Pavel Datsyuk scores 2 in 3rd, Red Wings beat Panthers 3-0

Detroit Red Wings left wing Tomas Tatar (21) celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers in the third period of an NHL hockey game, Monday, Feb. 8, 2016 in Detroit.

Detroit forward Gustav Nyquist thought his rebound shot from the bottom of the right circle with 44 seconds left in the first period went in, but replays were inconclusive on whether the puck crossed the goal line.

Tomorrow night, the Red Wings have another home game, taking on the Ottawa Senators.

“Said Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill: “I thought it was a totally, clean hit”. Barkov shares the Panthers’ team lead in points (35) and is second in goals (16).

With three goals over his last two games, Larkin is now tied with Chicago’s Artemi Pantarin for the most goals by a rookie.

“It is imperative that we get wins at home”, Green said.

After five straight home losses, the Detroit Red Wings knew they badly needed to beat the New York Islanders on Saturday.

“We’re disappointed to lose him”, said coach Gerard Gallant after the game. “Theres a lot of skill on that line so I think my speed can open some ice for them and let them do their work and help out as much as I can.”.

“I thought the refs did a great job of involving (captains John) Tavares (of the Isles) and (Detroit’s Henrik) Zetterberg and until the players felt it was a safe situation we weren’t going to play”.

The good news for Detroit is Al Montoya – not all-star Roberto Luongo – is expected to start in net Monday night for the Panthers while Petr Mrazek likely will get another start for Detroit. He has 5 points and is a +1 in 23 games played with Detroit this season.

Florida’s Derek MacKenzie checked Abdelkader into the glass, and after they exchanged a few words, gloves were dropped and punches were landed.

“The one thing with those two guys, when they’re apart, they give us a real good one-two punch up the middle, but they do enjoy playing together”, Blashill said.

That changed when Detroit defenseman Jakub Kindl sent a fluttering puck toward net and Tatar deflected it.

Datsyuk made it 3-0 with 7:26 left when he took a pass from Zetterberg, cut in on Montoya and slid a backhand shot between Montoya’s pads. Defensively, the Florida Panthers are allowing 2.2 goals per game and are killing 83.3 percent of their power play chances.

Look at Petr Mrazek’s comfort level between the pipes in year two of his career, the emergence of Larkin as a once-in-a-generation player and the offseason additions of veterans Mike Green and Brad Richards.

If Barkov is lost for any amount of time it’s a blow to the playoff-bound Panthers, even with Bjugstad back in the lineup. He signed a six-year extension worth about $35 million with Florida last month. Florida C Vincent Trochek was recognized by the National Hockey League as a weekly star after having three goals and three assists for six points in three games….