The Red Wings appeared to have this game sealed and won – and then suddenly didn’t.
Florida’s Carter Verhaeghe scored two late goals Tuesday and the Panthers escaped with a 4-3 victory.
Verhaeghe tied it at 18 minutes 30 seconds with Florida goaltender Daniil Tarasov pulled, and the Panthers possessing the extra skater. Verhaeghe snapped a shot from the slot, beating goaltender John Gibson, who had bodies in front of him.
Verhaeghe then broke the tie with 14 seconds left in the game, his 19th goal, converting Matthew Tkachuk’s pass off the rush, and giving the Panthers the shocking lead.
“Just didn’t get the job one, it hurts,” Patrick Kane told FanDuel Sports Network. “It’s unfortunate we couldn’t finish it off.”
The Wings suffered more bad news. Already without an injured Dylan Larkin, they saw Andrew Copp suffer an injury in the second and didn’t return.
Copp injured his left leg on a faceoff with Florida’s Tomas Nosek in the second period. Nosek and Copp got entangled on the draw and Nosek fell onto Copp’s leg – much of the weight on the calf and ankle. Copp didn’t put any weight on the leg, needing assistance skating off the ice, and went directly to the locker room.
Coach Todd McLellan told FDSN Copp was being evaluated after the game and will get further evaluation Wednesday. McLellan said Copp is “doubtful” to play Thursday in Tampa.
“Nobody is feeling sorry for the Red Wings,” McLellan told FDSN about the injuries to the Wings’ two top centers. “Nobody in the locker room should feel sorry. We have a job to do and we have to recover from this loss and find a way to plug some holes.”
Marco Kasper broke a 2-2 tie just over a minute after the Panthers had tied the game in the third period. Emmitt Finnie saw Kasper get behind Florida’s defense and Kasper converted the breakaway, Kasper’s seventh goal, at 6 minutes 32 seconds.
Newly acquired defenseman Justin Faulk assisted on Kasper’s goal, and scored his first goal as a Wing, making an impact for the second consecutive game.
Kane scored his 10th goal, and goaltender John Gibson, who missed the third period of Sunday’s win with an undisclosed injury, stopped 22 shots.
“They pressured,” Kasper told FDSN of Florida’s late surge. “We’re good enough to win those games, for sure. We know we can pull those out too. We just have to find a way to protect the lead.”
Faulk broke a 1-1 tie at 12:59 of the second period. Copp won the faceoff and the puck got to Faulk at the point, who skated to the dot and backhanded a shot that eluded Tarasov.
Kane tied the game 1-1 early in the second period. Moritz Seider’s shot from the point was stopped by Tarasov, but the goaltender left the puck near the post and Kane
“Points are crucial and it would have been nice to get at least one tonight,” Kane told FDSN. “Especially with the situation we’re in. I still have a lot of confidence in this group. It’ll be a tough feeling tonight but we have to get over it. This time of year, that’s just the way it is.”
Florida’s Vinnie Hinostroza opened the game’s scoring. Hinostroza, driving to the net, got his stick on Jasper Boqvist’s shot and deflected the shot past Gibson, the newly acquired Hinostroza’s fourth goal, at 9:48.
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This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Double whammy: Copp injured, Red Wings suffer shocking collapse vs. Panthers
Reporting by Ted Kulfan, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
