Panthers beat Red Wings 5-2, clinch best record in East
By PAUL GEREFFI
Associated Press
SUNRISE, Fla. (AP) — Aleksander Barkov scored his 38th goal of the season and the Florida Panthers tied a franchise record with their 12th straight win, beating the Detroit Red Wings 5-2. Mason Marchment had a goal and an assist, and Sam Reinhart, MacKenzie Weegar and Noel Acciari also scored for the Panthers, who clinched first in the Atlantic Division and the top spot in the Eastern Conference. Florida, with 118 points, moved two points ahead of Colorado in the race for the best record in the NHL. Each team has five games remaining. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 28 shots. Tyler Bertuzzi and Sam Gagner scored for Detroit, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 22 shots.