The New Jersey Devils (11-6-2) defeated the Florida Panthers (11-4-1) 4-1 on Tuesday night. The win snapped a Florida seven-game winning streak while the Devils picked up their sixth win across their last eight games. The victory puts New Jersey atop the Metropolitan Division by two points, although second place Carolina has five games in hand.
Game Summary
First Period
It was all Florida early on in this one. Jacob Markstrom was forced into four saves in the opening minute alone thanks to a dominant shift from the Barkov line.
However, it was the Devils that got on the board first. Jesper Bratt entered the zone and circled back toward the blue line before sending a beautiful backhand saucer pass to Jack Hughes at the back door. Hughes buried the one-timer to make it 1-0 New Jersey 8:30 in.
The Devils gained a foothold in the game after the goal and went to the power play after an AJ Greer delay of game midway through the period. The Panthers, though, were able to kill the penalty with relative ease. Even after the power play, shots were 11-3 in favor of Florida.
The Devils survived the bulk of the kill, though, and got to the end of the period up 1-0. Florida would have 11 seconds of carryover power play time to start the second period.
In the first, shots were 14-6 in favor of Florida. At five-on-five, the Devils posted a 41.18 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 36.30 expected goals-for percentage (xGF%).
Second Period
The Devils killed off the remainder of the Dillon penalty, but it was still all Florida to start the period. New Jersey was continuously hemmed in its own end with the Panthers hitting the post twice in the opening minutes.
Eight minutes into the period, Florida went back to the power play after Paul Cotter was called for high-sticking behind the play. Just 20 seconds into the man advantage, the Panthers tied it up when Sam Reinhart tipped home a Uvis Balinskis point wrister.
Just minutes after the goal, Brendan Dillon and Jonah Gadjovich dropped the gloves and traded haymakers in a spirited bout.
After the fight, Luke Hughes sprung Dawson Mercer on a breakaway with a beauty of a stretch pass, but Spencer Knight came up with a huge glove save.
New Jersey ramped up the pressure after that breakaway, and ultimately broke through late in the period. Timo Meier walked in on a partial breakaway after a Panthers neutral zone turnover and fired a wrist shot blocker side. Meierâs seventh of the season made it 2-1 Devils with 2:30 left in the middle frame.
In the second, shots were even 8-8, although the Devils had six of the final seven attempts on goal. New Jersey also had a 44.74 CF% and a 54.33 xGF% at five-on-five.
Third Period
The Devils finally got off to a strong start in the third period, generating some early pressure. Most impressively, though, was the strong defensive play from New Jersey. Through the first ten minutes of the period, the Panthers had just three shots on Jacob Markstromâs net.
Jesper Boqvist had a great look for Florida midway through the frame, but missed the net from the slot.
Just after the teams returned to even strength, Nico Hischier carried the puck into the offensive zone. The captain slid the puck to Paul Cotter who absolutely wired a short-side wrister under the bar to give New Jersey a 3-1 lead with five minutes to play.
Florida pulled Spencer Knight for an extra attacker with three minutes left. Verhaeghe hit the crossbar with 1:40 left, but the Panthers would get no closer. Ondrej Palat hit the empty net with 1:02 to go, sealing the Devilsâ victory.
In the third, shots were 13-10 Florida. At five-on-five, the Devils posted a 41.67 CF% and a 44.91 xGF%.
Wrap-Up
For the game, Florida outshot New Jersey 35-24. The Devils registered a 42.71 CF% and a 47.73 xGF% at five-on-five.
Jacob Markstrom earned the win in net, making 34 saves on 35 shots. He turned aside 2.33 goals above expected.
Game Notes
Great Night For New-Look Top Line
Head coach Sheldon Keefe made a minor tweak to his forward lines, bumping up Stefan Noesen to play with Nico Hischier and Timo Meier. That change paid immediate dividends.
In just over 10 minutes of five-on-five ice time together, the trio had an 80.88 xGF%. The Devils also had a 5-2 edge in scoring chances and a 3-0 edge in high-danger chances with this line on the ice. This was especially impressive considering Florida had roughly a 50-20 edge in shot attempts midway through the second period.
Luke Hughes Bounces Back
Another Devil who had a strong night was Luke Hughes. After a difficult stretch over the recent back-to-back, Hughes led all New Jersey skaters with a 72.52 xGF% in over 17 minutes of ice time at even strength. With the 21-year-old blueliner on the ice, New Jersey had an 11-4 edge in scoring chances and a 5-2 edge in high-danger chances.
Fourth Line Invisible
One of the biggest negatives in the win for the Devils was the lack of impact from the fourth line. Of course, New Jersey is currently without Nathan Bastian and Curtis Lazar for the foreseeable future, but the Tomas Tatar, Justin Dowling, and Kurtis MacDermid trio struggled mightily on Tuesday.
In five minutes together, the fourth line generated 0.00 expected goals while allowing 0.38 expected goals against. That expected goals against figure was more than double that of the Hischier line in less than half the ice time. Of course, that also makes an ugly to look at 0.00 xGF%.
While the Devils donât rely on that fourth line for offense, they do need the line to be competitive in its minutes. It will be tough to beat Florida again on Thursday with this level of lopsided minutes from down the lineup.
Whatâs Next
The Devils stick around in Sunrise for a few more days before they face the Panthers again on Thursday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 pm ET on MSGSN.
Note: All statistics via Natural Stat Trick.