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Dylan Larkin of the Detroit Red Wings scores against Florida Panthers goaltender Michael Hutchinson in the second period at the BB & T Center on October 20, 2018 in Sunrise, Florida.(Photo: Joel Auerbach, Getty Images)

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Detroit The Red Wings needed extra time to do it, but they finally won their first game of the season.

Gustav Nyquist scored to give the Wings a 4-3 win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday at the BB & T Center. The Wings scored two power-play goals in 18 seconds, but added to the game by putting ruts in the penalty. Mike Hoffman tied the game with a time of 1:16 to register in regulation time after the Panthers pulled out their goaltender.

The Wings (1-5-2) were the last winless team in the NHL.

• The score of the box

Ascent in second period

The Wings entered the second period down 2-0. Keith Yandle scored on a wrist shot at 7:34 of the first period after getting a pass from Evgenii Dadonov, who put Joe Hicketts and Dennis Cholowski on their heels to enter the Detroit area, while Yandle joined them. Nick Bjugstad raised the score to 2-0 at 16:10 in a faceoff. Both were goals that Jimmy Howard should have stopped.

The key to getting back into the game was to have their power play click. The Wings took advantage over two men at 5:40 when Andreas Athanasiou scored a penalty four seconds after Anthony Mantha. It took seven seconds to score – Dennis Cholowski had the puck in the high slot and took a shot while Michael Rasmussen was playing the net. Thomas Vanek converted a pass from Frans Nielsen at 06:05.

The Wings turned the momentum into a 3-2 lead when Dylan Larkin scored at 7:50. Larkin had another scoring opportunity at the end of the second period, after Cholowski stole the puck on a shot at goal. The Wings killed three consecutive penalties and in one they spent more time in the Florida area than theirs.

What makes it difficult

The Wings faced a penalty shot for the second time this week when Cholowski was called for coaching Aleksander Barkov on a breakaway early in the third period. Barkov blew on his forehand and then fired back. The Wings then took another penalty (Luke Glendening for stumbling). The Panthers' power play is not good (25th in the NHL with 13.6% of them), but the Wings struggled to keep playing shorthanded. It took almost half of the third period for the Wings to shoot at goal.

Rasmussen pleads

The rookie put the puck in the Panthers' net at 9:31 of the first period, but the goal was canceled after the Panthers defied Justin Abdelkader for interfering with goalkeeper Michael Hutchinson.

Postal bag of red wings: Should Michael Rasmussen return to the juniors?

That was a good sign from Rasmussen, who is under surveillance as he approaches 10 games played – Saturday was his sixth match – because that means his entry-level contract comes in. Rasmussen, 19, can not be sent to minors, so he must play for the Wings or his junior team. He sometimes seemed hesitant, but if he showed he was looking for an effective way to be effective in the NHL, the Wings would keep him after nine games. He can still be fired after playing 10 games or more, but he loses a year of his contract.

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