We knew that the Florida Panthers were up against it merely attempting to win a third-straight Cup, or even getting to a fourth-straight Final. There’s a reason no one’s done either in 45 years, in a vastly different league,

The Florida Panthers, already missing three veteran forwards, lost defenseman Dmitry Kulikov for five months after upper-body surgery.

Cam Talbot made 21 saves, Mason Appleton scored twice and the Detroit Red Wings beat Florida 4-1 on Wednesday night.

Mason Appleton scored for the second straight game and the Wings won their third straight, beating the Florida Panthers, 4-1.

Mackie Samoskevich, Sam Reinhart and Evan Rodrigues also scored for the Panthers, who got two assists from Seth Jones. Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 26 shots for Florida, which has trailed for a total of 63 seconds in its first three games.

Cousins will play at Amerant Bank Arena on Saturday for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup when the Panthers host the Ottawa Senators.

Panthers defenseman Dmitry Kulikov will miss five months after undergoing shoulder surgery to repair a torn labrum, making the Florida's 3-peat bid even harder.

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Spencer Knight was the primary piece the Florida Panthers gave up in a trade last season that brought defenseman Seth Jones from the Chicago Blackhawks.

Brad Marchand ignited chaos on October 19 in Buffalo after a fight with Rasmus Dahlin led to a helmet toss and a $5,000 NHL fine. The Florida Panthers fell 3-0 to the Sabres, marking their fourth straight loss.

The Florida Panthers (3-3-0) are on their way to KeyBank Center on Saturday where they will go up against the Buffalo Sabres (1-3-0). The moneyline on this game has the Panthers at -182 and the Sabres are sitting at +150. The total is 6.5.