After falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in overtime on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils (22-15-3) squeaked by the Florida Panthers (27-13-2) with a 4-1 win. Amid a tough road trip without many of their high-end stars, New Jersey earned an impressive win against a Panthers’ team on a nine-game heater. As we enter the dog days of the season surrounding the All-Star break, these kinds of wins are essential to a hopeful Cup contender.
First Period
New Jersey got off to a strong start in the first period, going toe-to-toe with chances against a rolling Panther offense. Alexander Holtz opened the scoring at the 3:50 mark, throwing the puck on net from the wall with no other option and getting an opportunistic deflection off Dmitry Kulikov’s skate, fooling Sergei Bobrovsky.
After the goal, Florida turned up the heat, standing tall at their blue line and probing the Devils’ defense. The Devils eventually settled down, getting clean offensive zone entries.
New Jersey would have been fortunate to escape the period up by a goal, but Jesper Bratt had other ideas. Late into the period, Bratt extended the lead to two, squeaking the puck to Michael McLeod from below the goal line and deflecting his shot into the back of the net from within the crease.
Despite appearing outmatched by the red-hot Panthers in the first period, two gritty goals had New Jersey firmly in the lead going into the first intermission. They ended the period in control of possession with a 51.35 Corsi-for percentage (CF%). but lagged in grade-A chances with a 43.29 expected goal percentage (xG%) and a 25.00 high-danger Corsi-for percentage (HDCF%).
Second Period
Once again, the Panthers controlled the action early into the second, but New Jersey again managed to extend the lead. This time, Erik Haula capitalized on a deflected pass from Nico Hischier, beating Bobrovsky to the five-hole at the 3:51 mark.
Up by three, the Devils were still being outplayed by Florida. Every aspect of their game clicked and they looked like the more cohesive unit, which explains their winning streak before last night. Still, New Jersey held a three-goal lead late in the second period, but a slashing call on Colin Miller would send the Panthers to their first power play of the night. They spent most of the kill hemmed into their zone but managed to stymie Florida. Something had to give though, and Sam Reinhart broke through with the home team’s first goal of the night with five seconds in the man advantage, beating the Devils’ defense to a Brendan Montour rebound in the crease. It was Reinhart’s 31st goal of the season.
The cracks showed in the underlying numbers in the second period. The Devils notched a paltry 33.33 CF% and a 16.55 xG%.
Third Period
The Panthers continued to dominate early in the third, opening the frame with extended offensive zone pressure. They threatened to close the gap a few times, but Nico Daws made some critical saves, frustrating the Panther attack.
Florida drew two penalties; and even though New Jersey’s power play couldn’t do anything, they slowed the Panthers’ momentum. The tide turned when the Devils managed to kill off a Kevin Bahl holding penalty late in the game. With the net empty, Florida launched an all-out attack. Sam Reinhart hit the post and recovered, only to shoot right into Daws’ outstretched glove.
After withstanding the onslaught, Daws attempted to fire at the open net. He missed, but the resulting breakout led to a chaotic flurry of missed shots at the open net. It would be John Marino who potted the insurance goal, ending Florida’s nine-game winning streak.
The roles were flipped from the first period to the final frame. Florida controlled possession with a 72.41 CF% but the Devils dominated the expected goals battle with a 53.20 xG%.
Results
Last night’s win was huge for an incredibly banged-up team missing Jack Hughes, Timo Meier, and other top-tier talents. They also killed the Panthers’ hot streak, an important moment in the Eastern Conference battle. With the night the Devils had, securing two points was vital, especially going into a tough matchup with Boston.
The Devils now own a record of 22-15-3 and sit in fifth place in the Metropolitan Division with 47 points. The Panthers are now 27-13-2, good for second place in the Atlantic Division.
Game Notes
- Nico Daws had a great night, posting a .973 SV% and 1.74 goals saved above expected (GSAx). He kept the Devils in the game with great saves, only letting in a well-earned goal from Reinhart.
- Sam Reinhart remained hot in the loss, scoring his sixth power-play goal in his past six games. He has 13 goals and 15 points in his last ten games and 31 goals on the season.
- The Devils are in a playoff position midway through January, tied for the final wild-card spot with Tampa (with the points percentage tiebreaker). They’ll have another crucial Eastern Conference meeting against Boston tomorrow.
Up Next
The Devils will take on the Boston Bruins in the final game of this road trip tomorrow at 1:00 pm ET.