Panthers Trounce Red Wings

     The Florida Panthers topped the Detroit Red Wings 6-1 at BB&T Center on Sunday night. The Cats won their second straight game while the Red Wings have lost 10 of their last 11 games.
     Josh Brown got his first NHL goal at 6:42 of the first period to give Florida(30-27-12) a 1-0 lead. Troy Brouwer made a pass from the left corner and Brown rifled a wrist shot from the top right circle by Jimmy Howard.
     The Panthers added a power-play tally at 9:22 in the period. Henrik Borgstrom placed a pass from the high slot to Aaron Ekblad for a one-time slapshot which Howard stopped. Jamie McGinn flipped in a shot from the crease for his third goal of the season. It was the 100th career assist for Ekblad.
     The momentum stayed with the Cats as they make it a three-goal gap at 8:26 of the second period. Mike Hoffman passed the puck from the right corner back to Ekblad at the right point. His slapshot was redirected in by Frank Vatrano from the low slot for his 21st goal of the campaign.  
     Detroit(24-35-10) put in a power-play goal with 7:36 left in the second. Frans Nielsen sent a diagonal pass from the top right circle and Thomas Vanek one-timed a slapshot past Sam Montembeault for his 14th goal.
     In the third period, Florida extended their lead to 4-1 at 1:26. Alekander Barkov passed to Jonathan Huberdeau in the slot area. He made a give-and-go pass with Dadonov and eventually put the puck into the Detroit cage from the edge of the blue paint for his 22nd goal.
     Dryden Hunt compiled his first NHL goal at the 2:51 mark for a Panthers 5-1 lead. Riley Sheahan carried the puck through the right circle and centered it with the backhand. Hunt scored on a wrist shot from the crease area.
     Alekander Barkov, who played in his 400th NHL game, nailed his 30th goal of the season with 12:16 remaining in the third from the low slot and Florida had a 6-1 gap. Huberdeau and MacKenzie Weegar were credited with assists on the play. Barkov has 11 goals along with 24 points in his last 13 games. He and Hoffman are the second Florida teammates ever to score at least 30 goals in a season. Olli Jokinen and Nathan Horton accomplished the feat back in 2006-07.