with 62 points after collecting five in the last three games while Barkov matched his linemate with a goal and four assists in the same span to push his total to 50 points. No. 1 goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (16-12-4) could return after missing two games with an upper-body injury and Chris Driedger is likely out after leaving Thursday’s game with a lower-body ailment as Samuel Montembeault made 23 saves in relief for the win. Left wing Mike Hoffman has been red hot in January, recording at least a point in all seven games with five goals and four assists.

ABOUT THE RED WINGS (12-32-4): Left wing Tyler Bertuzzi, who is headed to the All-Star Game and leads the team with 34 points, has been held off the scoresheet the past three games with just three shots combined. Center Dylan Larkin (99 career goals) saw his seven-game point streak come to an end Friday, but has accumulated nine of his 31 points in the past 10 contests, while veteran center Frans Nielsen recorded his 300th career assist. Goalie Jimmy Howard (2-16-2) turned aside 35 shots in one of his best outings of the season Friday, but the 35-year-old has not registered a victory since Oct. 29 against Edmonton.

OVERTIME

1. Detroit D Mike Green needs two points to reach 500 in his career, but has one in his last 13 contests.

2. Florida RW Evgeni Dadonov has registered six goals and a pair of assists in seven games this month.

3. The Panthers are fifth in the league on the power play (24.3 percent) after going 4-for-9 in the last three games.

PREDICTION: Panthers 5, Red Wings 2