Florida Panthers win three straight with Sateri in-goal, 3-2 against Detroit

After a solid victory in Buffalo the other night, the Florida Panthers were facing off against the Detroit Red Wings at home, looking to inch their way closer into a playoff spot.

Coming into this game, the Florida Panthers knew that if they were to have any chance at climbing the ladder, then this match against a fellow divisional rival was a must win game. A win tonight would put the Cats at level terms with the Red Wings in the standings, signaling 50 points for both teams.

The Panthers started the game off a little slow, when the Detroit Red Wings came back the other way on a breakaway, courtesy of a Vincent Trocheck giveaway. Thankfully though, Harri Sateri was there to deny Tomas Tatar, keeping the score tied at zero apiece.

During the opening three minutes of the period, Aaron Ekblad broke the deadlock and gave his side the early lead. Jonathan Huberdeau came streaking into the Red Wings zone, quickly feeding a pass to Ekblad in the slot. Aaron received the pass, moved it over to his backhand and quickly released a backhand shot off the post and in:

Florida received a power play through Trevor Daley (holding), but unfortunately failed to cash in on the man advantage. On the flip side, the Red Wings gained a power play of their own through Nick Bjugstad (high-stick), but also failed to convert.

Shortly after the 4 on 4 where Vinnie Trocheck and Justin Abdelkader were each sent to the box for roughing, both sides were headed into the locker room after one, with the Panthers leaving with the extra goal in hand.

Unlike the first, the Cats started the second period off on the right foot, pouring pressure down deep in the Red Wings zone. Every chance that the Panthers created in front of goal, were all denied by Peter Mrazek.

An unfortunate turn of events happened in the first nine minutes of the period when Danny Dekeyser received a cross-crease pass from Frans Nielsen, immediately then ripping a shot top-corner over Harri Sateri’s blocker:

Five minutes later and Aleksander Barkov regained the Panthers’ lead. Coming down the ice against Henrik Zetterberg on a 1 on 1, Barkov quickly brought the puck back to backhand, then unexpectedly letting a release go off his forehand, fooling Mrazek in the process:

The Red Wings came close to tying the game on multiple occasions, but with the stellar play of Harri Sateri in between the pipes, a second goal wasn’t getting by the Finnish net minder. With Barkov’s crucial go-ahead goal and Sateri’s solid net minding, the Panthers would escape in the dressing room, leading 2-1 after two periods of play.

It was Motor City (AKA Detroit) who would turn it into second gear, causing all sorts of problems for the Panthers in their own zone. Eventually, after wearing down the Panthers in their own zone for the beginning of the third, Danny Dekeyser grabbed his second goal of the game, leveling the score at two goals a side.

Darren Helm’s tip from Frans Nielsen’s shot from the point, bounced off of Sateri’s pad and went straight to Dekeyser on the other side. With a wide open net in sight, Dekeyser was left to put the puck in the empty net, tying the game for Detroit:

Detroit wasn’t finished there yet, as they continued to throw more and more shots at Sateri, forcing him to stand on his head. With his calmness in-goal, Harri managed to fight off all the chances created by the Wings, keeping the score tied at two for the time being.

It was the Panthers who would get the last say though, as with 7.7 seconds left in play, Jonathan Huberdeau managed to stuff in a late goal.

It all started when Ekblad gave Keith Yandle a cross-crease pass, where Yandle one-timed it on goal, forcing a rebound to pop out for Jonathan Huberdeau. Huberdeau was left stuffing the loose rebound home, giving his side the late third period lead:

Peter Mrazek was quick to get up and complain to the referees’ about the goal. He was arguing that Huberdeau made contact in front, preventing him from stopping the goal. The refs went upstairs to review the play, and found that there was no goaltender interference. Therefore, the Cats had themselves a good goal, winning the game by a score line of 3-2.

All in all, the Florida Panthers played a phenomenal game, keeping their composure throughout each period. Harri Sateri was a huge influence for the Cats tonight, as he came up with a bunch of crucial saves. Your Panthers are back in action on Tuesday, February 6th @7:30pm against the Vancouver Canucks!