Florida Panthers rookie caps NHL debut with game-winner in overtime against Detroit

He took his customary solo lap around the rink on Saturday night, soaking in the quiet atmosphere of a mostly empty Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

Minutes later, 22-year-old forward Aleksi Heponiemi would make his NHL debut against the Detroit Red Wings.

“I’m just gonna bring the energy, skate hard, work as hard as I can and also try to make some plays,” Heponiemi said after the team’s morning skate. “It’s my first game, so I’m not thinking too much. I’m just gonna go for it.”

About two and a half hours after the puck dropped, his teammates would swarm around him in celebration.

Heponiemi rebounded Anthony Duclair’s backhanded shot attempt and tipped the puck past Thomas Greiss to seal the Panthers’ 3-2 overtime win over the Red Wings.

Welcome to the NHL, Aleksi Heponiemi.

“Can’t really feel better,” Heponiemi said.

Heponiemi is just the fourth player to score an overtime goal in his NHL debut. The others: Kirill Kaprizov for the Minnesota Wild (Jan. 14), Tim Sweeney for the Calgary Flames (Oct. 4, 1990) and Nick Knott for the Brooklyn Americans (Nov. 2, 1941).

The Panthers are now 4-0-1 and have picked up points in each of their first five games of the season.

Aleksander Barkov and Keith Yandle scored first-period power play goals for the Panthers and goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky stopped 25 of 27 shots.

Detroit fell to 2-5-2.

But the Panthers will point to the quiet-talking newcomer Heponiemi for his late-game heroics on Saturday.

Panthers coach Joel Quenneville showed immense trust in the rookie, giving him a shift in the final minutes of a tied game and another in overtime.

“I thought he really got better as the game went along,” Quenneville said. “He’s out there the last minute of the game. I thought he had an outstanding camp. I appreciated the way he competed every single day with the taxi group. ... He’s got great instincts. He’s a threat. He plays the right way. You’re comfortable with him without the puck. It was a great play by Duke to get it across to him, great finish, great touch.”

Heponiemi admitted to having nerves his first couple shifts before eventually settling down and playing a relatively clean two-way game primarily with Noel Acciari and Juho Lammikko as his linemates.

It set him up to be on the ice in the critical moments and to score the game-winner in his NHL debut.

“I don’t think a lot of coaches would do that. You’ve got to earn that ice time [late in the game],” Heponiemi said. “I don’t know. Maybe I did, but it means a lot.”

How the scoring unfolded

The Panthers took advantage of a pair of power play opportunities in the first period, while Detroit scored twice within a span of two-minutes to go into the first intermission tied 2-2.

Barkov opened scoring when a pass attempt Patric Hornqvist in front of the net bounced off Red Wings defenseman Danny DeKeyser’s stick and past Red Wings goaltender Greiss to give Florida the 1-0 lead 3:06 into the game. It was Barkov’s second goal of the season and the 157th of his career, tying him with Scott Mellanby for second-most in franchise history. Olli Jokinen holds the franchise record with 188 career goals with the Panthers.

Yandle scored Florida’s second power play goal with less than a second remaining in the frame when he scooped up a loose puck in the right circle and fired a wrist shot past Greiss.

The two power play goals negated Detroit’s pair of scores at full strength.

Anthony Mantha scored first for Detroit with 4:58 left in the opening period after forcing a takeaway from Huberdeau at center ice, rebounding Taro Hirose’s wrist shot and burying the puck past Bobrovsky. Tyler Bertuzzi’s wrist shot in front of the net, also on a rebound, less than two minutes later gave Detroit a brief 2-1 lead before Yandle tied the game heading into intermission..

After scoreless second and third periods resulted in overtime, Hepinoemi blasted in the game winner midway into the three-on-three overtime period to seal the win. Duclair recorded his team-leading sixth assist on the game-winner.

“He’s gonna be telling his great grandkids about that one,” Yandle said, “as he should.”

Strong night for Bobrovsky

Bobrovsky improves to 3-0-0 on the season after having his best performance in net this season. He was perfect 14 for 14 mark in the second and third periods and held Detroit scoreless on four power-play opportunities.

The highlight: A stop on the Red Wings’ Mathias Brome with about three minutes left in regulation in which Bobrovsky blocked the shot with his toe on an extended reach before MacKenzie Weegar cleared it away.

“It was tough,” Bobrovsky said of the play. “I tried to stay focused and stay patient as much as possible and just outwait him. That little bit gives me enough time to get a piece of it.”

A lot of lineup changes

In addition to Heponiemi, Lammikko also made his season debut after being a scratch in the two games against Columbus. Lammikko started the game by centering Florida’s fourth forward line with Heponiemi on his right and Noel Acciari on his left.

Owen Tippett also returned to the active roster and took his usual place as the right wing on the Panthers’ third line with Frank Vatrano and Eetu Luostarinen, although coach Joel Quenneville mixed and matched his forward lines in the second and third periods.

To make room for both Heponiemi and Tippett on the active roster, forward Ryan Lomberg was sent to the taxi squad after clearing waivers and defenseman Gustav Forsling (upper body) was placed on injured reserve. Quenneville said Forsling could miss up to two weeks.

Vinnie Hinostroza, Brett Connolly and Noah Juulsen were Florida’s three scratches on Saturday.

Next up

The Panthers close their two-team, four-game, six-day road trip on Sunday with the second game of their back-to-back against Detroit. Puck drop is set for 5 p.m.