Carter Mazur finally got the moment he’s been chasing, and he made sure it came in a Red Wings win.
The Michigan-born forward scored his first NHL goal Monday night in Detroit’s 5-3 victory over the Florida Panthers at Amerant Bank Arena, snapping a shot past Jacob Markstrom’s glove and giving himself a milestone he’d been waiting on for a long time.
For Mazur, the goal meant more than just a number on a scoresheet. He’s dealt with a string of injury setbacks early in his career, and after the puck found the net, he described the feeling as a release.
“It was a relief, for sure, especially going through all those injuries throughout my career," Mazur said in the dressing room afterward. "To finally get that one it felt really special for me.”
"I just put my head down and tried to shoot it into the back of the net, and luckily, it went in."
The goal also fit into a much-needed response from Detroit after Saturday’s 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Blues, a game the Red Wings let slip away after holding a two-goal lead in the third period.
"I think it was a good response from the last game against St. Louis," Mazur said. "I think we came out hard, especially against a tough team like Florida, and we just have to keep building off that."
"You just have to move on and take a lesson from it, and come out even stronger. I think we did a good job of that."
Detroit got scoring from Alex DeBrincat, Justin Faulk, Michael Brandsegg-Nygård, and Emmitt Finnie, who added an empty-netter. Florida answered with goals from Sam Reinhart, Aaron Ekblad, and Sam Bennett.
Mazur’s first NHL goal comes after a rough stretch that included a fluke injury just seconds into his NHL debut in the spring of 2025. He also missed weeks of action with the Grand Rapids Griffins because of various ailments.
This season, he has appeared in nine games for the Red Wings and has three points.
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