The New Jersey Devils defeated the defending Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers 4-1 on Tuesday night in Sunrise, Florida. The Devils weathered the storm for much of the first 30 minutes of the game but rallied in the back half to snap the Panthers’ seven-game winning streak. With the victory, New Jersey improved to 11-6-2, while the Panthers fell to 11-4-1.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils broke through first at 8:30 thanks to a gorgeous cross-ice pass from Jesper Bratt to Jack Hughes, who buried the puck behind Spencer Knight. Dougie Hamilton added a secondary assist.
The goal marked Hughes’ 300th career NHL point.
The Devils took two overlapping penalties near the end of the period, but they successfully killed over a minute of a two-man advantage.
They finished the period with just 11 seconds left on the penalty kill.
The Panthers outshot the Devils 14-6 in the period.
Period Two
The Devils killed the rest of the penalty to begin the second.
Florida surged in the first half of the period, but the Devils weathered the storm in the early going.
New Jersey took another penalty, and the Panthers converted at 8:41 with a tip-in by Sam Reinhart. Uvis Balinskis and Aleksander Barkov had the assists.
To swing the momentum in favor of New Jersey, Brenden Dillon engaged with Jonah Gadjovich in the NHL’s heavyweight fight of the year so far.
After play resumed, Luke Hughes sprung Dawson Mercer on a breakaway, forcing a strong glove save by Knight to keep the game tied.
The Devils kept the pressure on with some sustained zone time as they forced Florida to defend.
Eventually, Timo Meier found himself on a breakaway and sniped a shot past Knight’s blocker side at 17:29. Mercer tallied the primary assist with excellent work in the neutral zone to force a turnover. Jonas Siegenthaler also assisted on the play.
The shots were even at 8-8 in the period. The Devils allowed just one shot on net after the Dillon fight.
Period Three
The third began with an extended period with no whistle and each team suppressing shots.
Luke Hughes made a strong defensive play to get back and neutralize a scoring threat by his former University of Michigan teammate, Mackie Samoskevich.
After a great chance at one end, the Devils had another impressive defensive sequence, with a combined effort from Luke Hughes and Ondrej Palat eliminating what would have been two scoring opportunities for Florida.
Just after two minutes of four-on-four play, Paul Cotter fired a shot up high and off the back bar of the net at 15:07 to give New Jersey a late two-goal lead. Nico Hischier added a primary assist with a filthy no-look pass, and Hamilton tallied a secondary assist.
With 1:02 left, the Devils sealed the victory with an empty netter from Palat. Bratt had the lone assist.
New Jersey was outshot 35-24 but earned a 4-1 victory.
Takeaways
Stars Show Up
New Jersey’s star players were all over the score sheet in the victory over Florida. Jack Hughes continued his excellent play and added another goal, bringing his season total to eight.
Jesper Bratt had a great showing, with two primary assists, including the highlight reel cross-ice pass through traffic to set up Hughes’ goal. He also tallied a blocked shot and two hits on the night.
After three games without a point, Timo Meier broke his skid with a breakaway goal to give the Devils a bit of breathing room in the final few minutes of play. Meier had a strong performance in both ends, with four shots, three blocked shots and two hits, so it was nice to see him rewarded for his efforts.
On the defensive side, Dougie Hamilton had another multi-point performance, adding two more assists to his season total. Brett Pesce blocked three shots, the most of any Devils defenseman, and Johnathan Kovacevic led the way with five hits recorded. The strong performances in their own zone, especially late in games, earned New Jersey a perfect 9-0-0 record in games where they lead going into the third period.
The Spark
Though he didn’t show up on the score sheet, Brendon Dillon’s fight served as a real turning point for the Devils. While the scoreboard showed an even 1-1 game, the Devils sustained heavy pressure from Florida and were being outshot 20-7 at the time of the fight.
After Dillon dropped the gloves, the Devils outshot the Panthers 17-15 and controlled the game for long stretches. A fight or a big hit to swing momentum wasn’t a viable option for New Jersey last season with its personnel, and it was exciting to see the team’s new identity so directly impact the outcome of a game.
Goaltending
Jacob Markstrom had a stellar performance in net for the Devils. He saved 34 of 35 shots for a .971 SV% and held New Jersey in the game early. He had a 2.65 GSAx to boot.
His season-long save percentage improved to .908, and his record to 8-4-1. This was his third consecutive victory. Additionally, the tandem of Markstrom and Jake Allen has held opponents to one goal or less in eight games this season, including three shutouts.
Needless to say, the upgrades in net have done wonders for the Devils this season.
Up Next
In an interesting scheduling quirk, the Devils are back in action against the Florida Panthers, again, on Thursday night at Amerant Bank Arena.
This is the second of three meetings between the two teams and the final match in Florida.
Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. on MSGSN, SCRIPPS, SN, and SN1.
