Devils Continue Road Trip Against Panthers | PREVIEW

New Jersey continues its three-game road trip with a stop in Florida to face the Panthers. Puck drop is 6:08 p.m. ET. 

You can watch on MSGSN or listen on the Devils Hockey Network.

Read below for your game preview and pre-game story below.

PRE-GAME STORY

SUNRISE, Fla. – The Devils held a morning skate at Amerant Bank Arena ahead of facing the Florida Panthers.

The team used the same workflow from their contest in Tampa on Thursday night, with the exception of goaltender Nico Daws likely to get the start.

The Devils used the following workflow…

Haula – Hischier – Mercer
Toffoli – McLeod – Bratt
Willman – Lazar – Holtz
Tierney – Bowers – Bastian

Smith – Nemec
Hughes – Marino
Bahl – Miller

Daws working the starter’s end.

Repeat Performance

Although the Devils lost to Tampa Bay in overtime, 4-3, Thursday night, the team was very happy with the way they played the game. And they believe a repeat performance will lead to more success in tonight’s matchup.

“I thought we played a pretty honest game,” Miller said. “We were good in the areas that we were trying to focus on, our line, their line, making sure we get pucks out. If we can do that again tonight, I think we’ll be in a good spot.”

Rolling Stoppage

The Panthers are riding a nine-game winning streak. The Devils know it will be a stiff test to stop their momentum.

“We just have to play a smart hockey game,” captain Nico Hischier said. “Try not to make too many mistakes. Try to stay above them and not give them easy offense. They’re really good in front. If we turn it over too much they’re going to make us pay. Just play simple, get pucks deep and play a grindy game.”

“We know what they bring. We know how they’ve been playing,” head coach Lindy Ruff said. “They’re rolling right now. Our job is to disrupt their momentum inside the game and create opportunities. If we take advantage of opportunities we’ll give ourselves a chance to win.”

Two-Headed Monster

The Panthers are led offensively by Sam Reinhart and Matthew Tkachuk. Reinhart leads the team with 30 goals and 53 points. Tkachuk has seven goals in his last five games, which includes a hat trick.

“They can score. They can make plays,” Hischier said. “You have to make sure they don’t have too much space, too much time. As a defender you want to be close to them, play hard on them and try to make them frustrated.”

One area the Devils must be diligent with those two is around their own net.

“Reinhart is having a heck of a year. Probably on of the best players around the front of the net. You have to make sure you find the stick,” Ruff said. “Matt is a different issue. A lot bigger player. We have to make sure we’re tying up the stick. We have to make sure second opportunities are limited.”

“Those two guys in particular are so good around the net, good at tipping pucks,” Miller said. “We have to make sure we clean it up around there.”

PREVIEW

DEVILS (21-15-3) vs. PANTHERS (27-12-2)

Head-to-Head

The Devils and Panthers meet for the second time this season, and the only time in Florida. In the previous meeting, Oct. 16, the Cats scored a 4-3 victory at Prudential Center.

Florida built a 4-0 lead on goals by Sam Reinhart (2), Niko Mikkola and Carter Verhaeghe. The Devils fought back with tallies from Jesper Bratt, Erik Haula and Michael McLeod. But New Jersey couldn’t find that next goal to tie the game.

The two teams meet for the final time on March 3 in New Jersey.

Devils Team Scope:

The Devils are a team under siege with injuries at the moment. The club is currently without forwards Jack Hughes (upper-body), Timo Meier (mid-body), Ondrej Palat (lower-body), Tomas Nosek (lower-body) and defensemen Dougie Hamilton (torn pec) and Jonas Siegenthaler (broken foot).

The Devils are trying to remain in the hunt of the Stanley Cup playoffs. Currently, New Jersey is on the outside looking in, sitting in the third Wild Card position. But the Devils (45 points) are only two points behind Tampa Bay (47) for the last playoff spot. And what’s more, New Jersey has four games in hand on the Lightning. But games in hand are only a factor if the Devils can use them to make up ground.

Despite being out, Jack Hughes still leads the Devils in scoring with 45 points on 15 goals and 30 assists. Jesper Bratt has matched those numbers exactly (15g-30a-45pts) in seven more games played. Tyler Toffoli paces the team in goals at 16. Rookie Luke Hughes leads the blueliners with seven goals and 23 points.

Panthers Team Scope:

The Panthers are hot on the heels of the Boston Bruins in the hunt for the top spot in the Atlantic Division. Florida has 56 points at the halfway mark of their season, while the Bruins have 57 points.

The Panthers are the hottest team in the NHL right now, riding a nine-game winning streak that includes victories against NY Rangers, Vegas (twice) and Colorado. Florida started 2024 with a perfect 4-0 road trip. Now, the club is in the midst of a five-game homestand. The Devils are the second leg of the homestand.

Sam Reinhart is in the midst of a career year. Through 41 games he already has 30 goals and 53 points. For context, the 30 goals rank as the third most in his career, and just three shy of the 33 he scored in 78 games in 2021-22. Aleksander Barkov is second on the team with 45 points, though he’s scored just 11 goals so far this season. Carter Verhaeghe is second on the team with 22 goals. It’s been an “off” year for Matthew Tkachuk, who’s 12 goals and 40 points are well below his standard of 40-goals, 100-point seasons he set the past two years. But he's getting hot lately with seven goals in his past five games. Goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who has won seven straight games, is enjoying a successful year with a 21-9-1 mark, 2.42 goals-against average and .913 save percentage.

By the Numbers:

New Jersey’s Dawson Mercer has three goals in his last four games.

Devils forward Nathan Bastian played in his 200^th career NHL game against Tampa (all of 12 have been played with New Jersey), scoring a goal in the contest.
Defenseman Kevin Bahl recorded a career-high 23:37 ice time against Tampa.

The Panthers nine-game winning streak is the third-longest in franchise history.

Tkachuk scored five goals in his first 36 games of the season. He scored seven goals in his past five games, including a hat trick and five-game goal-scoring streak.

Injuries:

Devils

Hamilton (pectoral muscle - IR)
Nosek (foot - IR)
Palat (lower-body)
Meier (mid-body)
J.Hughes (upper-body)
Siegenthaler (broken foot - IR)

Panthers

Cousins (concussion)