After the Florida Panthers won their first game without Joel Quenneville on Friday night, interim head coach Andrew Brunette said he couldn't be more pleased with the effort he saw from his squad.

"Very emotional for our whole group. Really proud of the way they rallied under these difficult circumstances the last few days. Really proud of them," Brunette said postgame, according to Panthers beat writer Jameson Olive. "(Jonathan Huberdeau) made a great play, and (Aleksander Barkov) ... what a goal. A big win for us."

The Panthers dispatched the Detroit Red Wings in overtime thanks to a slick play from Huberdeau and Barkov to improve to 8-0-0 on the season.

Quenneville resigned as the Panthers' head coach Thursday due to his involvement in the Chicago Blackhawks' mishandling of sexual assault allegations in 2010, when Quenneville was Chicago's head coach.

"I think we're all so emotionally raw," Brunette said, per NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "Probably not going to go away right away."

Defenseman MacKenzie Weegar added that it was a "big one" for the undefeated Panthers.

"It’s been a tough 48 hours, it's been heavy on the team," he said. "It was a big win for our dressing room, and the coaching staff really stepped up."

The 3-2 win was Brunette's first victory as an NHL head coach.

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