NHL

• Panthers pay Red Wings a visit

  
  

  (Sports Network) - The Florida Panthers will shoot for a fourth win in five outings when they visit the Detroit Red Wings tonight in an interconference clash at Joe Louis Arena.

  The Panthers are coming off a lopsided victory in Buffalo, winning for the third time in four games and extending their point streak to four straight contests (3-0-1).

  Meanwhile, Detroit had a three-game winning streak halted by Dallas its last time out and suffered just its second regulation loss in 10 games (7-2-1).

  Florida slammed the Sabres, 6-2, in Buffalo on Wednesday, matching the club's largest margin of victory this season. The Panthers also beat St. Louis, 4-0, on October 31.

  Michael Frolik netted a pair of scores as Florida used a four-goal third period to skate away with the recent win in western New York.

  Rostislav Olesz and Dominic Moore each posted a goal and one assist for the Panthers. Stephen Weiss and Cory Stillman also tallied while Tomas Vokoun stopped 26 shots for the win.

  "This was a good road win. It started with a strong first period," said Panthers head coach Pete DeBoer. "We played a real smart first 20 minutes. Even though they got the first goal we kept our composure. More and more we're looking like the team we're supposed to look like." The Panthers will try to build off the road victory as they play the middle test of a three-game swing tonight. Florida is 5-4-1 as the guest this year and has won four of its last five road tilts.

  Detroit was dealt a 3-1 loss by visiting Dallas on Wednesday and fell to 2-1-0 on a four-game homestand that ends tonight.

  The Red Wings fired 32 shots on net against the Stars, but Alex Auld was up to the task, turning aside 31.

  Henrik Zetterberg provided the lone offense for the Red Wings, wile Jimmy Howard took the loss despite making 29 saves.

  Howard has started the last four games while regular goaltender Chris Osgood has been dealing with flu-like symptoms. However, Osgood returned to practice earlier this week and is expected to get the start tonight. Osgood is 13-1-1 with five ties and a 2.20 goals against average in 22 career games against the Panthers.

  Red Wings forward Kirk Maltby also has been bothered by flu-like symptoms and has missed the last four games. He is also expected to play tonight.

  Detroit is 7-2-1 as the host this season and had won four straight at the Joe prior Wednesday's setback.

  The Red Wings earned a win in Florida last year in their only 2008-09 meeting against the Panthers. Detroit has taken three of four overall in the series and the Panthers are winless in their last six trips to Motown, going 0-3 with three ties over that span.

  11/20 10:54:46 ET