Devils defeat Panthers for 2nd time in 3 days

SUNRISE, Fla. -- Jesper Bratt scored his second NHL hat trick, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Florida Panthers for the second time in three days, 6-2 at Amerant Bank Arena on Thursday.

“We took a step as a group, built some character these past two games,” said Bratt, whose other hat trick came on March 19, 2023. “It was a good learning experience. We got better today."

Stefan Noesen scored twice, and Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes each had three assists for the Devils (12-6-2), who also won 4-1 here on Tuesday and are 5-1-0 in their past six games. Jake Allen made 25 saves.

“For the most part, it was a real consistent effort in all facets of the game: 5-on-5, special teams, goaltending,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “Everyone did their part tonight."

Sam Reinhart and Jesper Boqvist scored for the Panthers (11-5-1), who had won seven in a row prior to their two losses to the Devils. Sergei Bobrovsky made 23 saves.

“They were better than we were," Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “They were quicker, faster, a little sharper in their execution.

“We haven’t loved our last two. You are not going to love them all.”

Noesen gave New Jersey a 1-0 lead at 10:01 of the first period. He won a battle with Dmitry Kulikov in front and knocked in the rebound of Luke Hughes' slap shot with his backhand.

Boqvist tied it 1-1 at 12:13. He took a pass from Matthew Tkachuk in the left circle, put the puck between the legs of Dougie Hamilton as he cut to the slot, and made a move back to his forehand at the top of the crease before sliding the puck past Allen's right pad.

Bratt gave the Devils a 2-1 lead with two seconds remaining in the period, scoring a power-play goal through a screen from the top of the right circle.

Reinhart tied it 2-2 at 4:45 of the second period. He skated into a face-off win by Aleksander Barkov before beating Allen glove side from the left circle.

“In both games they played really good offensively and we couldn’t get our offense going at all,” Barkov said. “We’re not happy at all with the past two games, especially this one. We just have to learn from it and move on.”

Dawson Mercer put the Devils back in front 3-2 at 5:56 when Jack Hughes’ backdoor pass deflected in off him and the skate of Kulikov for a power-play goal.

Noesen made it 4-2 with 11 seconds remaining in the period, burying a one-timer off a pass from Hischier for another power-play goal.

New Jersey went 3-for-5 with the man-advantage. Florida was 0-for-5.

“The penalty kill is a strength of ours, and we need to get those killed," Maurice said. "They moved the puck around, have a really good power-play. We couldn’t get a handle on it at times. ... A lot of small things, there wasn’t a theme to it. It started on the face-off and went south after that."

Bratt extended the lead to 5-2 at 3:50 of the third period, scoring with a shot from the top of the right circle that trickled under the blocker of Bobrovsky.

Bratt then completed the hat trick by scoring a short-handed goal into an empty net at 14:48 for the 6-2 final.

“Those are two good wins, obviously, against a real good team," Noesen said. “Special teams were huge for us. We had three power-play goals and did a real good job on the PK as well. We had six good periods against the Stanley Cup champs. Now it’s time to move on.”

NOTES: Bratt is the third player in Devils history to score a goal at even strength, on the power play, and while short-handed. The others were John MacLean (Feb. 25, 1991) and Peter Stastny (Dec. 29, 1991). ... Bratt has 11 points (six goals, five assists) in his past six games. ... Jack Hughes has 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his past five games. ... Barkov extended his point streak to seven games (two goals, 11 assists).