Markstrom returns in coral as Panthers chase four straight

The Panthers haven't won four in a row yet this season, and tonight is the cleanest look they'll get. Detroit's penalty kill is leaking, Florida's power play is cooking, and Jacob Markstrom is back in the crease after five games out. I like the cats tonight, and I like them by more than one.

Paul Maurice said Markstrom "doesn't have any questions about how he feels." He also said nothing else changes. So the group that beat Winnipeg 5-2 on Friday runs it back, in the brand-new coral Hometown Remix sweaters. Maurice is sticking with gray for himself: "Never wear anything that has more character than you do."

The lineup card:

• Brady Tkachuk – Sam Bennett – Matthew Tkachuk

• Carter Verhaeghe – Sam Reinhart – Sandis Vilmanis

• Eetu Luostarinen – Anton Lundell – Lars Eller

• Bokondji Imama – Cole Schwindt – Garnet Hathaway

• Gustav Forsling – Aaron Ekblad

• Niko Mikkola – Seth Jones

• Dmitry Kulikov – Radko Gudas

In net: Markstrom, with Akira Schmid as the backup. Scratches: Uvis Balinskis and Cole Reinhardt. Out: Aleksander Barkov (knee, LTIR), Brad Marchand (knee) and Jonah Gadjovich (upper body, LTIR).

Markstrom is 3-1-1 with a .898 save percentage in six starts. Rust is the only real question. Schmid kept the seat warm and won Friday, so there's no panic either way.

Keep an eye on Sandis Vilmanis. He jumped 3.5 minutes to 16.1 on Friday by our count, riding with Reinhart and Verhaeghe. A coach doesn't hand a kid that seat to be polite. Seth Jones has points in three straight and 18 in 14 games while eating 24.9 minutes a night.

Detroit's form: The Red Wings are 6-5-3 and three points behind Florida for the last wild-card spot. They're 3-2 in their last five, but Saturday stung: a two-goal third-period lead turned into a 5-4 loss to St. Louis. Emmitt Finnie has been the story since moving to center, with nine points in nine games.

They're thin down the middle, too. Dylan Larkin is suspended without pay after the organization said he told them he won't play for Detroit again. Marco Kasper and Mason Appleton are out with upper-body injuries, and Albert Johansson is out as well.

Detroit's expected lines: DeBrincat–Finnie–Arvidsson, Brandsegg-Nygård–Copp–Raymond, Rasmussen–Compher–Danielson and Mazur–Dries–Kolesar. On the back end, it's Chiarot–Seider, Wallinder–Faulk and Englund–Anton Johansson.

In goal for Detroit: Daniil Tarasov is expected, and you know the name. He backed up here last season and closed it by beating Detroit 8-1. He's 1-0-2 with a .940 this year, while John Gibson sits at .860.

Head-to-head: Florida took last season's series 3-1 and leads the all-time regular-season set 43-22-7, with five ties. Detroit is back in Sunrise on Nov. 12.

The one matchup: Florida's power play against Detroit's kill. By our count, the Panthers are scoring on 24.2% of their chances and the Wings are killing just 68.9%. Reinhart leads the league with six power-play goals. If Detroit takes three minors, this one is over by the second intermission.

The counterpunch is Moritz Seider, who plays 25.8 minutes a night and has points in three straight. Expect him against the Tkachuk line, and expect it to get physical along the boards.

Pabs' read: Panthers 4-2. Two on the power play, Markstrom shakes off an early scare, and the coral sweaters get a win in their first night out. One note for the bettors: Florida is just 4-9 on the puck line this season by our count, and tonight's -1.5 sits at +142 at DraftKings. 21+. Gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER.

How to watch: Puck drop is 7 p.m. ET at Amerant Bank Arena. It's on Scripps Sports (WSFL 39 in Miami-Fort Lauderdale, WHDT 9 in West Palm Beach), streaming on Panthers+ and ESPN+, with radio on WQAM. Chicago visits Wednesday.