DETROIT — A day after a terrible defeat and the sadness about a death of a beloved friend, the Red Wings found reason Saturday to smile.
Patrick Nemeth and Mathias Brome scored their first goals of the season in the second period, leading the Wings to a 2-1 victory over the Florida Panthers.
Goaltender Jonathan Bernier stopped 38 shots, and the Wings played a fine defensive game, as the Wings honored the memory of popular and beloved team masseur Sergei Tchekmarev, 65, who died Friday.
The Wings (5-11-3) ended a three-game winless streak. They also ended a six-game home losing streak to Florida.
Alexander Wennberg (power play) scored for the Panthers (11-3-2).
Brome broke a 1-1 tie at 17:27 of the second period with his first career NHL goal.
Dylan Larkin took a shot skating through the slot, and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky left a rebound right for Brome near the post, who batted the puck past Bobrovsky.
Nemeth opened the scoring for the Wings, tying the score at 10:09 of the second period.
Luke Glendening won the faceoff, and got the puck to Christian Djoos at the point. Djoos found Nemeth on the opposite side, and Nemeth drifted down to the dot and whistled a blast that Bobrovsky barely reacted on.
The Wings conclude a six-game homestand with games Tuesday and Thursday against Nashville.
