Florida was mindful of the Red Wings being a potential playoff opponent

Sergei Bobrovsky and the Florida Panthers sure do seem to enjoy playing the Detroit Red Wings.

Bobrovsky shut out the Wings for the second time this season while Florida improved to 12-0-1 against Detroit over the past three years as the Cats skated to a 4-0 victory on Saturday afternoon at Little Caesars Arena.

The win was Florida’s 12th over their past 13 road games and it gave them an NHL-best 21 on the season.

Before we move on with the Panthers to an intriguing back-to-back that begins on Monday at Madison Square Garden against the red-hot New York Rangers, lets dive into the takeaways from Saturday’s matinee in Motown.

PK sparks Cats

A game that was scoreless after twenty minutes could have easily began tilting in the Red Wings favor a number of times, but Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stood tall.

It wasn’t just Bob coming up big for the Cats.

During the first half of the second period, the Red Wings went on the power play twice.

As it has been for much of this season, Florida’s penalty kill was as rock solid and reliable as ever, keeping Detroit off the board and allowing the Panthers’ offense time to get going.

“The most important part were probably the two kills at the start of the second,” Maurice said. “The first period I think was pretty smartly played. We were a little behind it in the first, but we should be, right? They should be rolling at the first part of that, and then I thought we built, but those two penalty kills were critical.”

Big game Bob

Bobrovsky has been so locked in this season, and a big part of it has been his routine and his usage.

The Panthers have been able to manage Bobrovsky’s workload, beyond just how many games he’s playing.

Whether it’s gamedays or practice days, Bob follows a regimen regarding how much time he puts in honing his craft on and off the ice.

Before Saturday, Bobrovsky’s last start was Tuesday, and he didn’t practice with the Panthers on Wednesday, which wasn’t anything out of the ordinary.

It all seems to be working, as there was Bobrovsky on Saturday in Detroit, fresh as a daisy, making 21 saves en route to his fourth shutout of the season.

“He's just played so darn well for us, and he's played consistently well,” Maurice said. “And then there's something sneaky there too, because Anthony Stolarz has come in and allowed Sergei a bit more rest than maybe he has had in the past and allowed him to be that good. And when Anthony has gone in, I’d say he's not spelling SergeI off. We're winning, right? He goes out and he stops pucks for us. The goaltending has been a really good tandem.”

Potential playoff matchup

Detroit is hoping to make the playoffs for the first time since 2016 and is currently tracking to do just that.

Even after the loss to Florida, the Red Wings hold the first Wildcard spot in the Eastern Conference, tied with Tampa Bay in points with 72 apiece but with two less games played.

Florida, meanwhile, currently holds the top spot in the East, but the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers are only two points behind.

So while there is still a quarter of the season to go, it’s easy to see how there could be a path that leads us to the Panthers and Red Wings facing off in the first round.

It’s a thought that didn’t escape Maurice heading into Saturday’s game, but that’s generally the case whenever Florida faces a potential playoff opponent.

“It was more physical than I think our previous games (against Detroit),” Maurice said. “It was closer to the Carolina game, we felt, in terms of the energy that we had to spend to win that game tonight. And I've liked both of them. They're fun to play in, there's something on the line, and good players on both teams.”

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