SUNRISE, Fla. — The sun is setting on the Detroit Red Wings, their season all but sunk beyond the horizon.
For the second game on this trip, their last extended one, the Wings scored first, but their opponent scored more. The Florida Panthers used three second-period goals Thursday at Amerant Bank Arena to hand the Wings a 4-1 loss.
That leaves the Wings (36-35-7) at 79 points with four games left, and no leeway. The Montreal Canadiens occupy the second wild card in the East with 87 points, and need one point to mathematically eliminate the Wings from the playoff race.
Alex DeBrincat provided a lead in the first period, but Brad Marchand, the former Boston Bruins pest who changed allegiances at the trade deadline, was among the second-period scorers who put the Panthers in control. Alexander Barkov added to the damage in the third period.
The Wings next play Friday at the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Closer to 40
DeBrincat made scoring look easy, netting his 36th goal of the season to give the Wings a 1-0 lead 6:13 of the first period. Moritz Seider got things going with a chip-ahead play. Dylan Larkin chased down the puck behind Florida's net and sent the puck out front, where a quick wrist shot by DeBrincat eluded Sergei Bobrovsky.
Lineup changes
Forward Elmer Söderblom, who had been playing left wing on the second line, missed the game after being unable to partake in the morning skate. That opened a spot for Austin Watson, who rejoined the Wings from the minors before they left for Montreal on Monday. He subbed onto the fourth line, while Söderblom's absence bumped Michael Rasmussen to Marco Kasper's line.
Panthers prowl
The Panthers tied the game when Evan Rodrigues had time and space to corral the puck onto his stick and stride to the front of Detroit's crease, depositing the puck behind Cam Talbot at 2:28 of the second period while Michael Rasmussen was serving a penalty. The score grew to 2-1 in Florida's favor midway through the second period when Mackie Samoskevich caught Gustav Forslund's shot on net, wheeled around and put it behind Talbot.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
