The Florida Panthers cruised to a 3-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on goals scored by defensemen, including two by Aaron Ekblad, Friday night at Little Caesars Arena.
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Rather surprisingly, the visitors' back six directed 11 of the team's 20 shots at the goal defended by Ville Husso. Ekblad hit the target twice in as many throws, each time with the advantage of a man.
The number 5 had all the time in the world to outsmart the Wings goaltender when he came from the top of the slot 6:28 into the first frame. His shot from the wrists was then no doubt. In the third period, Ekblad made it 3-1 jumping on Aleksander Barkov's throw return.
It was Gustav Forsling who broke the ice at the very start of the game, responding to the quick net of the local favorites scored by Jonatan Berggren.
By being an accomplice to this goal, Eric Staal reached a plateau he probably hadn't thought of. Back in force this season thanks to the confidence of the Panthers, the Ontarian collected a 600th career assist. He is the eighth active National Hockey League player to do so.
Robby Fabbri closed the gap late by beating Sergei Bobrovsky with a pitch as the Russian keeper's view was blocked. The latter resisted in the remaining three minutes to record the gain, making 27 saves in the process.
Ryan McDonagh picks his moment
In Washington, Ryan McDonagh picked the right moment to light the lantern for the first time this season, scoring the game-changing goal in a 3-2 Nashville Predators win over the Capitals.
The former New York Rangers captain was held in check in his first 30 games in 2022-2023, having to settle for eight assists. The defenseman gave the Predators the lead with 3:16 left in the third period thanks to quite the maneuver. Coming on a breakaway in front of Charlie Lindgren, McDonagh served a cup of coffee to the goalkeeper by beating him from the backhand.
Support units on either side had been leading the charge up to this point. Thomas Novak and Yakov Trenin shook the ropes for the "Preds", while Sonny Milano and Nicolas Aubé-Kubel did the same on the side of the "Caps".
It's the second win in 48 hours for Nashville, which has now won three straight.
