SUNRISE, Fla. -- Gustav Nyquist and Jimmy Howard are the two biggest reasons why the Detroit Red Wings no longer have a six-game losing streak.

Nyquist scored one goal in regulation and had the only shot that got through in a three-round shootout. Howard, meanwhile, came through with 44 saves against a Florida Panthers team that was coming off an eight-goal game against the Anaheim Ducks.

The result was Detroit's 3-2 win over Florida on Saturday night at the BB&T Center.

"Sometimes when a team is going through a little bit of a slump, you just need someone to step up," Howard said. "(The win) was a great feeling for all of us."

Panthers Vincent Trocheck, Aleksander Barkov and Radim Vrbata failed to beat Howard in the shootout. For Detroit, Andreas Athanasiou, who scored in regulation, and Frans Nielsen came up empty.

But then Nyquist beat Panthers goalie James Reimer between his pads, ending the misery for the Red Wings (5-6-1).

"Gus has slick hands," Howard said. "He slid one five-hole there. It was great to see.

"But a long-term recipe for success is not giving up that many shots."

Reimer made 36 saves as Florida (4-5-1) fell to 3-1-1 at home.

Evgeni Dadonov led the Panthers with one goal and one assist, drawing praise from Florida coach Bob Boughner.

"He had a lot of energy," Boughner said, "great legs."

Detroit opened the scoring with 5:28 expired in the first period. Athanasiou, in just his second game since ending a contract dispute, buried a one-timer from the slot after a pass from Dylan Larkin. It was Athanasiou's first goal of the season.

The Panthers tied the score 1-1 with 4:19 expired in the second period. Dadonov's shot went past Barkov's screen and was deflected in by Jonathan Huberdeau. It was Huberdeau's fourth goal of the season.

Less than three minutes later, that same line struck again, in similar fashion. Dadonov created the play, Barkov was setting a screen in front, and Huberdeau scored, this time banking his shot off the left post and the right skate of Nyquist.

But Detroit appealed, claiming Barkov -- who was being shoved forward by Nyquist -- was guilty of goaltender interference. The goal was overturned on review, and the score remained 1-1.

Howard called the ruling "a no-brainer", and Nyquist agreed.

"It was just a scramble out front," Nyquist said. "I tried to block (Barkov's) stick so he couldn't put it in. ... You could clearly see Barkov pushed 'Howie' into the net. I don't think it was a hard call."

Barkov said he got shoved but admitted it was the correct call.

"I did a little," Barkov said when asked if he interfered. "I was going to the net hard. (Nyquist) pushed me a little into the goalie, but I tried to hit the puck and missed it. I hit the goalie's pads. (The officials) were pretty accurate with that, and they took (the goal) away."

With 8:08 expired in the second, Florida got another opportunity and this time converted after Athanasiou was caught holding Barkov. Fifteen seconds later, Florida had a 2-1 lead as Trocheck flipped the puck on net, and Dadonov deflected it past Howard.

Two minutes later, Nyquist knifed his way past Panthers defensemen Aaron Ekblad and Alex Petrovic, putting a shot on goal. Reimer stopped the shot, but Nyquist got his own rebound for his third goal of the season.

Nyquist got the next goal, too -- in the shootout -- giving Detroit its first win since Friday October 13, which turned out to be a lucky day for the Red Wings.

But since then ... nothing.

"It's no secret," Nyquist said. "We've been needing (a win) for a while."

NOTES: Florida was without three injured players: LW Connor Brickley (upper body), LW Colton Sceviour (upper) and RW Jared McCann (lower). ... Florida recalled F Chase Balisy, 25, from Springfield of the American Hockey League. Balisy, who was used on the third line on Saturday, scored 17 goals and had 45 points in 76 games for Springfield last season. ... Florida D MacKenzie Weegar was a healthy scratch. ... Detroit D Danny DeKeyser (lower body) was out. ... Detroit scratched LW David Booth and RW Luke Witkowski. ... This is the second of a five-game Panthers homestand. Florida hosts the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday. ... Detroit returns home to face the Arizona Coyotes on Tuesday.