The New Jersey Devils waltzed into Amerant Bank Arena on Tuesday looking to avenge a tough loss vs. the San Jose Sharks. They were able to gut out a character victory, taking down the Florida Panthers 4-1 and ending their seven-game win streak. Jacob Markstrom stopped 33 of 34 (.970 save percentage) and was often the Devils’ best player.
Game Recap
The Panthers started the first by dominating the pace of play. But with 11:30 to go, Jesper Bratt made one of the greatest passes you’ll ever see: a tape-to-tape no-look backhand to Jack Hughes, who buried it. The Devils matched their tempo afterward, but then had to kill a 5-on-3 to end the period and did so successfully. Markstrom stopped all 14 in the frame.
It’s PB&J’s world. We’re just living in it. pic.twitter.com/jYBAH38IcX
— New Jersey Devils (@NJDevils) November 13, 2024
Chances were traded both ways in the second before Sam Reinhart tied it for the Panthers on the man advantage. It was the first power-play goal the Devils surrendered in seven games. Then Jonah Gadjovich and Brenden Dillon took part in a spirited bout, equally throwing hefty blows. That seemed to rejuvenate the Devils, who outshot them 8-1 in the remainder of the period and took the lead on a Timo Meier breakaway goal.
The Devils sacrificed a bit of their offense in the third to make sure they were limiting Florida’s ability to get to high-danger areas. They did so successfully for about 15 minutes and then Paul Cotter struck with a massive insurance goal, sniping one past Spencer Knight.
Knight went to the bench for the extra attacker and the Devils gutted it out with a myriad of blocked shots, leading to Ondrej Palat’s empty netter to seal it. That’s now the eighth (!!) straight game that the Devils have allowed three or fewer goals. They’ll rematch the Panthers in the same building on Thursday.
