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The Devils finish their back-to-back two-game Florida trip in Tampa Sunday night. The game can be seen on MSGSN and heard on the Devils Hockey Network, including right here at NewJerseyDevils.com. Puck drop is 7:08 p.m. ET.
Here are some observations from the game...
- The game turned in the 2:30-minute span when the Devils allowed three goals. A freak goal by Barkov sparked the comeback. It was followed by a power-play score from Reinhart and then Tkachuk sealed it with the Devils realing.
- Schmid made his second consecutive start for the Devils. And boy are they glad he did. He was tested from the opening drop of the puck, coming up with a huge blocker stop on a Colin White breakaway and denying Aleksander Barkov from point blank. Despite getting outshot 16-3 to start the game, the Devils got out of the first period with a scoreless game thanks to the 22-year-old netminder. He stopped all 29 shots through two periods of play and gave the Devils the chance to stake a 2-0 lead.
"We left out a great performance from our goaltender," Ruff said.
"He kept us in the game. He made some good saves," Siegenthaler said.
- Hischier's shorthanded goal was the result of a simple play by John Marino. The defenseman was behind the goal skating to the left. Because he is a right-handed shot, he was on his backhand. Therefore, he couldn't just rip it out of the zone. Instead, he hammered the puck around the boards. Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour bobbled and lost the puck at the blue line. Hischier pounced.
From there, Hischier used his speed to create a 2-on-1. Florida goalie Sergei Bobrovsky came way out of his net to cut down the angle, so Hischier needed a perfect shot to score. So, Hischier used a perfect shot to score.
- New Jersey's second goal occurred on a wild series of events. It started with a pinch by Brendan Smith to the top of the circle for a quick one-timer. His shot hit the post, hit the back of Bobrovsky and nearly went over the goal line. Bobrovsky was able to reach back and pull it away. Boqvist was there with a wide-open net, but his shot hit a diving Eric Staal.
Boqvist repositioned himself on the opposite side of the goal and slammed his stick asking to get the puck back. Damon Severson, who collected the rebound at the right wall, obliged. Bobrovsky was still down and began scrambling. Boqvist had time to catch the pass, polish the puck, dry it off and then pick his spot.
- The Devils had one of their uglier first periods of the season. The team was just disconnected. There was miscommunication on the ice in the defensive zone on positioning, support and marking Panthers. The Devils were off on their passing, which hurt their ability to generate speed. And in the offensive zone they were forcing passes to players that weren't open, and easily giving the puck back to Florida. The biggest bright spot for New Jersey in the opening 20 minutes was the play in their crease, and the reason they survived the onslaught. They turned things around late in the first, aided by a late power play, and carried that momentum into the second.
"The first period was terrible. They were all over us. It was tied because of Schmid," Ondrej Palat said. "The second was better. We were putting pucks deep and winning battles. It was way better. The third was OK. We just made mistakes in our D zone and they scored from those."
