Wilmer Skoog and Jansson Score First NHL Points as Florida Dominates Detroit at Home

The Florida Panthers closed their injury-plagued 2025-26 NHL season with an 8-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night in Sunrise, Florida, marking multiple career milestones for several rookies and young players.

Mike Benning scored his first two NHL goals in the game, while Wilmer Skoog, Mikulas Hovorka and Ludvig Jansson each recorded their first NHL points. Skoog contributed two assists, including the primary assist on Benning’s first goal and a secondary assist on his second. Jansson earned an assist on A.J. Greer’s third-period goal, and Hovorka also registered his first NHL point in the contest.

Luke Kunin added two goals for Florida, with Vinnie Hinostroza, Cole Schwindt, Cole Reinhardt and A.J. Greer also finding the net for the Panthers. Matthew Tkachuk, playing in his first game since welcoming his first child earlier in the week, finished with two assists alongside Skoog and Marek Alscher.

Justin Faulk scored the lone goal for the Detroit Red Wings. John Gibson started in net for Detroit but was pulled after allowing three goals on 15 shots through two periods, with Cam Talbot finishing the game. Daniil Tarasov stopped 24 shots for Florida in what marked the end of his season as the backup Sergei Bobrovsky, who finished with a 27-23-1 record.

The victory concluded a tumultuous season for the Panthers, who entered the year as defending Stanley Cup champions but lost captain Aleksander Barkov to injury during the first training camp practice. More than a dozen regular players missed significant time due to injuries throughout the year, ultimately preventing Florida from qualifying for the 2026 playoffs despite reaching the Finals in each of the previous three seasons.

Florida finished the regular season with a 40-38-4 record for 84 points. Detroit ended their campaign at 41-31-10, earning 92 points. Notably, every other Red Wings team in franchise history with at least 92 standings points had previously made the playoffs, though many of those appearances came before the NHL awarded points for overtime losses and shootout victories.