Panthers Ring the Iron, Red Wings Bank the Points
Detroit walked out of Florida with a 5-3 win, and the Panthers will be thinking about the posts. Florida rang the iron five times. Every one hit a post and stayed out. Those misses were worth 2.72 expected goals, meaning that on an average night, almost three of those looks become goals.
Brady Tkachuk hit the post twice. Anton Lundell, Carter Verhaeghe and Lars Eller each clanked one. Florida fired far more pucks toward the net all night, but that pressure produced near-misses instead of goals.
Daniil Tarasov was the difference at the other end. He stopped 23 of 26 shots while facing chances worth 3.86 expected goals, so he gave up fewer than his workload suggested. Jacob Markstrom made 24 saves on 28 shots and let in more than the chances he faced would predict.
Detroit made its looks count. Michael Brandsegg-Nygård and Justin Faulk each had a goal and an assist, and Emmitt Finnie also scored. Moritz Seider set up two goals in 27:25 of ice time. Florida had the pressure, but Detroit had the goals and the goaltending.