Red Wings 4, Panthers 3: Defenseman Brendan Smith and Gustav Nyquist scored 38 seconds apart early in the third period and captain Henrik Zetterberg added a power-play tally in his return from a back injury as visiting Detroit posted its third win in four games.

Daniel Alfredsson also scored and Pavel Datsyuk notched a pair of assists for the Red Wings, who defeated Florida for the first time in three tries this season. Jonas Gustavsson turned aside 30 shots.

Sean Bergenheim tallied twice, Nick Bjugstad netted a goal and Scott Clemmensen made 27 saves for the Panthers, who have lost three in a row.

Alfredsson opened the scoring 3:47 into the contest with a shot from high in the left faceoff circle while on the power play, and Zetterberg beat Clemmensen from the right circle during a man advantage with 5:31 remaining in the first period to make it 2-0. Florida pulled even with goals 2:07 apart in the latter half of the second, as Bergenheim converted a nifty flip pass between two defenders by Gregory Campbell for a power-play tally and Bjugstad cashed in on a breakaway chance.

Smith put Detroit ahead for good 42 seconds into the third with a one-timer from above the right circle and Nyquist buried a rebound from the doorstep to make it 4-2. Bergenheim halved the deficit 3:07 later with a shot from the top of the slot, but the Panthers were unable to get the equalizer.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Zetterberg missed 11 games with a herniated disk in his back. ... Detroit LW Justin Abdelkader was in the lineup for the first time since suffering a concussion on Dec. 14 against Pittsburgh. ... Florida has allowed 15 goals during its skid after yielding a total of eight during its preceding five-game winning streak. ... Panthers G Tim Thomas dressed as the backup after missing six games with a groin injury.