Follow me on Twitter Follow @TheJeremyLaura

The better team won this one, there’s no doubt. Florida out battled Detroit and the defending champions avoided a season sweep in definitive form. Detroit’s 2nd period was another costly 3 goal affair showcasing a Florida team that can play hard nosed and skilled hockey. Whether it’s an odd man rush, crashing the crease, skilled tipping, the team can burn you badly and Talbot was left hung out to dry too many times. The other end of the ice saw Bobrovsky in solid form only allowing 1 goal on 23 shots.

It doesn’t get easier. There is a fan contingent cheering every loss and one that still wants the team to show up and play. The team has had far too many games this season with a period of being just overwhelmed and closed out. Facing Tampa tomorrow is seeing a team with only 8 home losses and one that could easily make light work of this crew.

There are only so many ways to say the same thing. If the math given by the announce crew was right, Detroit only has 8 wins in the past 22 games. A far cry from the period between the return from Christmas break and the 4 nations tournament. An almost epic slide that has been tough to watch. Oddly, Mlive has begun running a “how to watch the game for free” column on several of the past few contests. It begs the question on just how many fans have tuned out at this point with Fan Duel and ESPN+ (and TNT etc) all being the staple of broadcast revenue. The league needs eyeballs, and Detroit may be struggling to achieve that.

Many of you called the shot on the final stretch, called by more than one source the most difficult schedule in the league. It certainly has lived up to the hype. In 4 more contests the online contingent is slotting in rookies and we will talk a bit about free agents and trades once the season closes out.

It wasn’t as though Detroit was wholly without opportunities. There were poor decisions on pass vs. shoot and strong defensive play by the Panthers. A hard way to wind down the season, one with polarizing highs and lows. As a state, Florida has been represented in the last 5 cup finals with 3 cups going to the sunshine state. With the way that Tampa is playing it could well be another year where one of the two teams could be in the finals again.

As always, post your thoughts in the comments and thank you to everyone who takes time to stop by. It was exciting to see Debrincat grab #36 but the way he was working his shoulder after that bizarre fall was concerning. Hopefully just a “pop” and not something worse. He’s been a bright spot to be sure.


1st Period goals:

Debrincat opens the scoring with his 36th of the season. A strange play as Chiarot dumped the puck into the zone from just past center ice, Larkin chases it down behind the net and finds Debrincat. 1-0 DET

The Cat nets goal #36 on the season! #LGRW pic.twitter.com/3i8fwNlTIl

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) April 10, 2025

Shots: 10-6 FLA
Score: 1-0 DET

2nd Period goals:

At 2:58 FLA ties it on the power play, feels like a bad penalty taken by Rasmussen and Florida had been all over Detroit.

At 8:46 FLA grabs the lead. 2-1 FLA

At 16:21 Marchand gets his first as a Panther after Detroit just flubs a few really nice chances. 3-1 FLA

Shots: 23-17 FLA
Score: 3-1 FLA

3rd Period goals:

At 14:03 FLA scores again. 4-1 FLA

Shots: 31-24 FLA
Score: 4-1 FLA

Join the Discussion: » 6 Comments » Post New Comment

» Red Wings Marco Kasper gets 2 big goals in 4-3 OT win over Lightning

» Red Wings look to sweep panthers, Kane’s Nomination, prospect thoughts

» Red Wings prospect Sandin-Pellikka breaks record, Griffins sign MSU Dman

» Red Wings see the script flipped in loss to Montreal, post season gone

» Red Wings call up Watson ahead of Montreal game, thank you for 1400!