On Saturday night at the BB&T Center in Sunrise, Florida, the Panthers defeated the Detroit Red Wings, 4-1 to open their 2016-17 season with a second consecutive win. They have never started a season with three straight.
Vincent Trocheck got the Panthers on the board first, and early. At the 1:10 mark of the opening period, he quickly skated into the Red Wings’ zone, went to Petr Mrazek’s left and around the back of the net, banked the puck off Dylan Larkin’s right skate, and past Mrazek for the 1-0 lead. It was Trocheck’s first point this season, his 84th overall in 148 games to move him within a point of Gregory Campbell for 43rd on Florida’s all-time leaderboard.