Florida captured their first division title since the 2015-16 season. The Panthers will finish on top of the conference for the first time in franchise history. The Cats currently lead the NHL standings with 118 points, which are two points ahead of the Colorado Avalanche, for the President's Trophy and home-ice advantage throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Panthers have won three division titles in their 28-season history. They captured the Southeast Division in 2011-12 and the Atlantic Division in 2015-16.
It was the second time that Florida and Detroit met in the last five days. The Panthers area playing three home games in a four-day stretch.
Detroit(30-38-10) jumped out to 1-0 lead early in the first period. Sam Gagner picked up his 13rd goal the campaign at the 4:08 mark.
Florida(56-15-6) battled back with three goals for the remainder of the frame for a 3-1 lead. Noel Acciari had his second tally of the year at 9:19. Aleksander Barkov put in a power-play goal with 1:07 left in the first for his 38th goal of the season. Mason Marchment added an unassisted goal past Alex Nedeljkovic with 21 seconds to go for his 17th goal this season.
In the second period, the Red Wings kept it close and trailed 3-2. Tyler Bertuzzi scored on a shot from the right circle by Sergei Bobrovsky at 6:15 for his 28th goal.
It became 4-2 for the Cats with 3:55 left in the second. MacKenzie Weegar complied his eighth goal of the campaign.
The Panthers extended it to 5-2 with the man advantage at the 3:50 mark. Sam Reinhart found the net for the 29th time this season. Jonathan Huberdeau marked his second assist of the contest on the play and tied Connor McDavid for the NHL lead with his 113th point.
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