Reinhart scores twice, Panthers hold off Devils

NEWARK, N.J. -- Sam Reinhart scored two goals, and the Florida Panthers held on for their first win of the season, 4-3 against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Monday.

Matthew Tkachuk had two assists, and Carter Verhaeghe and Niko Mikkola each scored for the Panthers (1-2-0). Sergei Bobrovsky made 31 saves.

"I'm happy with the win," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. "We built a well-earned, solid lead (4-0) and got into a little penalty trouble toward the end. [New Jersey] is in the top three teams in the NHL. If they're going to mount a comeback on skill, they can do it.

"We got some big blocks in the end and all the dirty, little gritty plays that you need to win. I'm happy with the way we started, the confidence we built. We had to hang on for it, but I'm fine with that."

Florida had 20 blocked shots, including nine in the third period, when Bobrovsky made 13 saves.

"We just believed in ourselves," Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov said. "I know it probably didn't look pretty when they had chances to tie the game, but we battled hard. We tried to play the right way and I know they got a couple power plays at the end, so we tried to defend hard.

"The boys blocked the shots and 'Bob' was unreal in net."

Jesper Bratt and Erik Haula each had a goal and an assist for the Devils (1-1-1), who scored three straight goals in the third period. Michael McLeod scored, and Vitek Vanecek made 25 saves.

"Sometimes you won't score, but the numbers right now for generating aren't high enough in those first two periods," New Jersey coach Lindy Ruff said. "I thought they outskated us. I thought on the 50-50 compete, they won more battles than us."

Reinhart gave Florida a 1-0 lead at 3:54 of the first period when he scored on a deflection from the slot. 

Verhaeghe pushed it to 2-0 at 13:12 when he scored on a backhand at the right post after taking a pass from Tkachuk and skating past defenseman Brendan Smith in the right face-off circle.

Mikkola made it 3-0 at 11:18 of the second period when he scored at the left post on a backdoor pass by Tkachuk from the bottom of the right circle.

"That was an elite pass from [Tkachuk]," Mikkola said. "I almost missed it, but it was pretty easy for me."

Ruff said, "I thought our defensive-zone coverage on the first goal was terrible. The one where they went to the net on the two defensemen was terrible. It's an area we have taken a lot of pride in, but there was not a lot of pride in some of our coverage and the desperation we need."

Reinhart extended the lead to 4-0 on the power play 59 seconds into the third, also on a deflection from the slot.

Reinhart was moved to right wing on the top line with left wing Evan Rodrigues and Barkov after playing on the third line in the first two games.

"He's always like that ... he's one of the smartest players in the League and he has this stick that suits him well in front of the net," Barkov said of Reinhart. "He can do whatever he wants with that stick and touches pucks, makes plays and is just one of the smartest players I've seen."

Haula pulled the Devils within 4-1 at 3:35 with a power-play goal on a deflection from the slot. McLeod made it 4-2 at 8:51 before Bratt scored a power-play goal at 17:37 for the 4-3 final.

"Expectations are really high here and we haven't been up to standard yet so far," Devils forward Tyler Toffoli said. "So, it's something that we have been talking about and got to continue to talk about and find a way to figure it out."

Florida’s next game will be its home opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday.

“It's a way better feeling going home,” Maurice said. “You won your last game, so we’re excited about the next one.”

NOTES: Florida forward Justin Sourdif had one shot on goal and three hits in 10:00 of ice time in his NHL debut. ... Reinhart's first goal was his 200th in the NHL. ... With his 106th win with the Panthers, Bobrovsky tied John Vanbiesbrouck for second in their history. Roberto Luongo (230) is first. ... Devils center Nico Hischier went 15-for-20 on face-offs in 19:09 of ice time.